It’s no surprise why people love butterfly gardens… happy butterflies will add breathtaking color and activity to your garden.

Contrary to what most people think, they’re not difficult at all to plan. You just have to understand the needs of a butterfly!

And lucky for you, I know because I used to *be* one!... Just kidding... or am I? =)

When designing your butterfly garden there are two important things to consider:

1. The first and most important thing is sunlight. Butterflies *love* to bask in the warm sun.

2. They also need a place to gather nectar, minerals and moisture. (Believe it or not, butterflies can’t drink water the way we do. They get hydration through moist soil!)

There’s one other important thing that beginners often forget: not only do you need to place your butterfly garden in a sunny spot but it also needs to be protected from the wind!

(Hey, you and I would need protection from the wind too if we weighed as little as those little guys! :))

The best way to do this is to surround your garden with a fence, hedge, wall, house, etc. Bottom line is that they need protection from the wind!

Types Of Plants And Shrubs That Attract Butterflies

Planting a nice variety of trees, shrubs, flower plants and nectar-providing plants is the best way to ensure your butterfly garden will thrive.

Wildflowers and perennials are personal favorites of the butterfly and a great source of nectar.

They can also get nectar from shrubs or trees.

Here are the popular ones:

Buckeye, Buttonbush, Butterfly Bush (think that name is coincidence? ?), Blueberry, Hawthorn, Pear, Plum, Silverling, Summersweet and Viburnum.

Wildflowers

You can also try these wildflowers: the Butterfly Weed, Coneflowers, Milkweeds, Spearmint and Verbena.

Perennials

Perennials that attract butterflies are: Aster, Bee-balm, Black-eyed Susan, Bugle, Butterfly Weed, Chives, Coneflower, Daisy, Gayfeather, Goldenrod, Hibiscus, Hollyhock, Ironweed, Milkweed, Passion Flower, and Sage.

Plants

Some annuals you might plant for your butterflies: Cosmos, Impatiens, Marigold, Nasturtium, Sunflower, Queen Anne's Lace, Verbena and Zinnia.

You really need to have flowers blooming in by late summer – that’s when most of your butterflies will be active.

A good rule of thumb is to plant your taller plants and flowers behind the shorter ones. (This gives your garden a nice view and ensures that you’ll be able to see plenty of butterflies!)

Warning: You should *never* use chemical insecticides in your butterfly garden. Doing so will kill the butterflies you’re trying to attract!

Plants That Will Help Your Butterflies Reproduce

The way butterflies reproduce is by laying eggs on ‘host plants’.

You’ll want to make sure you have a sample of these in your butterfly garden:

Sweet Fennel, Citrus, Dill, Parsley, Carrot, Snapdragons, Plants from the mustard/cabbage family, Hackberry, Broccoli, Sunflowers, Willow, Milkweed, Alfalfa, Thistle

The type of host plant will depend on the type of butterflies that are native to your area.

And Now Let’s Wrap Things Up!

We talked about everything a butterfly needs to thrive in your garden – shelter, protection, moisture, sunlight, nectar and a place to lay eggs.

If you pay attention to this article and provide your butterflies with the conditions they need, they’ll find your garden and call it home in no time!

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