Once you know the names of the nectar flowers that will attract butterflies to your garden, you can research these plants so you can have more success in planning your butterfly garden.
I personally have found that I have more success finding information if I use the plant’s scientific (Latin) name rather than its common name. I have provided both the common name and the scientific name for the nectar flowers you should be checking out.
You can often find very useful information by plugging the scientific name into Google, but I also have found that a few botanical garden sites and a few plant nursery sites have very reliable information about these plants. If you don’t find information about a specific plant on one of these sites, try one of the other links.
- Chicago Botanic Garden (Chicago, Illinois)
- Missouri Botanical Garden (St. Louis, Missouri)
- Prairie Moon Nursery (Winona, Minnesota)
- Prairie Nursery (Westfield, Wisconsin)
- Wayside Gardens (Hodges, South Carolina)
If any of the above sites are blocked at your school, they might be able to be unblocked during your research time. Another idea would be to use Google or Wikipedia — using the Scientific (Latin) Name of your plant instead of the Common Name.
Use the worksheet at this station to record the information for the Nectar Flower that your group is named after. You will need to enter this information on the Google spreadsheet owned by the class, so get as much information as you can by checking out the websites listed above.
This is Station #4.
Next Week:
Use this Google spreadsheet to record your information that you researched in your small groups. Remember that this is YOUR spreadsheet. If you find other plants that you want your classmates and teachers to see, you should add as much information as you can find.