Butterfly Gardens - Your Own Personal Eden

What is better than a beautiful flowering garden in the summertime that is alive with butterflies? Butterfly gardening is a hobby that is nature friendly and growing in popularity.  You don’t need to be an expect gardener or a butterfly specialist to enjoy a successful butterfly garden.  All you need is a general knowledge of butterflies and plants, combined with a little planning. This will allow you to spend hours enjoying the beauty of these fragile creatures.  To grow a successful butterfly garden, first you need to create an area that attracts butterflies.  Secondly, you need an area that will make butterflies want to stay.

Before you start, you need to know which butterflies reside in your area.  You can’t attract South American butterflies if you live in South Dakota!  A good website that lists native butterflies by state is www.butterfly--garden.com.  The next step is to find out what plants are native to your area and are easy to grow.  Your garden needs to have two different types of plants - flowering plants that provide nectar for the adults, and host plants for the caterpillars.  Pick plants that will bloom all summer long - especially in the mid to late summer, when most butterflies are active.  Most caterpillars eat leaves, but some also eat the reproductive parts of flowers and seeds.  Again, a little research into your local butterfly population will help you choose the proper plants.

In addition to food, butterflies need shelter from the wind, a source of water, and a sunny spot to rest.  Restrict your use of pesticides and the natural enemies of unwanted pests will increase.  Grow your garden organically to be butterfly friendly, and you will reap hours of enjoyment in your own personal eden!