Bring more life and beauty to your garden by adding flowers and plants that attract butterflies. There are specific plants that attract butterflies, they are easy to care for and make the garden more beautiful. It is important that there are "Host Plants" to ensure a home for the butterfly larvae (caterpillars) and "Nectar Plants" on which the butterflies can feed.
Steps
Step 1. First of all do some research
Find out which butterflies are common in your area. Observe the environment around you for a few days and get a local butterfly guide.
Step 2. Choose the "Host Plants" for the garden
Based on your research, find out what the caterpillars (i.e. the larvae) of local butterflies feed on:
- Milkweed - attracts the caterpillars of the monarch butterfly.
- Parsley - attracts the caterpillars of the black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes).
Step 3. Choose the “Nectar Plants”
These will serve as a food source for the butterflies. There are many possible choices, some of which are listed below. Excellent solutions are:
- Buddleia - suitable for swallowtail butterflies. Large plant: height 1.2m width 1.8m; make sure it is perennial in your area. Some species are considered invasive so if you decide to plant one, remember to cut the buds to prevent them from producing seeds.
- Asclepias incarnata - suitable for the hummingbird butterfly. This plant is about a meter tall and about half a meter wide. It also serves as a host plant for the monarch butterfly.
- Eupatorium purpureum - suitable for swallowtail butterflies. It is a very large plant (2.4m high by 1.2m wide). It is perennial.
- The Astro - this plant is about one meter high and about half a meter wide. It is perennial. Butterflies especially love native species.
- La Monarda - dimensions: 0, 6 m high by 0, 5 m wide. It is perennial.
- Zinnia - this plant attracts various types of butterflies who prefer the taller varieties of zinnia. This plant typically reaches 1.2m high by 0.3m wide. It is an annual plant and easy to plant from seed.
- Il Fior di Stelle - suitable for swallowtail butterflies. Size: 0.6m high by 0.9m wide. It is annual in cold climates.
- The Heliotrope - this plant attracts various species of butterflies. Typically, it measures 0.6m in height and 0.3m in width but it is also possible to plant it in pots. It is perennial in temperate climates but annual in cold climates.
Step 4. Make a sketch of the garden on paper
Draw a blueprint for a new garden or decide where to add these plants to an existing one. Keep adult plant sizes in mind when planning the arrangement. Also, take into consideration their needs for water to light.
Step 5. Buy seeds or plants
You can find them in your local store or buy them online. Choose strong, healthy plants.
Step 6. Plant your own butterfly garden
Make sure you water the plants regularly until they are established and the seeds until they sprout. Eliminate all weeds to help your plants grow better.
Step 7. Observe and enjoy the butterfly activity in your garden
Look for female butterflies that lay eggs on host plants. Take note of the butterflies you observe and, if you can, take pictures. You could make a digital archive to be updated over the years. The changes you observe in the number and type of butterflies that visit your garden can be invaluable information for biologists, ecologists and climate change scientists, who use local data to verify the increase or decrease of certain species, as well as the changes and fluctuations in temperature.
Advice
- If there are any monarch butterflies in your area, they are very easy to attract. Asclepias incarnata (mentioned above) and Asclepias curassavica (annual in colder climates) are excellent host plants for them. Asclepias curassavica can be planted from seed in winter.
- Butterflies are not great flyers. Do not plant the garden in windy and very exposed areas. If the area of your garden is all exposed to the winds, plant bushes or dense rows of perennials on the windward side of the piece dedicated to butterflies, so that they can feed in peace and shelter.
- Monarchs are very charming butterflies. Their migration path is one of the wonders of nature. To learn more, please click here.
- Beautiful flowers correspond to beautiful butterflies.
Warnings
- Always avoid planting potentially invasive plants. These plants can spread for miles beyond the garden walls and wreak havoc on native ecosystems. If you plant them, they will spread.
- Butterflies are insects! You cannot use insecticides in the butterfly garden.
- Buddleia is considered a harmful herb in some areas.
