The Blockhouse Bay Butterfly Garden
From the Garden: January 2025
Kia ora e hoa - hello my friend☀
Welcome to the first edition of From the Garden1, a personal letter from my garden (or my garden visits!) to you. Today we are harking back to my roots in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland. We’ll take a photographic walk through the magical little butterfly garden created by the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust (MBNZT).
It’s located in the Blockhouse Bay Recreation Reserve (what we used to call “Terry Street Park” when we were little) and most easily accessed from the Rathlin Street carpark, where the tennis club is.
From a partnership with Auckland Council in 20172, the habitat has become home to lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) as well as other arthropods (insects, spiders, and other invertebrates). I try to visit whenever I am in the city, and it is always a highlight of my trip. Amongst the industry and bustle of modern life, it feels like a nature paradise, and reminds me that our little actions can really matter.
Just off the pathway is a stand of tī kōuka/cabbage trees. Below them a welcome sign provides information on some of our more common pūrerehua/butterflies. This photo is from my first visit, with typical Auckland weather of rain-sun-rain treating me to a rainbow.
Kahuku/monarch butterflies were the first to call this habitat home, and one goal in creating this habitat was, in founder Jacqui Knight’s words: “in the hope it will become a wintering-over sanctuary – a place for them to wait out the cold weather.”3
In Aotearoa, kahuku don’t migrate (as far we we know) but gather together to shelter amongst the foliage of tall evergreen trees. When it is warm and sunny they will drift down to feed or bask, so it’s important to have winter-flowering plants nearby.
Of course, creating habitat for pūrerehua also attracts other insects. I could spend hours just sitting in the garden and watching the life around me - cicadas, spiders, damselflies, and lots of other little critters build a fairytale-like atmosphere. Going in with my macro revealed even more.
Now that the habitat is well established, MBNZT have started reintroducing kahukura/red admiral butterflies into the area. They have campaigned for local residents to grow the kahukura’s host plant, ongaonga, along with lots of nectar-rich flowers to support the introduced populations. You can read more about this campaign here. Kahukura used to be a common butterfly in Auckland4, so it is exciting to see its return.
And even when the weather is cooler or the day is drawing to a close, there is always something in flower to see. From towering tree dahlias to the fiery colours of tropical milkweed (a host plant for kahuku).
So, next time you are in the big city or needing a good dose of nature, take an afternoon to visit this precious little nature sanctuary.
Zenobia x
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In 2025, you’ll get two newsletters from me: one at the end of each month with a specific nature focus, and a personal letter during the month aimed at paid subscribers. I’ve reduced the subscription plans to $5/month and $40/year to reflect the slower publishing schedule.
https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2016/02/butterflies-flutter-by-at-blockhouse-bay/
https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/news/local-news/why-im-saving-new-zealands-monarch-butterflies-33381/
https://www.nzbutterflies.org.nz/project/red-admiral-project/