Planting a garden that will attract butterflies is best done in the spring. You want your flowers to be well established before the butterflies start to arrive. Consider these three things when choosing what flowers are best to draw them in.
- Utilize some host plants for butterfly larvae. For example, they will lay their eggs on the China Aster or some White Yarrow.
- You want to provide nectar for the adult butterfly. The Moss Verbena or any Coneflower (Purple, Clasping) will work for this.
- Offer them plants that shelter them from too much sun and wind. A good rule of thumb is to plant in a location where the butterflies can enjoy about 6 hours of sun a day. Provide some plants with more height to protect them from windy spots.
To me, butterflies are the most beautiful and graceful insects in nature! They come in a variety of colors and wing patterns. I want the same thing for my garden flowers; lots of colors and patterns. I plan to make sure my garden next year has plenty of colorful flowers to draw colorful butterflies to them. Each year we can add more choices and keep them coming back for years.