Gardening with Butterflies
Butterflies live an improbable, outlandish life. Their metamorphosis from egg to larva to pupa to the imago (adult butterfly) is an omnipresent miracle and their presence as a “flying flower” is a visceral part of a garden. So what does one need to do to garden for butterflies? Here are some tips:

Provide the proper habitat. Butterflies are found everywhere from woodlands to sunny prairies and meadows. If you fill your yard with the plants that provide food for the caterpillars (called host plants) and flowers that make nectar for thea dult butterflies to eat (called nectar plants) you’re on your way to creating a butterfly-friendly spot.

Host plants
The caterpillars of each species of butterfly will feed on only one or a few specific host plants. All plants make chemicals to protect themselves from pests. Only a specific butterfly species is able to ingest a particular plant because it has learned to overcome, and in some cases use, the host plant and its accompanying chemicals for its own survival. If you grow the host plants, adult female butterflies will search out these specific plants and lay their eggs on or near them. It’s literally a case of “Plant it, and they will come!”

Nectar plants
Adult butterflies need energy, too, and each species can be picky about where it finds nourishment. Only specific plants produce and present their nectar-rich flowers in a way that attracts adult butterflies to partake in their offerings. The butterflies return the favor by pollinating them to produce fertile seeds.

Butterfly-friendly gardening techniques
If using pesticides, be cognizant that what you spray to kill one pest may inadvertently kill the butterflies and other beneficial insects. Remember that butterflies must have a viable egg, a hungry caterpillar and a safe chrsalis to complete their metamorphosis. Practice integrated pest management (IPM), make sure you choose the right plants for the right place or consider becoming an organic gardener to protect a butterfly’s vulnerable life.

Another technique is to maintain a spot for butterflies to spend the winter in your garden. Two of three butterfly species don’t migrate or die off in winter. A few overwinter as an adult butterfly in a sheltered site such as a wood pile. Others overwinter as an egg, caterpillar or chrysalis. If you rake up all your leaves and cart away all the stems of your flower border before spring, chance are you will inadvertently destroy many of your overwintering butterflies.

Top Nectar Plants
Butterfly bushes Buddleia spp.
Mexican Sunflower Tithonia rotundifolia
Buenos Aries Verbena Verbena bonariensis
Rose Verbena Verbena canadensis
Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa
Purple Coneflowers Echinacea spp.
Joe Pye-weed Eupatorium maculatum ‘Gateway’
Blazingstars Liatris spp.
Aromatic Aster Aster oblongifolius
Hillside Sheffield Pink Mum Chrysanthemum ‘Hillside Sheffield Pink’


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