How to make a BUTTERFLY GARDEN
Designing a Garden to Attract Butterflies
Butterflies linger in sunny places
Because they are “cold blooded”, butterflies require warmth to be active. They do this by basking in the sunlight. Rarely do they spend much time in the shade. When choosing a spot for your butterfly garden, choose a sunny area. This will fulfill one more requirement for the butterfly and provide one more “reason” to linger in your garden. Oddly enough, most plants attracting butterfly adults grow well in sunny exposures.

Butterflies linger in places protected from the wind
Because they are more wing than body, butterflies are affected by gusts of wind. They linger longer in sunny locations, protected from the wind. Wind protection can be in the form of a fence, wall, house, hedge, or a tree lined area. So when choosing a place for your butterfly garden pick a sunny spot that is protected somewhat from the wind. Such protection will form a pleasant viewing backdrop for your butterfly garden.

Butterflies require moitsure and minerals: They will linger where these are provided
Like all creatures, butterflies require water to live. Although plant nectar is mostly water with dissolved sugars it is fairly low in mineral salts needed to maintain their “animal” metabolism. Butterflies cannot “drink” from bodies of water like most animals can. They must “lick” water from moist surfaces. A basin of moist soil, with added salts, especially sodium from ordinary table salt will provide the nutrients needed by the butterflies. BE SURE TO KEEP THE BASIN MOIST. The top of a conventional birdbath, slightly sunken in the ground provides a decorative container for moist soil.

Butterflies linger where there is a source of nectar
By following the plant suggestions on the following pages you will provide your adult butterfly friends with a season long source of nectar. You will also provide a quiet corner of the world for yourself, filled with a kaleidoscope of color and shapes. A butterfly garden attracts beauty in all its forms. Many of the same flowers that attract butterflies, attract hummingbirds.

People will want to linger in your butterfly garden to watch the butterflies and relax
How much fun would a garden of any kind be if we weren’t able to enjoy it to its full potential. Place your butterfly garden in areas that you linger or will want to linger to enjoy the beauty you have created and the butterflies that are attracted to it. Provide a bench, gazebo, garden path or maybe just place for lawn chairs so you can relax and enjoy the entire experience.

Butterflies have a life cycle
Butterflies have two feeding stages: the caterpillar and the mature stage. You may choose to provide food sources for both stages by planting plants that provide leaf material for the chewing caterpillars as well as the nectar plants for the adults. Some plants provide both. When you think about it, you can’t have one stage without the other. In order to perpetuate the butterfly population locally, adequate caterpillar food has to be present in your locale.

Butterflies are insects too
The same insecticides used to kill unwanted insects will also affect the butterflies and their caterpillars. (Along with the other beneficial insects like honey bees.) If you don’t already do so, you may want to share your butterfly garden with the creatures you designed the garden to attract. Planting a variety of plants in the same garden greatly decreases the chances of any one being ruined by insects. Besides, in the long run, are a few aphids so much to put up with to insure a safe haven for your butterflies?

How to pick your flowers
How To Create a Butterfly Garden

When planning your butterfly garden, it is a good idea to find out which species are resident in your area and the plants on which they are found.

It is also important to provide plants on which the butterflies will lay their eggs and upon which caterpillars can feed. Check Foremost's Butterflies are Blooming site for a list of good nectar sources and larval plants.

Choosing the Right Spot

A butterfly garden can range from a large plot of land, to a 5’x10’ strip near a walkway to a window box or a container garden.

Since butterflies tend to be more active in the sun, large open sunny areas are an important factor for the garden. Some protection from the wind is also necessary, and this can be provided by planting shrubby nectar and food plants like Buddleia, Honeysuckle, Spice Bush and Hawthorn. A small fence, a row of shrubs, evergreen trees or even a large rock can serve as a shelter from the wind.

Butterflies cannot drink directly from open water so it is a good idea to create "puddles" of moist sand or mud. Placing a few rocks or sticks in this "puddle" allows the butterflies to perch and drink. Rocks also provide a site where butterflies can bask to store body heat from the sun.

A Raised-bed Butterfly Garden

A raised bed butterfly garden is simply a raised area of soil framed by boards, logs, railroad ties, stones, rocks, bricks or any other material you have on hand. Since the above-ground bed heats up faster, it can be planted sooner than in-ground gardens, has better drainage, and is easier to maintain. If you try this popular technique for growing plants, you'll find it uses less space, requires less fertilizer and water, and helps eliminate soil problems.

It's fun to choose the location, design your layout, and decide what materials you want to use. Although your butterfly garden can be any size, the bed width should be narrow so you can easily reach all areas. Use a shovel to cut through the grass around the perimeter of your future garden, then remove all the grass and weeds from the area. Work some potting soil, compost or shredded leaves into the loosened ground. The soil should be loose enough to feel soft when you crumble it in your hands.

You can use countless materials for the border or frame of the raised bed, or even prepare a temporary raised bed garden by simply marking out the boundaries and tilling the soil. The bed of loosened soil will remain slightly raised above the surrounding areas. This borderless raised bed garden gradually flattens or erodes over time, but can be a good temporary approach.

Permanent raised beds are usually the best way to go. You invest a little more time and money into the construction of a frame or wall raised bed, but the finished product controls erosion and lasts for years. Common frame or wall materials include: rot-resistant lumber such as redwood or cedar, treated landscape timbers, used railroad ties, bricks, stones, concrete blocks, or even old tires. Resourceful gardeners may be able to find these or other suitable materials at little or no cost.

Try to lay your garden out in a rectangular pattern, keeping the width about 4 feet so you can easily reach the center of the bed from either side. If you decide to use either landscape timbers, or 2" x 10" or 2" x12" boards, have the materials cut to size and delivered by your lumber yard. Keep the boards or timbers from falling over by nailing them to 1"x2"x20" long decay resistant wooden stakes driven into the ground.

If you want to use rocks or stones to build a raised bed garden, ask your kids to get in on the action. Kids love looking around for special rocks or stones in your own yard, neighborhood or during trips to the woods, park or beach. The whole family can pitch in and build the rock and stone border a little at a time. This approach also helps kids get involved with butterfly gardening.

When the border or frame is finished and the soil thoroughly mixed, begin planting your garden with beautiful, colorful, annual and perennial plants that attract butterflies. You and your kids can even use a shaker of wildflower or butterfly flower seeds to scatter the seeds thickly throughout the bed. When planting is completed, be sure to apply mulch to control weeds and retain moisture.

Placement of Plantings

Placement of your plantings in the garden should be carefully considered. Plant taller plants in the back, mid-sized in the middle and short ones in the front. This design works visually and keeps both the low-feeding and high-feeding butterflies happy.

Walkway Planting

You might want to create a garden around an existing walkway. This can be done easily by planting in layers. Space the plants apart according to recommended spacing requirements for optimal growth.

This type of garden is great for city gardeners or school gardens with well-established walkways. Kids may plant single rows of plants around their driveways or sidewalks at home, but keep in mind that the butterflies don’t always visit noisy or busy places.

Plant tall plants in your back row, medium height plants in the middle area and short, border plants in your front row.

Plot of Ground

If you have a small piece of ground (as small as 5’x5’) you can purchase a shaker of wildflower or butterfly flower seeds. Properly prepare the soil and remove all clumps of sod. Good soil preparation is well worth the effort and will result in a successful garden.

Rake the soil lightly and scatter the flower seeds thickly through

Which flowers are best.............
There are four basic guiding principles in arranging your chosen plants: (1) place shorter plants in the front (or outside edges) and taller plants in the back (or center); (2) place larval food plants in hidden and less obvious areas; (3) plant in large groups of one color rather than single plants of different colors; and (4) plan for a continuous bloom through the entire growing season with spring, summer, and fall blooming plants. Before you put any plants in the ground, however, sit down and draw a sketch or two - remembering to consider sun, wind, and access to shelter and water. Only after considering all the possibilities is it time to visit the nursery!

Step 4 - The Finishing Touches. Including any of the following items will improve the attractancy of your garden to butterflies: (1) damp spots or shallow puddles (for drinking); (2) large field stones (for basking); (3) pieces of fruit (citrus, bananas, peaches, and apples work well) or a butterfly feeder (for supplemental nectaring); and (4) butterfly hibernation boxes (for overwintering). And don't forget, avoid the use of pesticides in and around your butterfly garden!

Butterfly Nectar Plants: Shrubs

Autumn olive (Elaegnus umbellata)
Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii)
New Jersey tea (Canothus americanus)
Privet (Ligustrum spp.)
Butterfly Nectar Plants: Wildflowers

Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) and butterfly weed (A. tuberosa)
Coneflowers (Echinacea spp.)
Ironweed (Vernonia spp.)
New England asters (Aster novae-anglicae)
Spearmint (Mentha spicata)
Thistles (Centaurea spp. and Cirsium spp.)
Verbena (Verbena spp.)
Butterfly Nectar Plants: Cultivated Flowers

Bee balm (Monarda didyma)
Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Coral bells (Heuchera spp.)
Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus)
Daisy (Chrysanthemum spp.)
Dame's rocket (Hesperis matronalis)
Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana spp.)
Impatiens (Impatiens spp.)
Lantana (Viburnum spp.)
Live-for-ever (Sedum spp.)
Marigolds (Tagetes spp.)
Petunia (Petunia hybrids)
Phlox (Phlox spp.)
Zinnias (Zinnia spp.)