Stop by the cottage and observe the garden that is there. This is a pollinator garden, specifically designed for pollinators. What do you notice about it? What do you notice about the sizes and colors of plants? Pause the tour and just observe for a little while.
This garden has a wide variety of plant sizes. The large flowing bushes in back act as a wind break. As you might imagine, butterflies are very lightweight and can get thrown around by the wind, so the windbreak helps them be able to land here. You also might have noticed that there are tall flowers, flowers at a medium height, and flowers very close to the ground. This is because different butterflies like to land on flowers of different heights.
Also, this garden has a wide variety of colors. Some pollinators are drawn to yellow colors while others are drawn to purples and blues. Furthermore, insects like butterflies see more colors than we do. Butterflies see colors that are beyond our spectrum of sight.
Have you been counting butterflies on your survey this whole time? Take a minute here to collect some data. What color of butterflies do you see and what flowers are they landing on? Are some flying by while others are sitting? Are some basking while others are feeding? Be a scientists and collect some data!
