100 Plants to Feed the Monarch by

100 Plants to Feed the Monarch

The plight of the monarch butterfly has captured public attention and sparked widespread interest in helping to save their dwindling populations. In this in-depth portrait of the monarch butterfly—covering its life cycle, its remarkable relationship with milkweed, its extraordinary migration, and the threats it now faces due to habitat loss and climate change—detailed instructions on how to design and create monarch-friendly landscapes are enriched by guidance on observing and understanding butterfly behavior and habits. Following the model of their previous best-selling book, 100 Plants to Feed the Bees, the Xerces Society provides at-a-glance profiles of the plant species that provide monarchs with nourishment. The plants, which are all commercially available, range from dozens of species of milkweed—the only food of monarch caterpillars—to numerous flowering plants, shrubs, and trees that provide nectar for the adult butterfly, including those that bloom in late season and sustain monarchs in their great migration. Gorgeous photographs of monarchs and plants, plus illustrations, maps, and garden plans, make this a visually engaging guide.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader

100 Plants to Feed the Monarch is an accessible practical *usable* guide to steps home gardeners can take to protect and enhance habitat for butterflies and other pollinators (specifically the monarch butterfly, but there's lots of practical info here for other species). Due out 13th April 2021 from Storey, it's 288 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

Written and presented by the Xerces Society, this is a really well written guide which contains concrete practical steps to help protect and enhance habitat for butterflies. The introductory chapters contain a good layman-accessible explanation of the monarch's life cycle and why habitat is shrinking and populations are being lost as well as a good guide to designing, improving, and expanding monarch-friendly habitat.

The second section of the book contains the plant profiles. One main chapter covers milkweeds (obviously very important - it's their main food source), as well as secondary sections detailing other important habitat plants grouped thematically: non-milkweed host plants, nectar plants, and nectar producing trees, vines, and shrubs. Each of the 100 plant family profiles includes color photographs, genus/group names, descriptions, culture requirements (light, soil, blooming season), recommended species, growing range map, and other invertebrate species for whom the plant(s) are important in terms of food or habitat.

This is a very well put together, graphically appealing, useful guide. Xeriscaping and using more native plants in garden designs have gotten more attention lately and over the last few years of incorporating more wildflowers in my own home garden beds I've been amazed how many more butterflies and native pollinators I've seen. It's also been rewarding from a time-saving standpoint because the native plants and wildflowers I've invited into my garden are perfectly adapted to life in the area as well as providing an important ecological bonus in the form of food or shelter for local wildlife.

Five stars. This would be a superlative selection for public or school library acquisition, home library, gifting to a gardening friend, for gardening groups/allotments/community gardens, or maker's groups. Really nicely done.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 25 March, 2021: Finished reading
  • 25 March, 2021: Reviewed