Butterfly Gardens

Blue Rock Station,
1190 Virginia Ridge Rd.
Philo Ohio 43771 USA
+1-740-674-4300 (phone)
+1-740-674-6303 (fax)

Or contact us by e-mail

We support...

Please add me to your mailing list...

Butterfly Gardens

One of life’s simple pleasures is watching butterflies flitter from plant to plant on a warm summer day. Due to the loss of wildflower meadows and woodlands, however, these little critters are declining in numbers. Pesticide and herbicides have also taken their toll.

With a bit of thought, and some careful planning, you can help reverse this decline by making a butterfly garden. Not all the different types of butterfly will visit, as most have special requirements, but you should be able to attract the more common ones.

Attracting butterflies to feed

Most butterflies are highly mobile. They will find their way into almost any garden or wildlife area and will stay if there is something to keep them.

What they need is sugar-rich nectar from flowers. To attract them, you need to plant a selection of suitable flowers to provide as much food for as many kinds of butterfly as possible. Butterflies are on the wing from March to October, so provide a good mixture of plants that will flower throughout the spring, summer and autumn. Just choose a selection from the list on the back of this sheet.

Designing your butterfly garden

When you are planting up your butterfly garden make sure all the plants will have as much sunlight as possible. The best way to do this is to plant the tallest shrubby plants at the back and the smallest at the front.

Remember butterflies love warmth and shelter so make sure your display of flowers is situated in a suitable suntrap, out of the wind. The best time to plant is in the spring.

Changing your habits

Many of the pesticides that are designed to kill garden pests will also kill caterpillars and butterflies. So think twice before you use them.

Butterfly Plants

Spring
Aubretia - Aubrietia deltoides*
Honesty - Linaria annua
Primroses - Primula vulgaris*
Sweet rocket - Hesperis matronalis*
Sweet violet - Viola odorata
Wallflower - Cheiranthus cheirii
Yellow alyssum - Alyssum saxatile

Summer
Mignonette - Reseda odorata
Lavender - Lavandula spicata*
Buddleia - Buddleia davidii*
Valerian - Centranthus ruber*
Marjoram - Origanum officinale*
Catmint - Nepeta mussinii*
Knapweed - Centaurea nigra*
Thyme - Thymus drucei*
Heliotrope - Heliotropium x hybridum
Annual chrysanthemum - Chrysanthemum carinatum
Thrift - Armeria maritima
Petunia - Petunia x hybrida
Cornflower - Centaurea cyanus
Teasel - Dipsacus fullonum
Globe-thistle - Echinops sphaerocephalus*

Autumn
Ice plant - Sedum spectabile*
Michaelmas daisy - Aster novi-belgii*
Hyssop - Hyssopus officinalis
Winter savory - Satureia montana
Helenium - Helenium autumnale
Sweet scabious - Scabiosa atropurpurea*
Goldenrod - Solidago virgaurea
Petunia - Petunia x hybrida

*Most highly recommended

- Ideas in this brochure “recycled” from Suffolk (UK) Wildlife Trust