Attracting butterflies to the garden has become a popular hobby to many gardeners.
Among the many theme gardens that one can choose from, the butterfly garden brings a certain joy that gives an attractive and natural look to the landscape. As well as being wonderful to watch, butterflies have a purpose. They seek flowers with nectar. Just like the bees, they sip nectar and are helpful in transferring pollen from flower to flower.
Not only do butterflies need food, they also need a lot of sunlight. The best location for your butterfly garden is one that gets at least five to six hours of sunlight each day, as they need the sun to warm themselves. The warmth of the sun helps them fly, as they are cold-blooded creatures. You will see more butterflies in your garden on sunny days and fewer on cooler or cloudy days.
It is a good idea to place a few flat stones in a sunny location so the butterflies can take a break while warming up.
Of course, the more sheltered the garden, the more butterflies it will attract. They don't want to be constantly fighting the wind to stay on the plants.
Butterflies also need water to survive. A birdbath in a sunny location works well, or fill a bucket with sand and enough water to make the sand moist. Most important, do not use any pesticides in a butterfly garden.
There are many plants that are among the best for attracting butterflies. One of the best annual flowers to attract butterflies is any of the pansy hybrids, as they are considered to be a high-nectar plant. Others include the scented stocks, nicotiana, marigolds, portulaca, cosmos and straw flower.
There are numerous perennials that will not only come back every year but are favourites for the butterfly garden. The best nectar plants include arctic phlox, stonecrop, beebalm, liatris and aster. Other perennials among the best for attracting butterflies are primula, black-eyed Susan, rockcress, delphinium, candytuft, cone flower, globe thistle, fleabane, Veronica, Joe Pye weed and tickseed.
There are many trees and shrubs that could also be added to the list. If space allows for it, shrubs that will attract butterflies include forsythia, lilacs, spirea, highbush cranberry and potentilla. Trees could include any of the apple or crabapple varieties, mayday and chokecherry.
We often worry about insects and pests in our garden and are always looking for ways to eradicate them. The good butterflies are the attractive, colourful ones and do no harm to the plants in our gardens. It is the various kinds of caterpillars, such as the common cabbage white butterfly, that cause damage to the plant. Do nature a favour and use plants that will attract the beauty of the butterfly to your garden.
