I follow the publishing careers of many Charlotte writers. In the process, I’ve noticed that most of these authors tend to publish books that fall within a particular genre or deal with a common theme. Occasionally, however, a Charlotte writer will publish a book that takes me by surprise. Such is the case with Pamela Grundy’s latest book. I associate Pamela with books that deal with North Carolina history. Among the books that she has published are Legacy: Three Centuries of Black History in Charlotte, North Carolina and Color and Character: West Charlotte High and the American Struggle over Educational Equality. Thus, when my friend Tom Hanchett told me that Pamela had just brought out a new book, I assumed it would be a work of history. I was wrong.
Pamela’s new book is titled Butterfly Gardening in the Carolina Piedmont. In addition to providing lots of information about planting and maintaining butterfly gardens, it’s full of beautiful photographs she’s taken through the years, artfully arranged by designer Little Shiva (littleshiva.com). Curious, I recently contacted Pamela and asked her for more information about this book. Here is what she sent to me:
Late summer is butterfly season here in the North Carolina Piedmont. Since butterflies love sun and heat, late August and September are ideal times to watch for them. Tiger and Black Swallowtails, lemon yellow Cloudless Sulphurs, bright orange Gulf Fritillaries, dozens of tiny skippers and many, many others spend their days nectaring, mating and laying eggs. Monarchs will soon pass through, traveling to their hibernation grounds in Mexico.
Creating butterfly gardens has been one of the great pleasures of my life. Fifteen years ago, when my son attended Shamrock Gardens Elementary, I worked with other parents to fill the school’s courtyards with butterfly plants. We looked after nectar plants whose flowers fed adult butterflies, and host plants whose leaves fed caterpillars. A dazzling array of butterflies showed up. A few years later, every Shamrock classroom had a caterpillar-raising cage, filled with caterpillars we found in our own gardens. The students were enchanted.
I wrote Butterfly Gardening in the Carolina Piedmont to encourage more people to create their own butterfly gardens. With a sunny patch of ground, or even just a couple of pots, you can make a butterfly haven. Free yourself from those sterile, high-maintenance, chemical-laced lawns! Butterfly gardens are more beautiful, better for the planet and easier to maintain. You can find more information and resources in the article I recently published in the Queen City Nerve.
The whole book is available to read for free on the Queen City Nerve’s issuu site. It can also be purchased at Park Road books, a few other local stores, or from Amazon.
I thank Pamela not only for sharing her interest in butterfly gardening but also for showing that some authors cannot be easily pigeonholed. Pamela is an example of a Storied Charlotte author who can float like a butterfly from one topic to another, producing a wide array of worthwhile books in the process.
