Butterfly Gardening for Texas

Circle of Life

For Native Tribal peoples, the circle is singularly the most important symbol of our culture . For us it represents all of life with no beginning and no end, portraying the roundness of the All. Within our world, everything is of equal importance—animals, rocks, plants, the waters, the sky above, and the earth below. Within this circle of life, each being has its place and its importance. And so, as with a tree or a human, butterflies have their importance in the whole, the roundness of things, and their place to be on the Earth Mother. With this book, I share with you a small portion of the fascinating world of the butterflies, which forms one link in the roundness. I have Circle of Life tried to show their beauty and a few facets of their life through photographs, and I have offered suggestions on how you can bring them closer for personal enjoyment by providing their simple needs. This book, then, is my “giveaway” to all of you who, in attracting butterflies to your gardens , come to know more of their ways and, in the knowing, recognize their place along with our own in the circle of life. And it is a gift to my people, the Cherokee, who honor the butterfly, kamama, in their daily lives as they honor and respect all things in the natural world. Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) Palamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palamedes) ...