Butterfly Gardens Are Easy!

My upcoming book is entitled The Dead Butterflies Diary. I’ve always been drawn to butterflies and so has Betsy, the little girl in the book who is determined to find out who killed all the butterflies in the garden and how–and then plant a new garden to bring the butterflies back. She’s a spunky kid and doesn’t let the taunts and teasing from her classmates get her down. As Betsy learned, the trick for attracting butterflies is really no trick at all, and anyone can do it. You just need to choose the plants that attract these “flying flowers” as some people call them. Butterflies add beauty to anyone’s garden, and
they help pollinate, too. They’re attracted to flowers with relatively flat tops, “landing pads,” in other words.  They cannot hover as hummingbirds do; they must plant their feet on the bloom in order to unfurl their proboscis to access the flower’s nectar. Of course Butterfly Bush is an obvious shrub that attracts them, but add to that zinnias, marigolds, alyssum, daisies, yarrow, nasturtiums, sunflowers, cosmos, asters, morning glories, coreopsis, scabiosa, verbena, lantana, oregano, nepeta, lavender, and many more. You’re probably familiar with most of these garden plants. And there are also the “weeds” like Queen Anne’s Lace and wild mustard, both butterfly favorites. Choose a sunny area and put in a diversity of plants which will attract different butterflies and create a long blooming period throughout spring, summer, and fall. Plant in masses if you have the space, and do not spray any pesticides. (Even some which are allegedly non-toxic have been found to affect butterflies.) Include a couple of heat-absorbing rocks useful for butterfly wing-warming, and add a muddy spot or puddle of water where the guys like to huddle to get their minerals. Plant them, and they will come, as Betsy found out–the right habitat plants for the butterflies. To the left is Betsy’s garden. Pretty, and pretty impressive!

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