There has been a lot in the news lately on the 90%  decline of the monarchs, but what can you do to help?  In the Fall as they migrate south, they need nectar to build fat reserves for the winter.  October is the peak month in North Texas for us to feed the Monarchs. If you look around your yard, do you have flowers in bloom to provide them nourishment?  If not, that is a good place to start.  While Monarchs will nectar on a variety of plants, the most popular ones are native plants that are in bloom in the prairies such as liatris, goldenrod, sunflowers and fall blue aster.   Other plants that are popular with the Monarchs are frostweed, cowpen daisy, gregg’s mist flower, lantana and turk’s cap.  While milkweed is critical for their survival and reproduction, they depend on milkweed in the Spring in North Texas as they make their migration North while the fall flowers are most needed now for them to survive through the winter season

If you want to learn more about creating a habitat for Monarchs, check out Gardening for Monarchs from Monarch Joint Venture which is a collaboration of organizations including several from Texas.  If you are looking for native plants this fall, check out the Discovery Garden fall plant sale on October 30-31 at Fair Park.  You might even see me there.