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It’s Spring and Time to Create Your Own Butterfly Garden! For those of you have a mind to do your part to preserve the butterfly population, creating a beautiful butterfly garden in the back yard, on the patio, or even on the windowsill is a substantial first step.
Many species of butterflies are most active in sun-filled areas, so open areas are mandatory for any butterfly garden. Low-lying groundcovers, such as clover mixed with grasses, provide these areas, and they are also sources of nectar and food for the butterflies.
Taller nectar and food plants can be planted at the edge of the open areas to provide additional diversity while allowing the butterflies to remain fully in the sun. As the Earth rotates, different areas of the garden will naturally fall into the sunlight at different times of the day. As different species of butterflies take nectar at different times as well, you will want to scatter plants to accommodate as many as possible.
The active season of your butterfly garden can be extended by incorporating plants with different but overlapping blooming seasons. Such diversity of plants is also advisable because of the highly selective nature of many butterfly species toward the plants they will use as hosts for eggs and chrysalises, food for caterpillars, and nectar sources for adults. Herbs such as bronze fennel and parsley will provide a wonderful food source for the butterfly caterpillars. Butterfly bushes, lantanas, and sedums are great nectar sources for adult butterflies. The more diverse the offering in your butterfly garden, the more species you are likely to attract.
Puddles in the butterfly garden are the equivalent of birdbaths in the bird watcher’s backyard. Butterflies cannot drink directly from open water, but they will make regular visits to - and even congregate at - “puddles” of wet sand or earth. Several of these scattered about the natural depressions of your garden, with small rocks and a stick placed on top of them, will further enhance the garden’s attractiveness to the butterflies.
Shelter to a butterfly means protection from two things: the wind and predators. Vine-covered walls, fences, or trellises; borders of small trees or shrubs; or any combination of these will fulfill both of the insects’ needs.
With a little planning and satisfying work in your garden this Spring, you can create a lovely place for both you and the butterflies to enjoy. |
