Butterfly friendly plants are a great way to attract these beautiful insects to your garden. Check out these butterfly attracting plants and learn what you can plant in your own backyard!
Attracting butterflies to the garden is a quick and easy way to give your outdoor space some life.
Butterflies are beautiful creatures that will add beauty to any flower bed or vegetable garden, but they also serve a purpose in controlling pests. One of the best ways you can attract these amazing insects is by planting butterfly friendly plants.
You should plant many flowers that are native to your region because not all species of butterflies thrive across regions. These plants will provide nectar for adults as well as food for larvae when they hatch from eggs laid on the leaves of host plants.
Put out a garden to attract butterflies! These colorful, delicate creatures will enjoy the flowers you plant and provide them with food. They need water nearby too so make sure there's an irrigation system installed or that they have access to natural sources of drinking water like puddles.
Butterflies are wonderful for pollination of your flower beds, and they're also a great way to make you feel good. If you want more butterflies in your life, here are some ways to attract them into your garden!
What to Plant in Your Garden to Attract Butterflies
There are many ways you can attract them to your yard or garden area including planting flowers that will bloom all year round like nasturtiums, cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds; placing native plants with nectar-producing flowers such as butterfly bushes (Buddleia), goldenrod (Solidago), milkweed (Asclepias) near water sources; adding stone paths or rock gardens for skippers who prefer these environments; planting low growing shrubs such as hollyhocks.
The Buddleia is a popular plant for gardeners who want to attract butterflies. The bushes come in white, purple and mauve shades so you can find one that suits your yard's color scheme perfectly. What makes the buds unique are their sweet scent as well as long spikes which make it easy for insects like bees or birds but also have an eye-catching quality.
Its length (and sweet smell) means bugs such as honeybees or songbirds will love this pretty flower too!
Other ideal shrubs are Escallonia, Syringa, Lilac and Berberis; all of these have tubular or trumpet-shaped individual flowers. This makes it easy for butterflies to reach into the flower and sip some sweet nectar, which they love!
Lavender is another plant that butterflies love with its sweet scent and purple blooms.Plant them along pathways or at the edges of borders where they can access it and many common wildflowers such as foxgloves, meadow cranesbill, toadflax, and sweet violet are also loved by these delicate creatures.
In order to attract butterflies, you must have food plants for their caterpillars. One of the best choices is a nettle patch as it attracts both Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell varieties in particular.
Nettles have a multitude of uses and are great for attracting butterflies. They provide nectar to the adult butterfly, while also providing food for their caterpillars in the form of leaves. Plant a nettle patch on your property or look out for an obscure place that can be transformed into a lovely nectar garden!
Things to Consider When Choosing Plants for Your Butterfly Garden
The first thing you need to consider when choosing plants for your butterfly garden is what type of butterflies will be attracted. For example, Skippers are drawn towards herbs like marjoram and hyssop, while the Small Tortoiseshell goes crazy over Red Valerian or Wild Wallflower.
Verbena bonariensis will not only attract butterflies, particularly the Monarch and Comma varieties but it self-seeds so you can enjoy free plants year after year.
With the right plants, even your small garden can be a haven for butterflies. For example- if you have room in your yard, plant either Rowan or Blackthorn bush and they will attract Brimstone butterflies to it with their nectar from flowers on its branches.
However--even without these trees planted outside of our homes we could still make ourselves havens for this beautiful winged creature by planting herbs that are loved by them such as marjoram which attracts Gatekeeper Butterflies, Meadow Brown and Small Copper butterflies; thyme is beloved among Common Blue Butterflies + more!
Of course, all gardens have room for a few annuals. This is because they add bright colors and provide nectar to the butterflies that visit in summertime--just plant cosmos, zinnia, and aster this year! Plant hollyhocks along with passionflower as host plants so your garden will be crawling with caterpillars next season.
It takes a lot of time and effort to grow the best garden, but it’s really not that hard to attract butterflies. All you need is some patience and an understanding of what flowers are most attractive for these flying insects. Did you know there are even butterfly-specific plants? If so, then plan your butterfly garden today!
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