Part I: Beautiful Butterfly Garden!

I don't know what gave me the idea to grow butterflies, but I did and got really excited for the possibility of doing it. Before this idea came to me I signed a housing contract for the house that I am living in and in the contract it strictly said, "NO PETS ALLOWED!" I thought of all the pros (lots) and cons (none) of having butterflies and so I finally asked my roommate if I could have butterflies as pets. Without hesitation she gave me permission. Her excitement for the idea grew just as mine had.

My research shortly began after receiving permission and discovered that you could raise your own butterflies. My excitement grew at this thought! I had started growing a small flower and herb garden in February and have had so much excitement as my little plants have grown. How much more exciting would it be to receive little caterpillars in the mail and then watch them grow into beautiful butterflies?

I started doing my homework in figuring out what I would need to get in order to make my own little butterfly hatchery. The suggestions on the internet only further sparked my mind and imagination. It didn't take long before I had a vision of my butterfly hatchery. I learned that butterflies like to lay their eggs on flowers. The idea of creating a butterfly garden then came into my mind. Not only did I want to raise butterflies, but my hope was that with the flowers they would reproduce and lay eggs beginning the cycle all over again. Below is the process of my vision coming together from beginning to now.

On the internet the butterfly sites offered mesh containers to raise your butterflies in. I wanted to make a home for my butterflies and the mesh containers would be sufficient or work. I shopped around and chose a 21 gallon fish tank instead. This ought to do the job! The first step in creating the garden is the dirt. Obviously.

In my homework I discovered the certain butterflies are attracted to specific types of flowers. I happened to receive my little caterpillars in the mail the same day I started creating my garden. The time frame of growing the flowers my butterflies are attracted to didn't line up with the time frame of the caterpillars becoming butterflies. I had to improvise. I purchased four pots of flowers: Primrose (2), Chrysanthemum, & Daisy Highside.
A top view of the flowers I planted in the tank.
Left: Purple Diasy Highside
Right: Yellow Primrose, Red Chrysanthemum, & White Primrose
Note: The flowers that I purchased are not the flowers that my specific type of butterflies (Pink Lady) are attracted to. The packets of seeds you see laying in front of the tank are some of the flowers they are attracted to. They include: Cosmos, Hollyhock, Aster, & Scarlet Runners.
I planted the seeds of the flowers that I purchased on Monday - the same day I planted the pots of flowers and the same day I received my little caterpillars. I didn't expect the seeds I planted to germinate or come through the dirt for quite a while. The above picture was taken this morning when I first discovered some of the flowers growing. These are the Cosmos coming through. I was shocked and excited to see that they had come through so fast. They're quick little guys!
The previous picture was taken just prior to me watering the flowers. Later this afternoon I was checking on the Cosmos that I had discovered this morning and it looked like there was more growth to them from just this morning! This is a picture of them this afternoon. This picture I actually put the camera inside the tank. The one previous was taken from the outside.

These are Cosmos flowers as well in a different part of the tank. I purchased three different types of Cosmos because I liked them so much. This picture was taken this morning before the watering.

These are the same Cosmos flowers as in the previous picture taken this afternoon. It looks like a ton more growth took place in just a few hours. This picture was taken from within the tank.

Finally! Here are the caterpillars. This is on Monday right after receiving them. I was very surprised by how small they were! I didn't see how they would grow big enough in the time frame given before they made their cocoons and became butterflies. They're just little guys!

Boy, was I wrong! This picture was taken today. They've grown 2-3 times their size from the time I received them! It's crazy how big they've become in just a few days. I can't wait to see how big they become before they go into their cocoons.

I am so excited for the progress of my Beautiful Butterfly Garden to continue! The process is so exciting. I will continue to take pictures of the new developments, so stayed tuned! Thanks for sharing the excitement with me!