How to Build a Butterfly Garden
What’s more beautiful than a garden full of flowers? Well, a garden full of flowers and fluttering butterflies. These winged creatures are considered some of the most beautiful insects on Earth. If you want to create a butterfly garden, know that butterflies need at least six hours of sunlight, drinking water, and shelter from the wind.
Tips for Attracting Butterflies
Placing rocks in sunny spots throughout the garden will provide beautiful places for butterflies to rest and sun themselves. If your garden doesn’t have natural ponds, fill a small, shallow bowl with water or get a bucket of sand and fill it with water until the sand is nice and moist. This way, the butterfly doesn’t have to fly far to drink. Finally, plant flowers that attract butterflies.
Which Flowers Attract Butterflies?
Zinnias
Asclepias
Marigolds
Asters
Purple Coneflowers
1. Zinnias
Zinnias attract a broad large of butterflies.
Butterflies Attracted to Zinnias
Cloudless Sulfurs
Painted Ladies
Glassy Wings
The cloudless sulfur is a beautiful yellow butterfly native to all 48 contiguous states, Mexico and southern Canada. The Painted Lady is known for its ornate brown patterns, with splashes of color in its wings. These beauties usually live only in the tropics, although they sometimes migrate to warmer regions. The tiny glasswings are native to all 48 U.S. states. Many other butterflies are attracted to zinnia plants.
How to Plant Zinnias
Zinnias are easy to grow. Its attraction to such a wide range of butterflies makes it an ideal flower to have in your garden. It can bloom from fall until the first frost and longer if protected from frost.
You will need to plant these seeds in a very sunny area that gets at least six hours of sun per day in the spring. Before planting, the land must be well plowed and fertilized. Then separate the zinnias according to the height of the seed you purchased. The distance should be 4 inches for dwarf zinnias and 2 feet for giant zinnias.
You will need to deadhead the flowers regularly, which will keep them blooming because they will stop blooming once they start to seed. Also make sure to water it after the soil dries.
2. Asclepias
Asclepias are also known as butterfly weeds and butterfly flowers due to their high attractiveness to butterflies.
Butterflies Attracted to Asclepias
Monarchs
Cabbage Whites
Eastern Tiger Swallowtails
Great Spangled Fritillaries
Pearl Crescents
All monarch butterflies are native to North America. Monarchs are migratory, staying south in the winter and traveling north in the summer. Monarch butterflies also use Asclepias to lay their eggs, making them a must-have in your butterfly garden.
How to grow Asclepias
It is easier to grow asclepia from scratch rather than from seeds. The ideal start would be small with fresh shoots or leaves, as they will grow best once planted. Spring or summer is the best season to start planting these beautiful flowers, although these hearty flowers can recover well into the fall.
Choose a location that gets plenty of sun and well-drained soil. When planting, space them about a foot apart. Once planted, it will need to be watered well. Late winter to early spring is when you want to cut off any dead stems. Butterfly weeds will begin to grow again in late spring.
3. Marigolds
Marigold flowers, with their bright colors and strong scent, attract a wide variety of butterflies, making them a great choice in a butterfly garden.
Butterflies Attracted to Marigolds
Eastern Tiger Hayhurst’s Scallopwings
Red Admirals
American Ladies
Zabulons
Ocola Skippers
How to grow marigolds
In early spring, you will want to visit your local nursery and look for well-developed flower flats. Marigolds need plenty of direct sunlight. Therefore, a site that receives at least six hours of daylight is best for balls.
Once the dirt is loosened and loosened, space the marigolds at a distance based on their size. Larger marigolds need 18 inches of spacing, while smaller varieties need 5 inches. Make sure to remove dead buds before planting so the flowers will continue to bloom.
4. Asters
Asters attract a large number of butterflies.
Butterflies Attracted to Asters
Question Marks
Common Sulphurs
American Painted Ladies
American Snouts
Black Swallowtails
Question marks often live in wooded areas, so if you live in a wooded area, asters are a great choice. Many others are also found in North America.
How to Plant Asters
Depending on the type of asters you buy, it can range from 8 inches to 8 feet tall. It is ideal for places with cool and humid summers. Nursery plants should be planted one to three feet apart in the spring, depending on how tall they eventually grow. Taller types should be spaced further apart than shorter types. You’ll need to plant tall varieties to keep the stems healthy and long.
It’s important to water asters regularly, especially if you live in a dry climate. If it rains less than an inch per week, you will need to water it. Every 2-3 years, you will need to divide the plants to keep them healthy and strong.
5. Purple Coneflowers
If you live in any of the 48 contiguous states in the United States, excluding the southernmost areas of California, Texas and Florida, purple coneflower is a great flower to plant.
Butterflies Attracted to Purple Coneflowers
Common Wood-Nymphs
The common Wood-Nymphs is a beautiful brown butterfly that appears to have eyes on its wings. Purple coneflowers attract other types of butterflies as well as hummingbirds.
How to grow purple coneflower.
These flowers need at least six hours of full sun per day, so look for a nice, sunny location. Purple coneflowers grow easily if you plant them early, at least 18 to 24 inches apart.
Although these flowers are drought-tolerant, you will need to make sure to water them during the first few weeks, allowing them to settle well into the ground.
Practice patience.
Creating a butterfly garden can be incredibly rewarding when you watch your first wings flap. By creating a butterfly sanctuary, you encourage more butterflies to visit your garden. Be patient while the butterflies search your garden and continue to care for it for many years. As the years pass, it will become a haven for butterflies.
