It’s A Women’s World

Everyone loves to see a butterfly fluttering around, especially the brightly colored ones. Unfortunately, many species are depleted in numbers due to the destruction of habitat. The usual plants favored by gardeners are not the ones needed to attract butterflies and moths, so they need to be encouraged with specific plants and flowers. Making an environment for caterpillar hosts and to induce the laying of eggs will make an even more useful butterfly garden. Some adult butterflies don’t feed on certain plants so the young need to thrive as well.

There are hundreds of plants to choose from, with careful consideration of when and where to locate them in the butterfly garden. The gardener who makes the effort will get a lot of pleasure from helping with this conservation. The plants themselves will add beauty and scent. Watching the butterflies and taking photographs will be very worthwhile. It’s a good idea to use plants that will attract the threatened species of the butterfly population. Scientists are keen that members of the public help to tag butterflies, in order that they can find out more about their habits.

It’s not always easy to be a butterfly. They have many enemies, such as spiders, wasps, birds, flies and ants. These can be controlled by using traps rather than by pesticides. Butterflies and their larvae would be harmed by the pesticides. Insecticides can’t be used on aphids either, for the same reason. Gardeners can control aphids by natural methods, such as the release of ladybugs and other bugs that won’t harm butterflies. Spraying aphid infested plants with water also does the trick sometimes. Butterflies can also fall victim to disease and viruses. The person who supplies a butterfly garden is helping to tip the scales in their favor.

The list of plants that attract butterflies is long. Some of the more popular ones are Autumn Sage, Marigolds, Sweet Pepperbush and Phlox. There is also Morning Glory and Butterfly Bush, also known as Buddleia. Shrubs and bushes play their part too and butterflies will flock to New Jersey Tea Tree and the Hawthorn Bush. Many people like to have wildflowers in their garden and this too can encourage an influx of butterflies. Spearmint, Ironweed and Thistles are all good for the butterfly garden. It’s not even necessary to plant anything. Butterflies are known to be partial to garden snacks, as supplied by the owners. They will happily feed on mashed up fruits, such as bananas, watermelon, mangoes and oranges.

There are many types of gardens, with the most popular types being vegetable and flower gardens. When it comes to flowers, there are hundreds of varieties of flowers you can plant. The types you choose will be decided by your personal tastes and the climate where you live. There are some who plant flowers that are known to draw butterflies. These are called, as you may have guessed, butterfly gardens.

My grandmother had a butterfly garden before they became a popular thing to do. I remember as a child I would sit patiently near her garden as she worked, waiting for the butterflies to come along and visit her special butterfly garden. I was often disappointed because at my young age, I didn’t realize that while these gardens do draw butterflies, there wouldn’t be hundreds hanging out there all the time like I imagined. I can’t remember the specific flowering plants she used for her butterfly garden, but I do remember that it was beautiful. She gave it as much care as she did her vegetable garden and would sit out there in her very limited spare time to enjoy her hard work. Her butterfly garden did attract butterflies and I always thought one day I would have a one of my own.

I don’t have one yet, but I still want to have one some day soon. If you would like to have your own butterfly garden, you can find out what flowers to plant by doing a search online. You can also talk with an employee at any garden shop, and they should be able to tell you what you should put into a butterfly garden, and what you should avoid. Once you have it planted make sure you have a nice place to sit nearby to enjoy the garden.

If your butterfly garden isn’t drawing butterflies as you wish it would, consider giving it a little help before you give up. Milkweeds are known, at least in the northeast, as a place to find Monarch butterflies. The larva eat this plant and then attach to it when the make their cocoon. If you have some of this nearby, you will have a head start on getting butterflies to visit your butterfly garden. Also consider where you have planted your garden. If it is near a busy road or where children play often, the butterflies may not warm up to the area.