Butterflies are beautiful creatures that are also good for pollination purposes. They travel from flower to flower, giving life to the plants in the process. However, it is not easy to attract them in large numbers without a proper garden and care.
By making a vibrant butterfly garden, you can provide a haven for these beautiful insects. This could attract other pollinators like bees and hummingbirds too.
With a good garden setup, availability of suitable flowers, and regular care, you can create a beautiful ecosystem that is filled with fluttering wings and buzzing activity. Let us explore how to create such a butterfly garden.
What Is A Butterfly Garden?
If you are seeking to witness a backyard filled with colorful butterflies, then such gardens are referred to as butterfly gardens. This garden with butterfly is particularly designed to attract these magnificent creatures.
Butterfly gardening is the art of creating a habitat specifically for butterflies. It is a tedious process to create a successful one, but not an impossible task. By providing the right plants and resources, you can attract many butterfly types throughout their lifecycle.
These gardens contain colorful blooms that offer nectar for adult butterflies. When butterflies come for this nectar, they will help in pollination activities and ultimately reward you with well-grown plants and a delightful garden.
Plan Your Garden
Remember that creating a successful garden for butterflies begins with the planning process. It is vital to make a draft since it is a long-term investment that will yield a marvelous garden.
This is also the most exciting step for an aspiring gardener. Butterfly garden ideas are endless, and you have to research various plant-related stuff meticulously.
You have to consider the butterflies native to your area and study their preferred nectar sources and host plants. The location of your garden should be analyzed properly, along with a proper sketch of the garden layout.
Likewise, you need to learn different types of plants, seasons, and how to care for them as well. With this plan in place, you are well on your way to a perfect butterfly haven.
The first step to the right butterfly garden is to select plants that attract these delicate pollinators. This is not a hard task, since many flowers attract butterflies, even the common ones. Rarely does a flower repel these insects.
Butterflies and plants have shared beneficial relationships since ages past. Both of them have evolved to need each other for their survival. Butterflies get their needed nutrients from these flowers, while plants get pollination.
You should opt for brightly colored blooms with flat, open faces that offer easy access to the nectar within. You have to consider the bloom time of these flowers too, or else you will simply waste your valuable time.
Nectar Rich Flowers
Start planting with nectar-rich flowers like Pentas, and petunias which provide important nourishment. You can also put clusters of colorful Zinnias, Lantana, and Cosmos for that sweet nectar.
It is vital to plant these nectar-rich flowers in groups, rather than in a single pattern. This helps the butterflies to move from bloom to bloom effortlessly. Having flowers with huge nectars solidifies a strong butterfly presence.
Perennial
There is also the option of attracting butterflies to your garden with the aid of perennials. These are long-lasting plants that offer a steady supply of nectar-rich blooms throughout the season.
Their long-term presence in the garden will help in your nectar supply for a long time, and this will only enrich your garden. Some well-known perennials that help your butterfly garden are Milkweed, Asters, Cornflower, and Hyssop.
Shrubs
You can also add flowering shrubs alongside the perennial plants to harvest a fabulous butterfly garden. Look for vibrant colors like red and yellow.
Moreover, you have to prioritize flat or tubular flowers for easy access by butterflies. These shrubs will also assist in adding structures to the landscape.
Some of the best flowering shrubs for the creation of a great butterfly garden are Scaevola, Sweetspire, Viburnum, and Elderberry.
Milkweed is considered the top dog when it comes to attracting Monarch butterflies. It is also the only source of food for their caterpillars.
Likewise, Swallowtails are attracted to nectar-rich flowers like Bee Balm and Verbena. These flowers also feature a longer bloom time.
Plant Flowers Of Variable Heights
Including flowers of different colors is essential, but so are plants of variable heights. There are many types of butterflies, and each is unique in their characteristics.
These winged wonders have their feeding preferences, particularly by going for flowers at different heights.
Some butterflies can go for flowers present at low heights (e.g. little yellow butterfly), while others (e.g. Tiger swallowtail) can seek a tall one. An aspiring gardener needs to take note of this issue.
Hence, when you include flowers of variable heights, you are fulfilling the feeding preferences of multiple butterfly types, increasing your butterfly turnout.
Tall Flowers
Go for the large-size butterfly bush, sunflower, and hollyhock for the tall flowers in your butterfly garden. These giants can attract many species, especially the large ones.
Mid-Level Flowers
Mid-level flowers like coneflower, coreopsis, and blanket flowers can act as middle layers for your butterfly garden. These flowers can attract many of these winged wonders and offer essential nectar at the same time.
Low-Lying Flowers
If you are seeking to plant low-lying flowers to attract smaller butterflies, then there are options for them too. Pansy, Creeping phlox, and violet are some of the flowering options. Small-sized butterfly bushes can also be planted. Place these flowers strategically per your garden layout.
Butterflies are cold-blooded animals, so they need sunshine to regulate their body temperature. Flying in the sunshine allows them to fly efficiently and thus, fuel their nectar-sipping activities.
Due to such nature, it is important to create your garden in a sunny area that gets direct sunlight for at least 6 hours per day. Moreover, if you can get an area that features morning sun, then it becomes better for your overall garden health.
The morning sun is the best for butterflies as these winged insects warm up their wings and bodies during the morning sun. They also orient themselves in the morning sun for flight.
Add Items That Warm Butterflies Quickly
6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight in your garden is fine for the butterflies. However, you can put in extra effort by manually putting in additional items to warm up the butterflies faster and retain their heat.
There are a variety of items you can place in your garden. Some of them are patches of soil, flat stones, rocks, and even create pathways.
When the butterflies bask in the morning sun, these items (when placed strategically) might aid in speeding the warmth and keeping the butterflies heated in your garden.
Include Plants For Caterpillars
For creating a successful butterfly garden, it is not only adult butterflies that you should attract, but also providing host plants for butterfly caterpillars. This will help to support the entire lifecycle.
These host plants offer the female butterflies to lay their eggs. Likewise, these caterpillars are munching machines.
By planting host plants for their survival, you will ensure their metamorphosis and produce the next generation of butterflies from your own garden.
Hence, it becomes crucial to research these host plants and plant them accordingly to create room for more caterpillars to grow and survive.
Some great host plants for a butterfly garden are:
Milkweed: If you are looking to attract Monarch caterpillars, then milkweed is vital for their survival. Milkweed is a powerful source of food for Monarch butterflies.
Parsley: This plant is essential for your butterfly garden since it offers food to many butterfly caterpillars, like the Black Swallowtails.
Asters: This late-blooming perennial plant is a source of food for colorful butterflies like the Pearl Crescent.
Violet: This beautiful plant is vital for the survival of the Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly caterpillar.
Sweet Peas: If you are looking to pull in the Eastern-tailed-blue butterflies, then planting sweet peas is crucial for their caterpillar's feeding purposes.
Install Shelter Zones
Butterflies are great pollinators for your garden, but you need to ensure that they get some protection before you plan a butterfly garden.
They will need a shield from various elements like wind and rain. Thinking of these scenarios, you should incorporate butterfly shelter areas. These shelter areas can be either man-made or natural.
You can plant small shrubs that can assist in windbreak. Shady areas will help the butterflies to escape the noon sun. Large rocks can help the butterflies get a place to perch.
If you have additional time, you could build a small butterfly house from wood. This house can protect against fierce wind and rain. However, you should mind that this wooden house may attract a paper wasp colony.
Provide Alternative Foods To Butterflies
Although butterflies are helpful for pollination and overall garden health, it can be daunting to manage all the nectar-rich flowers and host plants simultaneously.
Likewise, there can be an issue of caterpillars going on a feeding frenzy too. This can destroy the health of the host plants and create the need for growing new plants (which take time to bloom).
To prevent these issues from arising, every gardener should explore alternative sources of food for the butterflies. One of the primary food sources is fruits. You can place overripe fruits like apples, bananas, and peaches in the garden.
Moreover, these winged wonders are also attracted to sweet liquids and you can incorporate this in the form of sugar water or fruit juice. You can add a canned liquid fruit nectar as an alternative too.
If you have money, you can also frequently place sports drinks in the garden. These sports drinks are also rich in sugar content.
To create a perfect butterfly garden, nectar-rich flowers are not the only thing you should target in your garden. Nectar will help to attract the butterflies, but you should also seek to offer other nutrients for their well-being.
Butterfly puddling stations are the key to this issue. These stations will offer hydration and other elements like minerals. Many butterflies like the Cloudless Sulphur butterfly can come in muddy places in groups.
To make this puddle, dig a shallow area in the garden and then add a pinch of salt in there. Add water, small rocks, and overripe fruit slices.
Remember to keep the soil moist and you need to replace the fruit periodically. You should periodically check for chemicals in the soil since it can disrupt the activities of some butterflies.
Stop Pesticides Use
You can be tempted to use pesticides to rid your beautiful garden of harmful pests, but you need to ensure that you don't put pesticides that can harm the butterflies too. Some pesticides can become a hazardous area for butterflies.
Many common insecticides like neonicotinoids are toxic to butterflies at all stages of life. These chemicals can stay on leaves, harm caterpillars, and deter adult butterflies.
Other dangerous insecticides are Organophosphates and Carbamates can kill butterflies and other beneficial insects too. Pyrethroids can hinder the flight of butterflies.
Moreover, organic pest control products like neem oil and insecticidal soap can also kill butterflies. These pesticides should be utilized in limited amounts and only applied during serious outbreaks.
You can also employ non-pest control devices like jets of water to prevent insects from destroying your nectar-rich flowers.
Plant Flowers In Drifts
Single-flower approach should be ditched and you should opt for planting flowers in 3 to 5 groups. This produces a visual treat for the butterflies and they can easily get attracted to the colorful scenery.
Moreover, planting the flowers in drifts is more than just a visual treat. It forms a concentrated nectar source that makes it easier for butterflies to fuel their nectar-sipping adventures.
Drifts also mimic the natural look of the fields and it doesn't feel like a man-made place. This aids the butterflies to come en masse and benefits the entire garden ecosystem. Other creatures like bees and hummingbirds can also make their habitat here.
Hence, indulge in butterfly gardening right from this instant, sketch your garden layout, and plan the necessary items as needed. Remember to water the plants daily and check them from time to time.
