How to Attract Butterflies to Your Garden

Butterflies are a beautiful accessory to have in your garden, but how do you get them to be a permanent fixture and not an occasional visitor? It is as simple as planting the right flowers under the right conditions to keep the fluttering guests coming by.

Nectar producing flowers are what attract butterflies because nectar is what they use for food. It is best to plant a variety of nectar producing flowers to keep and hold their interests. Violets, Lavender, Shasta Daisies, and Black-eyed Susan's are all perennial plants that will keep butterflies coming back year after year. These flowers should be planted in large groups so that they are offered a variety of colors and smells.

Gardens that keep butterflies as permanent residents are gardens that provide some shelter for them. Large bushes and trees provide protection from the elements and make butterflies feel more at home in your garden.

Along with attracting them to your garden, you can also choose to make your garden into a more permanent home for butterflies by planting host plants. Host plants are flowers on which butterflies lay their eggs. Once you have attracted butterflies to your garden, identify what butterflies are frequenting your flowers. Then look up what kind of flower your butterflies use a host plants and offer them a more lasting home.

There are accessories that you can easily add that will keep butterflies comfortable. Any surface that they can lie flat on to bask in the sun is an easy addition. This can be anything that collects heat like a wooden block or rock big enough to accommodate a few butterflies. You can also place butterfly feeders, similar to hummingbird feeders but much smaller, made up of sugar and water in the trees that surround your garden. Butterfly Gardening by Vera Krischik suggests making up a bowl of wet sand or making a small mud puddle to further attract them.

At our home, the butterfly garden is made up of mainly Butterfly Weed that is planted underneath a medium sized tree. It is next to the driveway and the butterflies often attracted to the heat of the driveway. It is a beautiful sight to watch several butterflies make our small bed of flowers their home as they flutter from bloom to bloom. They do not appear to be disturbed by my presence if I sit out right by them and watch them for a few moments of their day. It is extremely calming to possess a sanctuary not only for the butterflies, but also for yourself.

Source: Vera Krischi- Creating a Butterfly Garden- http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/DG6711e.html