Do you love the sight of blooming flowers with beautiful butterflies fluttering around them? Plant a butterfly garden! With a little knowledge and a nice area to plant it is really very simple to plant a butterfly garden or just turn your existing flower gardens into beautiful butterfly gardens.
To attract butterflies, you will need to keep a few things in mind. Butterflies need sunshine to keep warm, and most of the flowers they like best need sunshine, too. Make sure that you select a sunny location (preferably in a wind protected area) for your garden. For best results, plant the tallest flowers behind the shorter ones--so you'll be able to see all the flowers and butterflies that appear in your garden. Adding rocks and bricks for the butterflies to bask in the sun will keep the butterflies close to your yard. Rocks are convenient perches for butterflies to sun themselves and are also a very decorative addition to your garden. They also need still water on the ground - a birdbath or even a jar lid will work for that.
Adult butterflies are attracted to sweet, sharp and fragrant smells and the colors orange, yellow, pink, purple and red. A variety of blossoms offer nectar to adult butterflies, while leafy food sources, such as parsley or bronze fennel, nourish the larvae.
When selecting your plants, choose a variety of plants so there will be flowers blooming at all times during the summer. If you plant only one type flower and they bloom and die, the butterflies will leave. Here are some of the plants that butterflies are the most attracted to: Daylily, Iris, Lavender, Milkweed, Petunia, Phlox, Asters, Butterfly bush, Heliotrope, Cosmos, Clover, Zinnia. Some other plants that I've found that they like in my garden are Purple Gayfeather and Bee Balm. Not only do the butterflies love them, but hummingbirds are attracted to them also.
Butterflies also love it when you put out rotting fruit, such as watermelon. If you have a problem with ants you may not want to do this, but it really does attract the butterflies. Another thing they seem to love is to have a water mister out during very hot days. They love to fly through the water and the birds love it too!
It's important to remember to refrain from the use off chemical insecticides, which will kill the butterflies you attract.
Remember, the general requirements for butterfly gardening are: sunny, preferably a wind protected area, some water, nectar source plants, larval host plants, & a pesticide-free environment. Once you have planted your butterfly garden, sit back and enjoy it for years to come.
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