Butterfly Gardens – How To Build Your Own Butterfly Garden

Butterfly gardens are a brilliant way to encourage lots of butterflies into your garden. I remember when I was little my dad and brother made me a ‘butterfly bench’ – it was surrounded by plants that butterflies love and I remember sitting on my bench watching the adorable insects. I’ve been interested in butterflies for ever so long, they’re just such fascinating creatures.

If you want to make your own butterfly garden there are certain things you will need to have in your garden:
– Sunny spots which are regularly warmed by the sun
– Shelter for the butterflies (Usually shrubs and trees)
– A good supply of nectar plants for the butterflies to feed off (these are usually the plants which attract them)
– Host plants – these are the plants the caterpillars live on and will be where the adult female lays her eggs.

And once you have all of these things there is a good chance that more and more butterflies will visit your garden and may even start breeding there.

So which plants attract butterflies? The Plants listed below are good nectar sources for many British butterflies.

  • Lavenda, (Lavandula).
  • Butterfly Bush, (Buddleja Davidi) also known as ‘Buddleja’, is a great plant which attracts many butterfly species including Peacocks, Painted Ladies and Meadow Browns. Butterfly Bush has purple, pink or white cone shaped clusters of flowers which butterflies love.
  • Sweet Rocket, (Hesperis matronalis).
  • Ivy (Hedera helix) provides nectar in the winter months for the few butterflies that don’t hibernate. This ever-green vine which climbs up walls and trees also provides perfect shelter for many of these butterflies..
  • Candytuft, (Iberis).
  • English Stinging Nettle, (Urtica dioico).
  • Common Butterfly Species (In The UK)

 

If you live in the UK, these are the butterflies that you will typically see.

  • Peacock Butterfly
  • Red Admiral
  • Painted Lady
  • Chequered Skipper
  • Essex Skipper
  • Chalkhill Blue
  • Meadow Brown
  • Cabbage White
  • Marbled White
  • Marsh Fritillary
  • Small Tortoiseshell

Some of the species may prefer certain climates, so you may not get all of these in your garden. Therefore you should find out which butterfly species live in your area. To find out the butterflies that can commonly be found in the different US states and other countries visit http://www.thebutterflysite.com/butterfly-gardening-by-area.shtml#States

If there’s a particular butterfly species you want to attract to your garden, do a little research to find out the plants that those butterflies particularly love – after all each butterfly is different!

Nectar Plant & Host Plants

Nectar Plants – these are the plants that the adults feed off. The list above of plants which attract butterflies are nectar plants.

Host Plants – these are the plants that the caterpillars will often hatch on and live on. Just before a female adult lays her eggs she’ll find a good plant that her babies will be able to eat and she’ll lay her eggs there. This maximises the chance of the caterpillars’ survival as they’ll have food very close by and won’t need to search for it.

Surprisingly the adult butterflies and caterpillars of the same species like different plants. For example adult Cabbage Whites like the following plants (for their nectar): Lavender, Day Lily, White Clover and Thyme. Yet the ‘host’ plants (that is the plants that the caterpillars like and often live on) are often the members of the mustard and cabbage family.

So if you want your garden to be a breeding ground for butterflies you need to include some host plants that the caterpillars like. Here are some good ‘host plants’ for some common species.

Painted Lady Butterfly Host Plants: Thistle, Hollyhock and Sunflower.
Red Admiral Host Plants: Nettles, Pellitory, False Nettles.
Chequered Skipper: Hollyhock, Mallow.

Caterpillars will eat a lot of their host plants, and it may even look like they’re destroying your plants, but don’t worry. It is necessary for the caterpillars to grow and survive. Remember adult butterflies are likely to visit your garden for longer if there are host plants.

Building Your Butterfly Garden

Before you build your butterfly garden you should make a plan. Consider how much sunlight your garden gets, which areas are in shade a lot of the time and how much rainfall you typically get. The plants you plant will have to be suited to your garden in order for them to survive.

Research the butterflies that you want to attract and provide their nectar plants and host plants. Remember species often like more than one plant so have a bit of variety.

Once you have planned your garden now’s the time to go and get those plants. Have a look around your local garden centre and ask members of staff if you can’t find what you’re looking for.

When you have your plants, plant them and give them a good watering in. Remember to mix the host plants in with the nectar plants, you don’t want them to far away. Butterflies will look to lay their eggs on host plants that are near the feeding plants.

Why not put in a seat for you so you can spend hours watching your butterflies? A simple log seat will do and will add to the authenticity of your garden and will also provide shelter for the butterflies.

And remember never to use insecticides on your garden. These will kill the caterpillars and butterflies, as they are insects.

Providing Extra Nectar

You can buy butterfly feeders to hang in your garden. These are similar to bird feeders and contain nectar.

Butterfly Houses

These are similar to bat houses and provide shelter for butterflies at night and in cold, windy weather. These houses have small slits to let the butterflies in and keep birds and bats out.

Don’t have a garden? Don’t worry! You can still create a mini butterfly garden in a window box or in a hanging basket by your window. You’ll have to decide whether you want to provide nectar plants or host plants, or a mixture of both. These gardens are great as the butterflies will often be right next to your house and you’ll have a perfect view of them from inside your own house.

Once you have your butterfly garden set up you’ll likely have to wait a few days to a few weeks for the butterflies to find your garden. But once they do, they’ll most likely stick around if you’ve provided the plants they love.

If for some reason you don’t see any butterflies at all, consider buying a live butterfly kit. This allows you to raise caterpillars yourself, watch them form chrysalids and emerge as butterflies. Then you let them go in your garden and it is likely that they’ll stick around for some time and may even breed in your garden. Live butterfly kits should only be bought buy adults and if they’re for children, adults should always supervise. Remember these are live creatures and should be looked after responsibly. Live butterfly kits are great fun as you can observe the caterpillars/chrysalids/butterflies for as long as you want, yet the butterflies should be released into the wild – you can’t keep them forever. (Always follow the instructions).

Good luck with your butterfly garden!

July 23, 2011 · Maddia (Admin) · Comments Closed
Tags: , , , , , , ,  Â· Posted in: Butterfly Information, Butterfly Species