With spring in full swing, butterflies will inevitably take an interest in your garden. What better way than to create ways to attract more butterflies to your garden?
Image Credit: Unsplash
A butterfly garden is a popular feature in the home garden landscape and has become a goal for some gardeners. Butterfly gardens are more than just an aesthetic choice to bring colour to your garden they can also greatly benefit the health of your garden plants. So before you embark on this creative unique way of gardening, it is key to understand what butterfly gardening is.
What Is a Butterfly Garden?
In simpler terms, it is a way to design a garden that includes plants that attract butterflies. An area for butterflies to feed and thrive whilst helping with pollinating your plants. A well-thought-out butterfly garden has to accommodate a variety of butterfly species at each stage of their life cycle.
The butterflies will be active in your garden from spring to late summer when plant growth is optimum. Although they are not hard to create or maintain, these ideas will help you ensure both plants and butterflies flourish.
Image Credit: Pexels
Ways for creating a butterfly garden
1. Choose the right location
When deciding to plant any butterfly-attracting plants, make sure the area you are choosing gets a good amount of morning sunlight. Most plants that provide the most nectar for butterflies need 6 to 8 hours of full sun to thrive.
2. Plant attractive perennials
The traditional flowers in most butterfly gardens always include brightly coloured plants with shallow blossoms that allow easy nectar access. Plants flowers that are good nectar plants and host plants, so that the butterflies can lay their eggs.
3. Include shelter areas
Butterflies also need shelter from wind and rain and usually seek out trees and shrubs that can provide shade and resting places.
4. A good water source
Better known as puddling stations, these are essential to help butterflies stay hydrated and receive vitamins. A nice shallow dish filled with pebbles and water can act as a drinking station on hot days, helping them stay hydrated.
5. Avoid harmful pesticides
Most pesticides will harm or kill butterflies and that is not what you want for your growing butterfly garden.
ALSO SEE:
Feature image: Pexels
Originally published in Garden&Home Magazine.
