Create an Attractive Butterfly Garden
Butterfly gardens are man-made spaces which were initially developed by ecologists. They were designed and developed to conserve the natural butterfly habitats which are rapidly losing to urbanization and create a pretty picture in the process. It is very easy to create a butterfly garden at one’s yard. All it simply needs are the plants that the caterpillars and the adult butterflies feed on. Several books are available on the butterflies and the plants they live on for reference. The diverse plants’ blooming cycles should be taken into consideration to keep the butterfly garden full of activities through the changing seasons.
The butterflies re-visit the butterfly gardens as they are magnetized by array of the plants and flowers. Some plants serve the purpose of host as well as nectar plants, to attract these butterflies. The host plants play a major role in the growth and success of a butterfly garden. The young caterpillars are dependent on these host plants for their nutrients. Moreover, host plants are species specific – attracting only the butterflies whose caterpillars will eat that type of plant. Planting parsley, for example, will attract female black swallowtails, but will do nothing to attract monarchs or fritillaries. It is wise to incorporate a variety of plants with a range of heights and frequency of blooms. There are a wide variety of host plants for the butterfly garden like daisies, hackberry, citrus plants, parsley, willow, aster, violets, snapdragon and passion flower vine.
There is a wide range of nectar plants which catch the attention of full-grown butterflies. These blooming nectar plants during the mid to late summers have an additional advantage of turning the garden into a colorful work of art. The fragrant warm air draws the attention of the butterflies. It is highly beneficial to have double- floret blossoms, for the butterfly gardens. The nectar plants for the butterfly garden are thistles, Cirsium sp., Verbena spp., Alyssum spp., Zinnia spp., Monarda spp., Rudbeckia spp., Tagete spp. To plan a butterfly garden one must take into account:
o An attractive, adaptable layout
o Incorporating a wide variety of plants and plant heights, trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials
o Organizing the blooms and interest for every season
o Arranging for the host and the nectar plants for several species of butterflies and moths
o The butterfly houses provide shelter from wind and rain. There should be provisions for few enclosed areas in the butterfly garden, too.
o The moist areas for puddling males
Definite points should be kept in mind while planning a butterfly garden location and design. The butterflies are fond of:
o sunny locations
o shelter from wind
o nectar-rich blooms
o host plants where they can lay eggs
o moist sand or mud for ‘puddling’
o flat rocks or other light colored flat surfaces for basking
The regional-specific information while preparing for a butterfly garden are available at every local native plant society, agriculture department, extension service, or master gardening program.
