Fact
Sheets
The Five Essentials
for Creating a Butterfly Garden
Butterfly gardening is more than
just growing pretty flowers.
In order to support a butterfly from egg to adult, your garden must
include the appropriate plants as well as provide suitable habitat.
With a little knowledge, time, and patience, you can easily create
ideal butterfly habitat in your own garden!
1.Grow Native Plants
Butterflies rely heavily on native plants in order to survive. Not
only do they visit flowers of these plants for nectar, female butterflies
look for specific host plants on which to lay their eggs. These
plants are keenly adapted to our environment. They provide the best
protection necessary for developing eggs and supply the most pertinent
nutrients needed for the growing caterpillars.
2. Eliminate Pesticide Use
Pesticides will kill butterflies. That hole in your aster leaf
could very well be the work of a butterfly catterpillar, munching
its way to a healthy adulthood. Bringing butterflies to your garden
also means allowing their catterpillars to eat some of your plants.
Permit yourself to have a slightly messy garden.
3. Choose a Sunny Location
The sun is essential in a butterfly’s activities. Butterflies
can fly only after raising their body temperatures above 85 degrees
Fahrenheit. On the other hand, too much sun can be detrimental.
An ideal location will receive plenty of sun throughout most of
the day but provide shade as well.
4. Provide Shelter
Design your garden to include features that provide protection from
cold and windy weather. A brick wall, the side of your home, or
a row of trees serves as an adequate windbreak on blustery days.
Look at your garden through the eyes of a butterfly before tidying.
Leaf litter will provide insulation during cold weather and during
hibernation, while twigs and logs grant refuge from predators and
harsh rains.
5. Create a Water Source
Butterflies need water and minerals in their diet. Instead of slurping
water they siphon it, along with nutrients, and salts, through their
straw-like mouths. Incorporate a water feature in your garden, or
adapt an existing feature to keep a small section of the ground
moist.
Following these five guidelines encourages
a healthy garden, alive with butterfly activity.
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