Arboretum Paths: Planning next year’s butterfly garden!

Published 6:00 pm Monday, November 3, 2025

The upcoming fall and winter months offer you some valuable “resting” time from outdoor projects – and plan new ones! Use this time to leaf through books and magazines or browse the Internet for new garden ideas and projects for spring. But keep in mind that the dormant season also offers cool temperatures and a long dormancy period for plants to establish new roots, if you miss gardening.

It was a glorious summer for butterflies in the Arboretum’s pitcher plant bog, with a variety of species observed visiting the blooming perennials, particularly the purple spikes of Liatris, while cruising for nectar.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service website (http://extension.msstate.edu/) has many helpful, research-based articles and publications that will help turn your yard into a haven for butterflies. From the home page, enter “attracting butterflies” to download the Extension fact sheet, “Attracting Butterflies to Mississippi Gardens,” that contains a list of plants to attract them. Butterflies require not only nectar plants but specific “host” plants that they are drawn to lay their eggs on, for their caterpillars to consume once they hatch.

Attend “Toddler Time THURSDAY” this November 6, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Enjoy storytime and nature-themed fun! Pre-registration is not needed. Daily admission fees for non-members. Members attend free. The Arboretum will open at 8:00 a.m. on Saturdays through November 15 for the Walk Mississippi challenge, to offer you an opportunity for a walk on our beautiful trails. Entrance for this hour is FREE. Visitors arriving after 9:00 a.m. are asked to check in at the Visitor Center. Learn more about the plants in your own yard! Attend our Second Saturday Stroll: Botany Field Walks for the Plant Passionate Person with Arboretum Director Pat Drackett on Saturday, November 8 from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. Members free; non-members $7. For more information, and to register see our website calendar at https://crosbyarboretum.msstate.edu/. Questions? Call (601) 799-2311 Ext. 0. We’re open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and located in Picayune at 370 Ridge Road. Leashed pets are welcome on our walking trails.