Butterfly Gardening 101:
inviting jewels of the garden
Part of the joy of gardening is the panoply of nature, as the insect and animal life discover the
riches of your plantings. As in all things, too much of a good thing in a garden is more like misery than joy- we don't want too much
of any plant, insect, or animal and rack our brains to diminish the over enthusiastic species! This article deals mainly with the ideal
of "Balance", inviting those birds and butterflies we so enjoy, and understanding that some of the others will find a place as well.
1st
First, you must make a choice to reduce or eliminate poisons such as pesticides. They do not distinguish between species, so when
you kill something you don't like you also harm butterflies, honeybees, and songbirds. (And unlucky pets, sometimes, too). A diverse
garden tends to be healthy, and mixed plantings of bird and butterfly friendly choices results in less need for chemical interventions,
usually. Within the scope of the hospitable garden is a whole range of garden features, so please take the plant information and ideas
from here and have a field day (literally) with your own creative ideas.
In reading lists of butterfly attracting plants, it appears that all will be equally attractive to all species.
In actual practice, I have found that specific plants often attract a certain type of butterfly, and suppose it ought to have been obvious.
Heliotrope, for instance, is filled all summer with the Painted Ladies. The parsley family and the umbels of dill draw Monarchs. As does the
Autumn clematis, which is also a haunt of the Tiger Swallowtails. Cecropia Moths love the white Mulberry tree leaves, and daisies are filled
with tiny Blues. An observant eye, particularly partnered with a journal will keep you busy discovering and expanding the possibilities of
your habitat.
I planted the butterfly bush, buddleia, last year for the first time.
This is a butterfly magnet! Its blossoms seem to attract any and all types of butterflies in a nonstop array.
Butterflies 101
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For those who have a smaller space to fill, we present our petite version of Madame Butterfly. Copper trim on the hand-shingled roof pops off for easy cleaning. Screw-on stake included; much fluttering to come. Dimensions 5" x 6" x 12"
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Butterflies are denizens of the meadow, and they seem to love the gardens that are closest to that environment.
Diverse plantings of annuals and perennials, in dooryards and cottage gardens, little meadow patches, borders of flowers, are all ideal.
The fountains, little ponds, and sprinklers that delight us are friendly to them, as well. Many of us have butterfly gardens without even
trying, but if you have a small space and desire butterflies, why not try some containers with heliotrope, petunia, calendula, and
baby zinnias (angustifolia)? Or a wild corner of the yard, with a white buddleia, achillea, blue erigeron, golden daylily, and gaillardia?
Fragrant, beautiful, and alive with butterflies.
Flowers in a Cottage Garden are many times old-fashioned types and they are planted in billowing
drifting groups. Think of puffy summer clouds, and wafting mists. Often this style of gardening is ideal for attracting and nurturing butterflies in the garden. The gardener can even tuck in plants such as milkweed in the back corners of the garden to provide for Monarch butterflies.
Poetic Moments
Butterfly poem
Hurt no living thing:
Ladybird, nor butterfly,
Nor moth with dusty wing...
Christina Georgina Rossetti
The gold-barr'd butterflies to and fro
And over the waterside wander'd and wove
As heedless and idle as clouds that rove
And drift by the peaks of perpetual snow.
- Joaquin Miller, Songs of the Sun-Lands--Isles of the Amazons
Some must-see sites on Butterflies:
a selection of pages on the web
Other sites of interest:
Cottage Garden: a haven for butterflies
Explore the Garden : here
or other parts of the site listed below
Plant Material
for Butterfly Gardens:
Try some of these other plants for butterflies:
Annual flowers:
Perennial plants:
Shrubs:
- BUTTERFLY BUSH
- buttonbush
- Sweet Pepperbush
- Lindera Benzoin
- Sweet Mock Orange
- Lilacs
- Potentillas
- Spireas
- Weigelas
- Viburnums
Make Your Garden
A Butterfly Destination
...a butterfly area is one that is worth making not just for your own delight (and what is more delightful than a butterfly floating upon the air, or delicately sipping from a flower?), but for the general environment as well.
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