Butterfly Gardens of Wisconsin

05/31/2026

Butterflies love Blue Ageratum!

05/24/2026

Well it’s that time again! We will be opening on Wednesday June 3rd. Going forward our hours of operation will be Wednesday’s and Saturday’s 10am-3pm. Our address is N2550 HWY 47. Due to construction on HWY 41, the best exit will be the Ballard Rd exit 144. We look forward to seeing you soon!

05/02/2026

What’s on the menu for monarchs? 🦋
Their diet changes as they grow and they’re actually pretty picky eaters!

Save this for a quick, kid-friendly way to learn how to support them 🌼

05/02/2026

Let’s help our pollinators thrive all summer long! When you’re picking out flowers for your yard this year, think about going native—these plants don’t just look great, they also give bees, butterflies, and other pollinators the food and shelter they need.

You can help in other easy ways too! Try mowing only when necessary and letting your grass grow a little taller (about four inches). Cutting back on lawn chemicals, mowing in the evening when pollinators are less busy, and setting out a small water source can all make a big difference. Every little bit helps!

03/22/2026

While the population of eastern migratory monarch butterflies remains far below the long-term average, there’s some hopeful news to share today: according to this year’s WWF-Mexico-led survey, monarch butterfly colonies occupied 7.24 acres of forest compared to 4.42 acres the winter before (the survey took place during the 2025-2026 winter).

08/27/2025

Thank you to all our customers and staff for another wonderful season at the Gardens. This week we will be open on Wednesday 10-3 and Saturday 10-3pm. After Saturday we will close for the season. We are still not sure what the future holds for the Butterfly Gardens, but regardless it has been an amazing journey!
We are also looking for people to foster monarch caterpillars (you will need to have access to fresh milkweed) and cecropia moth caterpillars as well.

08/19/2025

Tomorrow, Wednesday August 20th, the Appleton Noon Optimist Club, is sponsoring a free day for kids*
*kids need to be accompanied by an adult the entire time

Local author, Linda Vander Heyden, will be doing a book reading starting at 10:30am of her book Mr. McGinleys Monarchs.

08/16/2025

Wow this storm blew out of nowhere!! We are closed while it’s storming but will open again once it’s done.

Renaissance Art show will be rescheduled, with date to be determined.

Hopefully it will stop raining with enough time before our hours of operation are done (3pm), and that the butterflies will come out again.

08/06/2025

We keep getting calls about the different caterpillars or bugs on peoples milkweed plants. Milkweed feeds many different insects and as long as those insects aren’t eating the monarch caterpillars all is good.

Every year around this time, I see a familiar thread pop up in native plant, gardening, and pollinator groups. Concern, confusion, and sometimes panic when people spot caterpillars on their milkweed that are not monarchs.

I understand the instinct. We care deeply about monarchs. We plant milkweed for them. We wait for them. We celebrate every egg and caterpillar. So when something unfamiliar shows up, the reaction is often to remove it, squash it, or spray.

But here is the deeper truth. Native gardening is not about control. It is about connection.

When we plant native species like milkweed, we are stepping into an ancient and complex web of life. Milkweed has always been home to far more than just the monarch. The yellow and black caterpillar you are seeing? It is likely the milkweed tussock moth. It relies on milkweed to complete its life cycle and has coexisted with monarchs for a very, very long time.

Milkweed also supports red milkweed beetles, large and small milkweed bugs, aphids, and even predators and parasites like wasps and flies that help keep populations in balance. Some feed on the plant directly. Others live and hunt among its leaves.

It can get messy. It is real, and it is the sign of a functional ecosystem. This is not pest damage. This is purpose.

If we only want our milkweed to look pristine or to host monarchs and nothing else, we are missing the bigger picture. Native plants do not exist to serve a single species. They support communities, entire systems of life we may never fully see or understand.

We can love monarchs and make room for other creatures. We can sit in wonder at a plant’s ability to feed, shelter, and sustain so many beings. Not just the ones we have decided are worth saving.

Native gardening is an act of humility. It is a reminder that we are not the architects of nature. We are guests. We are stewards. And sometimes, the best thing we can do is simply let it be.

So this season, if you see a new caterpillar munching on your milkweed, pause before reaching for the spray. Take a photo. Look it up. Ask. Learn. And consider this...maybe what you are witnessing is not a problem at all, but the very reason you planted milkweed in the first place.
-Little Sweet Flower Farm
🐛🌿

07/25/2025

How cool!