Gardening for Butterflies

Today, people are planting more flowers to attract butterflies to their gardens and yards than they used to. Butterflies are colorful, and are an enjoyable addition to the yard. If you would like to attract butterflies to your yard, you must first know what species of butterflies are in your part of the country. Knowing what you are trying to attract will help in learning what types of flowers you need to provide for them.

Butterflies are often attracted to different types of flowers depending upon their maturity. The adults will need nectar producing plants, while the babies will need what is called a "host plant" for food. All butterflies require water, so having a mud puddle available for them to drink from is a necessity.

Take the black swallowtail for instance; their young feed on host plants such as parsley, dill, and fennel.  Their sources of nectar come from plants such as alfalfa, aster, and buddleia. If these butterflies are in your area, and these plants are provided in a sunny spot out of the wind, you are most likely going to have them visit your garden.

Butterflies prefer gardens that have long hours of sunlight, and places for them to light. The butterflies will land on rocks and other stationary items to rest and soak up the warmth of the sun. They do not like to be in windy locations, so some type of wind block may be necessary, which can be a tall variety of plant as a border. Having what they enjoy will attract them, and keep them coming back.