How to Plan a Butterfly Garden

Butterflies are attracted to a rich variety of sun-loving plants that
bloom over a long season. Bone up on the species common to your
area and then invite them to stay by providing food, water and shelter.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Select a warm, sunny site sheltered from high winds. Butterflies need sun to keep warm, and most of the nectar-rich plants they sip from--black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), aster, joe-pye weed (Eupatorium), gay-feather (Liatris), butterfly bush (Buddlea), purple coneflower (Echinacea), butterfly weed (Asclepias) and coreopsis-- grow best in full sun.

2. Grow plants upon which adult butterflies lay their eggs and caterpillars (the larval stage of butterflies) dine. Each type of butterfly searches for specific plant species among weeds, vegetables, perennials, shrubs and trees. Most caterpillars feed on leaves.

3. Maintain a mud puddle or a patch of moist sand in the garden. You can fill a bowl with wet sand and sink it to ground level. Arrange some flat stones near flowers and at the edge of the puddle for butterflies to bask on and heat up their wing muscles.

Tips & Warnings

• Xerces.org is a good source of information on butterfly gardening.
• Use nontoxic solutions to manage pests in your garden. Pesticides are deadly to caterpillars and butterflies.