How to Create a Backyard Butterfly Garden

Posted by Chris Field
July 15th, 2008
Filed in Garden Design
Tags: butterflies, butterfly garden, flowers, garden

Butterfly conservatories are a favorite tourist attraction in any city lucky enough to have one. You don’t have to wait for a vacation to a far-off place to enjoy bountiful displays of butterflies! Planting a backyard butterfly garden is easy and fun. The key to raising your own butterflies is to grow plants for the larva to eat, for holding the chrysalis, for the adults to sip, and for egg-laying. By selecting plants that host the butterflies throughout their entire life cycle, you stand a greater chance of following a butterfly though every life stage.

How to Plant a Prolific Butterfly Garden

1) Select a location that is partially full sun, and partially shade. A spot at the edge of a wooded area, or even partly under a large shade tree will do the trick. Most butterfly plants like the sun, but butterflies in their chrysalis need some shade.

2) Do basic research to see which butterflies live or pass through your area. Some butterflies with wide ranges across North America include the Monarch, Mourning Cloak, Yellow Sulfur, Two-Tailed Swallowtail, Giant Swallowtail, Red Admiral, and the Painted Lady. By investigating which butterflies live or rest in your area, you can select plants that will attract adult and larval butterflies. (The larva are sometimes called “caterpillars.”)

3) Select a range of host plants. Host plants for the larva and the adult forms will attract the most butterflies. Beware—butterfly larva are hungry creatures! Plants selected especially for the larva will be eaten, so be certain not to make those plants the centerpiece of your garden. Larval plants include fennel, Asclepias species (sometimes called “butterfly weed”), parsley, aster family plants (zinnias, daisies, coneflowers), nettle, hibiscus, willow, cherry and more.

Nectar plants for butterflies can be annuals or perennials. Some butterflies are picky about nectar plants, while others will sip from a variety of plants. Most nectar plants have brightly colored tubular shaped flowers. Adult nectar plants include pentas, heliotrope, lantana, butterfly bush, phlox, coreopsis, and more.

Larva entering the chrysalis stage need structures for attaching. The miracle of butterfly attachment is that the larva begins to make its chrysalis and attaches to the stems of grass, tree trunks and other structures with almost invisible silk-like threads. These silken attachments are strong, and can withstand wind and strong downpours.

4) Plant flowers in groups. Butterflies are attracted to masses of the same plant. Butterflies recognize flower shapes and colors. Plant your flowers in large sweeps of the same plant to attract the most butterflies.

5) Grow your garden naturally. Use organic fertilizers for your plants, and avoid all insecticides and pesticides—organic or synthetic—at all costs. Such chemicals will injure butterflies at all stages of life. Leaving them out of the garden will improve your chances of attracting beneficial insects, birds and other wildlife as well.

6) Provide areas for puddling. Male butterflies practice “puddling” which is when they land in very shallow water or damp areas—usually in groups—to soak up minerals and salts from the water through their feet! A dish with gravel, or low spot in your butterfly garden provides this necessary resource.

The Butterfly Container Garden

If your space is limited, you can still enjoy a butterfly garden. Simply plant your garden in containers. You can use two different approaches. One approach is to plant the same plant in each container, and create a butterfly garden of containers for your patio, balcony or porch. A couple of pots would have larval plants such as fennel or parsley, a few pots would contain nectar plants such as lantana, and a few other pots would contain ornamental grasses, small trees or shrubs for chrysalis attaching.

An alternative method is to plant an entire butterfly garden in one pot. To assemble your butterfly garden pot, you will need one very large pot, an ornamental grass plant, a trailing plant such as ivy, fennel and lantana. This type of butterfly garden will attract swallowtail butterflies who will be able to complete their entire life cycle without leaving the flower pot!

Tiny and Tremendous Butterfly Gardens

Whether you have acres available to plant, or only a few square feet, you can have a successful butterfly garden. The key components are plants for the larva and adults, a water source, a chemical-free garden and a little bit of elbow grease. You will be amazed that if you plant the garden, the butterflies will come visit!