A Sanctuary, At Last

We have been raising butterflies for eleven years.

For most of that time, we did it in rented homes — setting up each season, then packing it all down again when the next move came. Every garden was temporary. Every habitat had to be dismantled. You cannot build something enduring on ground that isn't yours.

Now it is ours. Psyche Sanctuary is what happens when eleven years of raising butterflies finally meets a permanent home — a suburban section in Christchurch being transformed, zone by zone, into a lasting haven for New Zealand's butterflies, pollinators, and small wildlife, and into the botanical garden at the heart of everything we make.

The Circular System 

What began as a host-plant garden has become a system where nothing is wasted.

• Plants grow. Host and nectar species fill the zones, supporting caterpillars, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators through their life cycles.

• The harvest is gathered. As plants flower, seed, and finish their season, we collect seeds and cuttings for propagation, and flowers and foliage for botanical products.

• Nothing is wasted. Spent trimmings and surplus greens feed our rabbit, Charli, whose manure — with our worm farms — becomes rich, natural fertiliser.

• The soil is fed. That fertiliser returns to the beds and pots, nourishing the next season's growth.

From one loop come three harvests: new plants to share, botanical creations (to be released), and a living habitat for wildlife — each sustaining the others.

The Approach

The property is being redesigned as a network of interconnected habitat zones, each created to support specific butterfly species, pollinators, other local wildlife, and our companion animals. Rather than treating the yard as a single garden, the space is divided into smaller environments that provide the plants, shelter, and resources different species need throughout their life cycles.

Some zones focus on host plants for caterpillars, while others provide nectar sources, shelter, basking areas, or safe breeding spaces. Alongside these habitats, the design integrates practical systems such as rabbit housing, soil regeneration, and worm composting — the working parts of the circular system that turns garden growth into botanical harvest and back into healthy soil.

Each zone is documented from its current state through to its transformation, so the project can evolve over time as plants grow, soil improves, and wildlife begins to establish itself.

Our host plants and seed follow guidance from the Moths and Butterflies Trust of New Zealand.