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This conversation was written by Janet L., a self-proclaimed “aging expert living her best life.”

I was on a quest for butterflies. The neighborhood herd of deer mowed down all my flower seedlings in the spring, so I didn’t have blooms until late July. No flowers means no butterflies.

I missed seeing butterflies and would not be satisfied until I found some.

Butterfly sighting in a local park | Photo via Janet L.

I learned that you don’t get butterflies on any old patch of flowers. If that were true, all I would have to do is go out in my front lawn and have a seat in a patch of clover.

No, butterflies are particular about their food sources. Skippers love zinnias. Monarchs feed on milkweed, swallowtails are partial to thistle, and fritillaries hang out on poop. I confirmed this during a recent visit to Bells Bend Park, one of the best places to find butterflies in Nashville.

You also need host plants for a good flock of butterflies. Most butterflies only live around 3 weeks, so you need a place for eggs and plenty of caterpillar food to keep the life cycle going. Swallowtails like cottonwoods and tulip poplar trees, monarchs need milkweed, and skippers like whatever kind of weedy vine growing over my peonies.

Finally, butterflies want to be warm and dry. A heavy dew signals butterflies to sleep in. They don’t fly so well with wet wings, so they will bask in the sun to dry off and warm their little bodies. One wet morning, I watched a Painted Lady find a sunny perch in a chestnut tree, spread her wings and chill for about 45 minutes.

The Bluebird Trail at Hidden Lake at Harpeth River State Park checks all the butterfly boxes for best butterfly viewing. The mowed trail takes you through a field chock full of plants butterflies crave and need for their special life cycles. Currently, goldenrod and ironweed are feeding many of the butterflies who claim this area as home.

It also grows thistle, a treat for black and pipevine swallowtails where I got my ultimate butterfly fix. More than 100 congregated here, fixed on purple thistle blooms as they drank in nectar. Everywhere I looked, I saw their beautiful wings fluttering. It was breathtaking.

Butterflies are in the peak of their life cycle during the fall months, so now is the best time to view in Middle Tennessee. Bells Bend Park and Hidden Lake are the 2 best places to spot a wide variety of butterflies. There are also butterfly gardens like the one in Moss-Wright Park in Goodlettsville. It serves as a monarch waystation to maintain them during their migration to and from Mexico each year.

Butterflies can be spotted in parks, community gardens, or your neighbor’s flower gardens, fueling up as they prepare to hibernate or migrate to their winter destination. Get outside and enjoy these little beauties before they are gone.