Butterfly Gardens - 7 Essential Elements For Attracting Butterflies
By Joanne Jones
Butterflies are very beautiful to watch as they flit and float all over the place, as if they have no cares in the world. Butterflies hold a sense of delight and wonder for all ages. Bring some of that delight and wonder to your garden by creating a butterfly garden.
Butterfly gardens can be any size, from small patches of flowers to large flower beds. The most important aspect of creating a butterfly garden is to research what butterflies are native to your area and concentrate on attracting those butterflies. Next, find out which plants or flowers attract those butterflies and plant the ones that are native to your area.
Here's a list of seven essential elements to include when creating a butterfly garden.
1) Have plants in your garden or yard that will attract butterflies. Some of the most popular plants are buddleia, milkweed, a butterfly bush (planted where it will get plenty of sunshine), lavender, thistle, wildflowers and herbs such as chives. The butterflies feed on the nectar of the plants, so the more nectar that a flower produces, the more butterflies that flower will attract.
2) Have plants that will provide food for caterpillars. Butterflies will stay longer if there are plants handy for them to lay their eggs on. Caterpillars will emerge from the eggs when they hatch and the caterpillars will need a food source nearby. In a short period of time, the caterpillars will form cocoons and emerge as new butterflies and once again you'll have some beautiful butterflies to watch. Some of the most popular plants for caterpillars are alfalfa, clover, milkweed and peas.
3) Provide a sunny spot. Butterflies are cold-blooded and need the sun in order to warm themselves up. Plus, butterflies prefer to visit flowers that are in the sun, since they are able to keep warm and obtain nourishment at the same time.
4) Create shelter. Butterflies need a calm place to rest, a place without a lot of wind or breeze. Shrubs or small bushes suit this need well.
5) Avoid pesticides. There are two main ways that pesticides affect butterflies. First, as caterpillars. If the caterpillars can't survive, then they will never turn into butterflies. Second, butterflies also eat insects. If the insects have ingested pesticides then so will the butterflies when they eat these insects.
6) Have a source of water handy, such as a birdbath or even sand that is soaked with water. The sand should be soaked, but not submerged in the water. The butterflies will sit on the sand and drink the water underneath it.
7) Have rest spots for the butterflies – they get tired too! Rocks are perfect for this task. Plus, when the rocks are in the sun, it allows the butterflies to warm up on a cool morning.
By combining all of these elements together, you will be successful in attracting butterflies to your garden.
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