What is butterfly gardening?

A butterfly garden is a garden with plants that are chosen specifically for their ability to attract these colorful bugs. If you can create a safe environment for your butterflies, then. Keep in mind that if you own cats or if there are outside cats in your neighborhood, that they can pose a threat to the safety of your visiting butterflies.

Designing a butterfly garden works much the same as designing any other garden in that you need to think about size, what kind of flowers you need, etc… Pick a style of garden that appeals to you, but ensure it also contains the plants and flowers that appeal to the butterflies you wish to attract.

Butterflies won’t be attracted to just any type of flower that you plant. You can find out which plants will grow in your area and attract butterflies by checking out your local library or asking a landscaper.

To create the kind of environment that they find attractive, you will also need water of some kind. A birdbath will look attractive and keep the butterflies up off the ground, away from stray cats or mischievous puppies. A shallow dish on a post or hung in a tree will do just as well.

When planting your butterfly garden, be careful how you coordinate the colors you choose for your flowerbeds. While the butterflies might not care, you probably don’t want your garden to be a mismatched pile of random flowers. Butterflies like flowers that have nectar instead of pollen,  such as honeysuckle, Daises, Lavender, and others.

Some people like  to draw and color  or Photoshop a layout of their butterfly gardening plan to see what the finished product would look like. Flashy colors such as red and orange really pop against a strong green background. Cool colors such as blue and purple are soothing and toned down and would work better with a white contrast to create the look of freshness and brightness.

When making a butterfly garden, the choices of what to embody in your butterfly garden design and style are limitless. Below are some suggestions to assist you begin. They are intended to ignite the creative process of your mind and get you started on your way to creating a lovely butterfly garden.

Before developing your butterfly garden

Discover which species of butterflies are in your area. Consider having an exploratory hike around your local area with a butterfly book guide. This may take some extra time and effort, however the outcomes satisfying. Once you have created your list of local butterfly species, be sure to jot down in your butterfly garden plan what these specific species of butterflies use for nectar and food plants.

Know that your garden is in a place that provides at least 6 hours of sunlight each day. Butterflies are cold-blooded creatures and thus do better where they are warm and sheltered.

The wind is usually a butterfly’s worst enemy so make sure to have plenty of wind protection in your design. You may grow tall shrubs and other plants to help create a wind break, but a place that avoids heavy winds is even better.

The best of all will be a butterfly garden placed on the sunny side of your house with windbreaks on both the west and east sides, or wherever the current winds come from in your area. Try to build your garden near to a window so you can observe the butterflies from indoors. Provide seating outside too.

If possible, you may excavate a location and build a stone wall around it. This may create the ideal windbreak for your butterflies. Make gravel pathways around your garden to save walking in mud.

There are numerous artistic ways for creating a butterfly garden. Take some time to layout a garden that you will enjoy and be proud of.

Need a jump a start with your garden? Contact us today for a free consultation. Call 805-773-5395.