Butterfly Gardening

Butterfly gardening is not only a joy, it is one way that you can help restore declining butterfly populations. Simply adding a few new plants to your backyard may attract dozens of different butterflies, according to landscape designers at the University of Guelph.

Butterflies, like honeybees, are excellent pollinators and will help increase your flower, fruit and vegetable production if you provide them with a variety of flowers and shrubs. They are also beautiful to watch, and are sometimes called "flowers on the wing."

- Begin by seeding part of your yard with a wildflower or butterfly seed mix, available through seed catalogues and garden centers. Wildflowers are a good food source for butterflies and their caterpillars.

- Choose simple flowers over double hybrids. They offer an easy-to-reach nectar source.

- Provide a broad range of flower colors. Some butterflies like oranges, reds and yellows while others are drawn toward white, purple or blue flowers.

- Arrange wildflowers and cultivated plants in clumps to make it easier for butterflies to identify them as a source of nectar.

- If caterpillars are destroying favorite plants, transfer them by hand to another food source. Avoid the use of pesticides, which can kill butterflies and other beneficial insects.

- Some common caterpillar food sources are asters, borage, chickweed, clover, crabgrass, hollyhocks, lupines, mallows, marigold, milkweed or butterfly weed, nasturtium, parsley, pearly everlasting, ragweed, spicebush, thistle, violets and wisteria. Caterpillars also thrive on trees such as ash, birch, black locust, elm and oak.

- Annual nectar plants include ageratum, alyssum, candy tuft, dill, cosmos, pinks, pin cushion flower, verbena and zinnia.

- Common perennial nectar plants include chives, onions, pearly everlasting, chamomile, butterfly weed, milkweeds, daisies, thistles, purple coneflower, sea holly, blanket flower, lavender, marjoram, mints, moss phlox, sage, stonecrops, goldenrod, dandelion and valerian.

Remember that butterflies are cold-blooded insects that bask in the sun to warm their wings for flight and to orient themselves. They also need shelter from the wind, a source of water, and partly shady areas provided by trees and shrubs.

Copyright © 2005 Jane Lake

About the Author: Jane Lake is a professional writer whose articles have appeared in Canadian Living, You, Modern Woman, and Highlights magazines. See more information on butterflies in her article, Butterfly Gardens: How to Attract Butterflies to Your Garden and learn how to make your own butterfly food and butterfly feeders in Butterfly Food.

---

Environmentally Safe Ways to Remove Weeds

There is a lot of concern about herbicides and what they are doing to our environment. Large amounts of chemicals leech into our groundwater polluting our water... Read More

How To Grow Luscious Tomatoes

The tomato is the most commonly grown vegetable in the States. Here are some tips on how to grow your own bountiful crop of tomatoes.Tomatoes should be... Read More

The Garden As Healer

The word for 'paradise' comes from the Persian word for a garden and has always meant the same thing in every culture. It is representative of 'paradise... Read More

Feng Shui in the Garden

"The Ancient Art of Placement" called Feng Shui (pronounced phung schway) literally means 'wind' and 'water.' The Chinese believe this cosmic energy, called Chi or 'the green... Read More

Bottle Gardening or Terrarium - Design and Maintenance

Women take pride in home decoration and gardening and want some unique and prized possessions that are not part of the neighboring dwellings. Gardening offers opening as... Read More

Hills and Holes: Not Part of Your Landscaping Design?

Do pests 'gopher' your lawn? Chances are, if you have a lawn, you risk the chance of having pests, such as the gopher and his cousin the... Read More

Multi Purpose Tree ? Sugar Palm

Palm family is unique in the aspect that most of its members have muli purpose benefits to the mankind, unrivalled by few other trees. There are several... Read More

Tips for Choosing a Chiminea for Your Backyard or Patio

Imagine that you want to stay warm in your backyard on a cool, starry night. One of the ways you can do so is to invest in... Read More

Preparing Successful Seedlings

Growing your own seedlings is very gratifying and far more economic than purchasing them. It also gives you far greater control over your existing growing conditions.Vegetable seeds... Read More

Colour in the Garden

Colour affects our emotions, moods, physical, and spiritual well-being. It has a significant effect on everything we eat, drink, and touch and influences our physical environment including... Read More

Science Cant Explain Everything!

You will know that if you have spent at least some time reflecting on the world around you, some things cannot be explained in purely scientific terms.... Read More

Fall is the Time to Get Your Garden Trees and Shrubs Ready for Winter: Heres What to Do

Tips for winter care of trees and shrubsWith the garden season drawing to a close, it's awfully tempting to forget about your plants. But you should continue... Read More

The Design Principle of Unity in Gardening and Landscaping

A principle of all art is unity. This means that each piece of art has one meaning. Creating landscaping or a flower garden should also incorporate this... Read More

Grey Water- Not Drinking Water- For Your Garden

The average home can reduce their water consumption by around 30% by re-using grey water on their garden.The figures are compelling. Sure, they vary from household to... Read More

Vermicomposting - Worm Composters For Eco-Friendly Waste Disposal and Recycling

Worms are not only the gardener's best friend, they are also the recycler's new found best friend as well. Nature's little waste disposal experts have found a... Read More

Organic Hydroponics - Simplified

These days, it's easy to get lost in the wealth of knowledge available on hydroponics cultivation. The dizzying collection of fertilizers, additives and supplement doesn't necessarily help... Read More

Fall Garden Chores for Spring Flowering Bulbs

As the school busses begin to rumble down the road again we are reminded that the gardening season is drawing to a close. For the gardener with... Read More

Garden Swings Create an Enchanted Garden Setting

Nothing invites one to sit and enjoy a lovingly created and tended garden quite the way that a garden swing does. Only from the perch of a... Read More

A Rose is a Rose?

There are many varied definitions of what each color of rose symbolizes. Florists and floral experts alike will agree that flowers hold the meaning we give them... Read More

Pruning the Backyard Grapevine

Proper pruning of your backyard grapevines is essential to maintain vine size, shape, and yield of the grapes. If you don't prune your vines, they will become... Read More

Beauty With Indigenous Species

A garden a serves a man's every day need for s refreshing and pleasent experience.We have to appreciate that the garden serves as a home not only... Read More

Garden Sheds: Wood Finishing and Weatherproofing Tips

To keep wood garden sheds, arbors, or trellises looking their best, consider using a wood finishing product such as sealer, stain, or outdoor paint. Wood finishing protects... Read More

Organic or Chemical Feeding of Plants - Whats Best

A fundamental question in vegetable gardening is - what is the proper use of organic and/or chemical materials? Let's determine the truth of the matter, with four... Read More

Rose - The Flower of Love and Romance

What is the flower that everyone visualizes and associates with love or romance? ‘Rose’ is the instant answer by anyone. The rose is placed on a high... Read More

Porch Swing Places: Where to Put a Porch Swing

So you've purchased a Porch Swing (or are about to) and you plan to hang it on the Porch? Not so fast!Where you install your Porch Swing... Read More

Basic Lawn Care - Mowing, Scarifiers, Aeration, and Watering Tips

The arrival of summer heralds a time of increased wear and tear for the average garden lawn. Children's yard games, barbecue parties, outdoor sports and generally more... Read More