Butterflies are part of the summer scene that no one wants to do without. However, these colorful, graceful insects are in decline as their native habitats are being taken over by mono-crop farms, roads, suburbia, and commercial development. Concerned gardeners can create butterfly gardens to provide food, shelter, and safety for these insects. This is easy to do in sunny spots and possible in areas of light shade.
Butterflies like bright colors, so many native and cultivated plants that attract them also please gardeners who want pretty borders. However, all kinds of plants are important as 'hosts' for the larvae and to provide nectar for the adults. These include trees, shrubs, perennials, herbs, ground covers, and vines.
Even a window-box can help a hungry butterfly along its way to other things it needs. However, a true habitat will have food, shelter, and suitable watering places. Beneficial herbs include dill, fennel, the mints, hyssop, parsley, and rue. Dogwood, pawpaws, sassafras, and some kinds of magnolias are good caterpillar nurseries. Sunflowers, hollyhocks, and the magnificent butterfly bushes are great as a backdrop for shorter flowers like asters, Black-eyed Susan, nasturtiums, and echinacea. Milkweed (favored by Monarchs) comes in the wild variety plant and a bright orange version called butterfly weed.
Butterflies need sun as well as food, water, shelter from the weather, and protection from predators. Insects are cold-blooded, so they need to warm themselves in sunny places each morning. Placing a large rock or leaving a patch of bare earth in a sunny spot gives them a place to bask. A detail like this can also add visual interest to the garden.
'Kaleidoscope' is only one of many terms for a crowd of these pretty insects. They can be called a flutter, a swarm, or a rabble. The caterpillars are called an army. A flutter often gathers at the edge of a mud-puddle, getting moisture from the wet soil. Gardeners can make 'puddling stations' of wet sand or put smooth rocks in shallow dishes of water to make water available.
Many valuable nectar plants are the profuse blooms that gardeners love. Sweet alyssum, candytuft, and creeping phlox are colorful ground covers. Lantana, lavender, hyssop, catmint, and peppermint are herbs that attract all pollinators. The brilliant orange butterfly weed and the vigorous butterfly bush are tall perennials that fit well in the back of a bed. Vines can be trained over arbors or along fences and are virtually care-free.
Those who want low maintenance can choose native plants. Many of these, like Bee Balm, are also deer and slug resistant. Bee Balm is a wildflower that thrives in zones three to eight. Coneflower is another native flower that deer and slugs usually leave alone but butterflies love. To provide the most help, find out which insects are native to the area or will migrate through and choose plants that those species need to survive.
The special gardens can include all the traditional favorites like roses, daffodils, allium, and annuals. Just remember to avoid systemic insecticides, which penetrate the whole plant and kill all pollinators that visit, as well as the caterpillars.
Butterflies like bright colors, so many native and cultivated plants that attract them also please gardeners who want pretty borders. However, all kinds of plants are important as 'hosts' for the larvae and to provide nectar for the adults. These include trees, shrubs, perennials, herbs, ground covers, and vines.
Even a window-box can help a hungry butterfly along its way to other things it needs. However, a true habitat will have food, shelter, and suitable watering places. Beneficial herbs include dill, fennel, the mints, hyssop, parsley, and rue. Dogwood, pawpaws, sassafras, and some kinds of magnolias are good caterpillar nurseries. Sunflowers, hollyhocks, and the magnificent butterfly bushes are great as a backdrop for shorter flowers like asters, Black-eyed Susan, nasturtiums, and echinacea. Milkweed (favored by Monarchs) comes in the wild variety plant and a bright orange version called butterfly weed.
Butterflies need sun as well as food, water, shelter from the weather, and protection from predators. Insects are cold-blooded, so they need to warm themselves in sunny places each morning. Placing a large rock or leaving a patch of bare earth in a sunny spot gives them a place to bask. A detail like this can also add visual interest to the garden.
'Kaleidoscope' is only one of many terms for a crowd of these pretty insects. They can be called a flutter, a swarm, or a rabble. The caterpillars are called an army. A flutter often gathers at the edge of a mud-puddle, getting moisture from the wet soil. Gardeners can make 'puddling stations' of wet sand or put smooth rocks in shallow dishes of water to make water available.
Many valuable nectar plants are the profuse blooms that gardeners love. Sweet alyssum, candytuft, and creeping phlox are colorful ground covers. Lantana, lavender, hyssop, catmint, and peppermint are herbs that attract all pollinators. The brilliant orange butterfly weed and the vigorous butterfly bush are tall perennials that fit well in the back of a bed. Vines can be trained over arbors or along fences and are virtually care-free.
Those who want low maintenance can choose native plants. Many of these, like Bee Balm, are also deer and slug resistant. Bee Balm is a wildflower that thrives in zones three to eight. Coneflower is another native flower that deer and slugs usually leave alone but butterflies love. To provide the most help, find out which insects are native to the area or will migrate through and choose plants that those species need to survive.
The special gardens can include all the traditional favorites like roses, daffodils, allium, and annuals. Just remember to avoid systemic insecticides, which penetrate the whole plant and kill all pollinators that visit, as well as the caterpillars.
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