Without caterpillars there would be no butteries, moths, or birds.
April 22, 2025 - The Smith County Master Gardeners’ 2025 Library Lecture Series continues this month with a timely topic that ties beauty and biodiversity together. On Friday, April 25, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., gardeners, naturalists, teachers, and anyone interested in pollinator conservation are invited to the Taylor Auditorium at the Tyler Public Library (201 S. College Avenue) for a free public lecture titled “Gardening for Worms! Host Plants for Butterfly Caterpillars.”
The guest speaker for this event is Dawn Stover, a well-known East Texas horticulturist, conservationist, and pollinator advocate with a long career dedicated to native plants and ecological gardening. Dawn, fondly known to many as “The Nectar Connector,” spent more than two decades as a Research Associate at SFA Gardens at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. Her career is rooted in environmental stewardship and her current work continues that passion.
Now serving as a Study Leader and Agronomist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service at the East Texas Plant Materials Center, Dawn focuses on helping landowners—both big and small—incorporate locally adapted native plants into their landscapes. Her expertise includes not only growing pollinator plants but also restoring native prairie ecosystems and encouraging land managers to create sustainable habitat for all kinds of wildlife.
In this engaging lecture, Dawn will introduce the wide range of pollinators found in East Texas and explain how our gardens can serve as safe havens for them. But she won’t stop at adult pollinators like bees and butterflies. Her presentation will focus specifically on the critical role of larval host plants—the essential, often overlooked “baby food” for butterfly caterpillars. Without these plants, there would be no butterflies at all.
“People want to plant nectar flowers to feed the butterflies,” Stover explains, “but they often forget that butterflies begin life as caterpillars. If we aren’t planting host plants for their larvae, we’re missing the mark.” She will showcase specific host plants that gardeners can incorporate into East Texas yards to support butterfly species like monarchs, swallowtails, skippers, and sulfurs.
Whether you're maintaining a flower bed, creating a pocket prairie, or simply want to support pollinators in East Texas, Dawn’s practical plant lists and local advice will offer inspiration and guidance. Expect to come away with new ideas and a deeper understanding of how gardening choices impact the entire lifecycle of butterflies.
The event is part of the Smith County Master Gardeners’ ongoing commitment to public education and sustainable gardening. No registration is required, and all are welcome. Bring a notebook, your questions, and your curiosity.
For more information, contact the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service–Smith County office at (903) 590-2980, or visit the Smith County Master Gardeners Facebook page.
Greg Grant, Ph.D., is the Smith County horticulturist and Master Gardener coordinator for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. He is the author of Texas Fruit and Vegetable Gardening, Texas Home Landscaping, Heirloom Gardening in the South, and The Rose Rustlers. You can read his “Greg’s Ramblings” blog at arborgate.com, read his “In Greg’s Garden” in each issue of Texas Gardener magazine (texasgardener.com), or follow him on Facebook at “Greg Grant Gardens” or “Rebel Eloy Emanis Wildlife Sanctuary.” More science-based lawn and gardening information from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service can be found at aggieturf.tamu.edu and aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu.
