Gardening for Butterflies and Other Pollinators

Local butterfly expert Bart Jones highlights the key components of a successful pollinator garden and the butterflies it will most likely attract.
Growing up in Parsons, TN afforded Bart Jones the luxury to indulge his curiosity of all things science and nature. The forests, streams, and fields surrounding his home became an outdoor laboratory where no wildflower, rock, or insect escaped scrutiny, but it was butterflies that held a special interest for him. That passion for butterflies was rekindled about eighteen years ago when Rita Venable invited him to participate in a North American Butterfly Association count. Bart now conducts counts throughout West Tennessee, as well as helping on others.
After receiving a degree in Biology from UT-Martin, Bart made his home in Memphis where he is employed at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as an Associate Scientist in the Department of Infectious Diseases. Besides his professional work and butterfly activities, he is a past president of the Tennessee Native Plant Society as well as a member of many other botanical societies and local conservation groups.