Design Your Own Butterfly Garden!

Many people consider butterfly gardens to be the most enjoyable type of garden imaginable. Who doesn´t love watching butterflies gliding through the air, fluttering their agile wings and flitting from flower to flower for a sip of nectar?

Surprisingly enough, designing a butterfly garden isn´t difficult as you may think.

Did you  know that butterflies have sense receptors on their antennae and legs that let them smell the flowers? And receptors on their feet they use to determine whether the nectar of a flower is good to eat?

Butterflies aren´t just attracted to sweet smells, though. They also love bright colors like red, purple and yellow, so be sure to plan a garden overflowing with colorful blooms!

Now that you know a bit more about the species, just follow these tips and you won´t have to wait long before you can start welcoming butterflies to your charming butterfly garden.

1) You´ll want to choose a sunny spot for your butterfly garden. Look for an area you can see from your deck, balcony and windows so you can observe your colorful visitors as often as you please.

2) When planting your garden, make sure to plant the taller flowers in back and the shorter ones in front so you can enjoy a full view of the butterflies as they fly from flower to flower.

3) Making your butterfly garden warm should be another priority. However, you have to be careful – if it´s too warm, your flowers and plants will suffer.

4)  Butterflies are delicate creatures and need to have protection from strong winds and stormy weather. The best way to do this is with a greenhouse. If that´s not an option, you may want to choose strategic corners in your yard to plant the flowers and herbs butterflies are attracted to. Or consider planting a windbreak of shrubs and trees to help provide cover for these delicate creatures.

5) Consider placing stepping stones in your butterfly garden. Not just for their aesthetic value, either. Butterflies are cold-blooded creatures and love basking in the sun. Stepping stones can provide a much needed warmth to help them with their daily activities.

6) You also want to be sure you provide proper ventilation and  plenty of water.

7) Food is another important issue. Butterflies start out as eggs, then they are caterpillars and, finally, they become the beautiful winged creatures we know and love. Each stage of their life requires a different food component.

8) In order to encourage the butterflies visiting your garden to lay eggs, be sure and plant some herbs and vegetables. Butterfly eggs hatch into caterpillars and caterpillars eat a LOT.

Ornamental cabbage and parsley are great choices for planting along the edge of your garden. Dill and carrots compliment your flowers with a bit of “lacy” greenery and clover helps create a wonderful living mulch path.

9) You´ll also want to plant a wide variety of sun-loving flowers, like asters, marigolds, nasturtiums, clover, daisies, verbena and zinnia. (Note: it´s important to choose stable flowers that can support a butterfly while it´s eating.)

Planting spring-flowering shrubs like lilac, blueberry and viburnum will provide your butterflies with both cover and nectar early in the year.

Planting summer-flowering shrubs like summersweet and privet will provide them with nectar as the season comes to a close.

Use annual flowers to provide nectar all summer long. Perennials can be used to provide nectar during the seasons they are in bloom.

You may even want to do a bit of research to find out which plants different species of butterflies particularly enjoy.

10) Don´t overdo it with the weeding, as many kinds of butterflies and their caterpillars love a wide range of weeds and wildflowers. Orange Monarchs,, for example need milkweed to lay their eggs and for their caterpillars to feed on.

Nettles and thistles are two “weeds” that are also excellent food sources for butterflies. In fact, the Spring Azure butterfly lives off the nectar of your everyday dandelion.

11) To attract butterflies to your patio, porch or right up to your kitchen window, consider planting some plants and flowers in hanging baskets, window boxes, and other containers as well.

12) Forgo insecticides and learn to live with a bit of chewing damage to your plants...some of it will come from the caterpillars – the butterfly larvae that turn into your beloved butterflies.

When done right, butterfly gardens can be a real joy to behold.  Following the above tips can help you design a garden that will attract a wide variety of these beautiful creatures for you – and others - to enjoy and observe.