Love a caterpillar, save a butterfly. This is the slogan around which Lake Highlands author Judy Hominick wrote her e-book “How To Grow Your Own Butterflies.” The book is an easy guide for parents and children interested in raising butterflies in their own backyards.
Hominick’s guide is the culmination of a journey of dual interests, gardening and writing, that began many years ago. While her husband, David, is an avid gardener, Hominick had grown up in a horticulturally challenged family.
“My father’s idea of gardening was going out to mow the monkey grass once a week,” she explains. When they were first married, David had planted plugs of new grass all over their lawn. “I decided to surprise him one day by weeding the lawn while he was at work,” Hominick says. “The look of horror on his face when he realized I had pulled up all his new grass is something I’ll never forget!”
Several years passed before Hominick decided to try gardening again, but when she did, it quickly became a favorite hobby. Then came the butterflies. “I had gotten into gardening, and had learned a little about which types of plants attract butterflies,” she says.
Then, the youngest of her five children did a science unit about insects at school. It was then that the butterfly connection was formed. “Many elementary classes send away for kits to grow silkworms, which are really pretty boring, and not native to Texas,” Hominick explains. “I don’t think people realize how easy it is to grow native butterflies with relatively low cost and effort.” Hominick says that Texas has over 450 species and subspecies of native butterflies.
Hominick’s career as a writer officially started when she began submitting stories to various gardening magazines. Before this, though, she was inspired to start writing as a result of The Missing Stuffed Otter Incident. “My third grader brought home ‘Otter’, who was supposed to be returned on Monday, but he got lost in the house somewhere.”
To rectify the mistake, Hominick started writing letters to the class on Otter’s behalf. Her letters became an improvisational geography lesson for the class as they mapped his travels. “I called the series of letters ‘Otter’s Odyssey’ and writing his adventures made me realize that this was something I really wanted to pursue,” Hominick says. She has since written articles for numerous publications, including Texas Gardener, Dallas Morning News, and the Advocate.
“My hope for the book is that it will teach children to respect all of nature, not just butterflies, and to live more naturally,” she says. She has spoken to several school groups in the Lake Highlands area, as well as gardening clubs and Brownie troops.
Tina Dombrowski, director of Horticulture at the Dallas Horticulture Center at Fair Park, is impressed with the book. “I think the book is a great idea,” Tina says. “Each year we have a butterfly exhibit at the Horticulture Center, and we always get questions about raising butterflies. I think the way Hominick has the book formatted makes it a wonderful resource for a basic how-to when getting started with butterflies.” Tina plans to help promote the book at the Butterfly Exhibit at the State Fair this fall.
Hominick’s backyard is a lush, green place where caterpillars, butterflies, turtles and other wildlife abound. And, she is still planting. “I realize that I have crossed the line,” she says, “and really, it pleases me. I enjoy people who are passionate about what they believe.”
