Butterfly Gardening

Fluttering. Fleeting. It is the ephemeral nature of butterflies that captures our imagination...that “now you see it-now you don't” quality that makes them so special in our gardens. With a little extra thought and planning you can increase their presence in your yard.

Understanding butterfly behavior is the key to experiencing more of those "oh, look!" moments as they swoop and flit among your plantings.

Providing a source of nectar is the primary concern. Butterflies are said to prefer flowers of reds, oranges and purples, and large plantings of one variety. This was proven when my long border of chives attracted clouds of painted ladies and red admirals sunrise to sundown.

The best nectar plants also have the advantage of being tough easy-growing natives; butterfly weed, purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, liatris, coreopsis, aster and Joe-Pye weed. Annuals like penta and lantana can attract butterflies, even in small container gardens. Add the obvious: butterfly bush, and you have a butterfly banquet! But the list doesn't stop there by any means.

There is a dark side to butterfly gardening. You've probably all been there; watching a striped caterpillar devour your dill, a green worm coveting your cabbage. Providing larval food plants is another part of butterfly gardening if you want.

Some butterflies prefer rotted fruit or carrion. That explains the ones feasting off black bananas in my compost pile.

Butterflies fly best at a body temp of 85-100 degrees, so the butterfly plantings should have a sunny location. Rocks, reflective surfaces and evergreens give butterflies places for basking, important for raising and maintaining that temperature. Males use mud as a source of minerals and salts, this is called puddling.

Any pesticides used in the garden will reduce butterfly numbers. They should be used, as always, with care and caution only when needed. Consider alternative controls for insect pests.

Following these guidelines should not only attract butterflies to your garden but in turn produce more butterflies for the future.