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Butterfly Gardens for Pollinators

Attract Beneficial Insects by Growing Native Plants

Jun 18, 2008

Butterfly gardens are easy to grow and attract beneficial insects. Understanding these pollinators will help when creating a flower garden for butterflies.

Butterflies are attracted to bright colors like reds, oranges, pinks, yellows, blues and purples. Sweet strongly scented plants that will provide nectar are a butterfly’s food source. The host plants provide a place for female butterflies to lay their eggs and as a food source for the caterpillars.

Native Plants for Butterflies

A complete butterfly garden should include host and nectar filled flowering plants. Gardeners should research plants for species of butterflies found locally. Begin with a reliable resource list of native plants.

The host plants include many herbs such as fennel, dill, oregano, rue and parsley. Other host plants are fleece flower, nasturtium, New England aster, lupine, milkweed, hollyhocks, rudbeckia, sunflowers and violets.

Butterflies seeking nectar prefer plants whose flower heads, called inflorescences, are flat-topped shaped clusters. Here is a collection of plants found in butterfly gardens:

Annuals – ageratum, alyssum, calendula, lantana, morning glory, petunias, verbena and zinnias.
Bulbs - allium, muscari.
Perennials – blue indigo, butterfly weed, campanula, Echinacea purpurea, daylilies, delphinium, heuchera, joe pye weed, liatris, monarda, peonies, salvias and yarrow.

Trees that attract early spring butterflies include dogwoods, malus, prunus species, and willows. Add shrubs to a butterfly garden by using buddleia in purple or pink, caryopteris, clethralmifolia, hibiscus, rose of sharon or weigela.

Oases for Butterflies

Butterfly gardens can be in garden beds or container gardens. Gardeners can use any style or technique for growing plants. Butterfly gardens should be placed in calm sunny locations. The perfect garden for butterflies will have a slightly unkempt weedy appearance. Some gardeners use the area where host plants are growing for such a purpose.

A butterfly garden should also contain a shallow place and a flat dry surface. Create a small puddle in a low-lying area of the garden, kept slightly muddy, and a gardener may see a butterfly quenching its thirst. A hard flat stone or rock for butterflies to rest and sun themselves will complete the garden.

Rain gardens can have a duel purpose by choosing flowering plants that will attract butterflies, too. Some plants chosen for butterflies will not tolerate a wet environment. These plants twill grow at the outer edges of a rain garden.

Beneficial Insects

Butterflies are beneficial insects, also called pollinators. Butterflies move from plant to plant collecting nectar and, accidentally, pollinating plants. A butterfly’s unintended consequence benefits plants and, therefore, human beings. Species of butterflies live in many parts of the world and the plants they are attracted to can be as diverse. Learn about local beneficial insects and build a garden with plants they will visit.

The copyright of the article Butterfly Gardens for Pollinators in Flower Gardens is owned by Christine Eirschele. Permission to republish Butterfly Gardens for Pollinators in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.