Creating a butterfly garden
If you want to watch butterflies in your garden, it is just as important to grow plants that feed their larval forms as well as flowers that offer nectar to sustain their adult (flying) forms. You can attract butterflies to your garden by planting some favorite butterfly host plants. Here are some suggestions for growing a butterfly garden.
Butterflies need sunshine and water and host plants. Adding a water source as small as a bird bath or as large as a fountain or pond will attract butterflies – and colorful birds – to your garden.
All butterflies seek nectar to drink in their adult forms. The Echinacea (Coneflower), annual Cosmos and Ageratum, the Verbena, Coreopsis, Liatris, and Sedum are some favorite flowers of the Monarch butterfly. But you can attract the Swallowtail with its big ornately patterned yellow wings by planting these same plants or any plants in the celery family – including parsley, dill or anise for its caterpillars and showy flowers like the butterfly bush (Buddleia) for the adults.
There are butterflies local to every different geographical area. Some include the Lycaenidae, Pieridae and Nymphaliae, among others. Many butterflies are wonderfully patterned with brilliant colors. All are graceful and mesmerizing. Even if you are not a fan of growing local plants, this is a great reason to incorporate native plants into your landscape design. Many of these plants act as necessary hosts for the butterfly caterpillars. These delicate butterflies will be attracted to the local plants they naturally live off of, so including them in your garden will add mobile color to your landscape as the local butterflies take advantage of your offerings.
Adding a water feature, host plants and other butterfly-friendly plants will not only make your garden beautiful for you to enjoy, but they will add the elements you need to make a butterfly garden. And adding butterflies to your garden will capture your spirit and help it take flight, soothing away daily worries and stress.
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