how to attract butterflies to your garden
A visit to the butterfly house reminded me that the garden is a miniature ecosystem to which insects, birds, animals and invertebrates bring important contributions. You always know a healthy landscape by the buzzing of bees, the birdsong, and the hidden life of earthworms and spiders, and last, but not least, colorful butterflies.
How to attract butterflies to your back yard? First of all avoid pesticides, if in any way possible, and include plants that provide food and shelter for them, especially the umbellifers on which they like to lay their eggs.
The colorful meadow flowers, especially the orange ones, are butterfly favorites, and you will find you already have at least one or two in your garden: lantana, asters, honeysuckle, mallow, cone flowers, zinnias, garden phlox, milkweed, pentas, bee balms, butterfly bush, yarrow, sunflowers.
Don’t forget the herbs – anise, dill and parsley inflorescences make great homes for caterpillars.
Include a water source, if you can, and provide shelter from the wind.
Monarch butterflies only lay eggs on milkweed, but there are many other beautiful butterflies that favor a wider variety of plants. For instance, the black swallowtail will make itself at home in your herb garden if you plant dill, anise or parsley.
Butterflies prefer sunshine; partial shade is acceptable during the summer, when it’s really warm.
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