Flowers for Butterflies

A butterfly garden or habitat is easy to grow at home if you design and plant flowers with butterflies in mind from the start. Many flowers attract colorful butterflies with their nectar and certain plants serve as welcome food sources for the butterfly larvae or caterpillars. When you design and plant a butterfly garden or back yard butterfly habitat, it is important to provide nectar for the adults as well as larval food sources for the babies (larvae or caterpillars or some folks call them worms). You may also want to set out the butterfly welcome mat by providing special environmental features as well. Follow this guide to design a flower filled butterfly habitat garden in your back yard.

Butterflies Love these Flowers and Plants

Planting flowers en masse or in large drifts helps butterflies notice them. If you can provide flowers in bloom all season, especially native plants, this will help attract a wider range of the butterflies found in your local area. When you design your butterfly garden you might begin with a butterfly bush (Buddleia). Surround the bush with perennials such as purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), Brazilian verbena (Verbena bonariensis), daylily (Hemerocallis), catmint (Nepeta), lavender, phlox, goldenrod, ironweed (Vernonia), asters, and sedums. Plant a generous swathe of annuals including zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, sweet alyssum and cleome along with lantana. (Lantana is perennial in some areas, annual in others, and butterflies love it.)

Butterfly Larvae (Caterpillars) Eat Leaves

Butterfly larvae are voracious eaters, so be prepared for some damage to your butterfly food plants. This is normal and the plants will usually survive it. Parsley, dill and bronze fennel are wonderful food sources as are the butterfly weed and milk weed plants (both Asclepias). You may find that larvae devour your Virginia creeper vine or munch on your hollyhock leaves, but this is to be expected. If the chewed look bothers you, consider planting these in an out of the way area of the yard.

Do Not Spray or Treat with Harmful Chemicals

Butterflies and caterpillars are insects and can be affected by chemical sprays or dusts – even organic products. Systemic chemicals can harm caterpillars that munch on plants. Be sure to read the label directions and safety information on any product before you use it on your butterfly habitat. Butterfly gardening means you need to protect them by avoiding harmful exposure.

Treat Butterflies to Mud Baths and Rotting Fruit

Butterflies drink by slurping mud, so providing a sloppy, muddy watering hole is the equivalent of a butterfly spa in their environment. (A shallow pan of damp sand or gravel will also do the job, providing water and minerals for the butterflies.) Add the occasional piece of rotting fruit and you have provided true butterfly nirvana. Toads and birds may enjoy these features, too.

Butterflies Need Sun, Warmth and Wind Protection

On cool mornings, butterflies need to warm themselves in the sun before flying. A convenient flat rock or possibly a concrete garden bench situated in the warming morning sunshine makes a nice addition to the butterfly garden. Similarly, butterflies need protection from harsh weather, sweeping winds and thundering rainstorms. Your dense shrubbery and thoughtfully supplied brush pile make great spots for over wintering, too.

Enjoy Your Butterfly Garden Habitat

Butterflies fly about or swarm most actively during the warm part of midday, roughly from ten to two when the air tends to be still, during the summer months. Be sure to plant your butterfly garden in a sunny area that is sheltered from the wind to encourage their daily visits. Use this guide to design a natural butterfly habitat and get ready to sit back and enjoy the flowers – and the butterfly garden display!

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