Creating a Butterfly Garden

Provided by: Backyard Wings and Water

We've often been asked how to attract butterflies to a backyard. By creating a butterfly garden, you will provide a safe haven for these beautiful creatures.

Butterflies will flock to a variety of flowers for nectar; some of the most popular are: butterfly weed, joe pye weed, butterfly bush, aster, liatris, summer phlox, bee balm (monarda), purple coneflower, coreopsis, pentas, black-eyed susan, and lantana. A butterfly feeder with overripe fruit or a specially formulated nectar will also attract and nourish them!

In addition to nectar plants, a true butterfly garden should contain host plants as well. These play a very important role, as each species of butterfly selects a particular plant or plants on which to lay eggs, and on which its caterpillars will feed and grow until the pupa is formed.

Some primary host plants include: aster, alfalfa, blueberry, cabbage, parsley, mallow, marigold, snapdragon, sneezeweed, sedum, sweet fennel, thistle, vetch, violet, paw paw, spicebush, hackberry, milk vetch, milkweed, and various grasses. Trees, as well, provide hosting for the larvae. These include: cherry, birch, citrus trees, dogwood, locust, and elm.

Of course, there are many other plants and trees not listed here, and there are books available providing more detail. You can get a good start, however, by planting some of the above!

Provide drinking water, safe places to bask in the sun, such as flat rocks in a sunny spot, and a shallow container of moist sand through which the butterfly can obtain nutrients, such as sodium, which are not available from plants. Start your garden this spring; and enjoy watching one of nature's most beautiful creations throughout the summer!