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Create A Butterfly Garden

Butterfly Garden

Creating a butterfly garden is really easy; the secret is to know which plants will attract these beautiful and colorful creatures. They are just as lovely to look at as the flowers they flutter around. You can entice butterflies to visit your garden by displaying flowers they love.

If you already see butterflies in your garden, you must have some plants that lure them. So, if you want to create a beautiful butterfly garden for these beautiful fluttering visitors all you have to do is choose a few other plants; and you will be richly rewarded for your efforts.

Let’s start with the basics. Butterflies are attracted to a greater expanse of plants as opposed to a single isolated spot of flowers. Knowing this small detail will help you plan your garden to make the best of what you already have.
If you have other flowering shrubs around your yard, it would be good to locate your butterfly garden close by for yet another way at enticing these lovely creatures.

Next, include a variety of plants to attract butterflies, plants of different colors and heights. For higher plants, consider rhododendrons, azaleas and lilacs. For color, choose a good shrub that is especially attractive to butterflies, like Weigela, a lovely deciduous shrub cultivated for its white, pink or red flowers.

Among other choices, you have Butterfly Milkweed, with bright orange blossoms that are sure to attract butterflies. This plant has another benefit; it will provide food for caterpillars which will help populate your next generation of butterflies. Note that dill and parsley will provide food for butterfly caterpillars. If you’re lucky, you may even have Monarch butterflies laying their eggs on your milkweed. You would then be gratified later with a close view of the entire life cycle, from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly.

Buddleia, also known as the butterfly bush, is a must for your garden. Another must, the Mexican sunflower, which is doubly interesting because its sunny orange blooms will also invite hummingbirds. Plan your garden for an all-season spectacle. The rhododendrons, azaleas and lilacs will be the spring snack; the buddleia and the asclepias will work their charm in the summer, followed by asters and ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum in the fall.

For a friendly gesture towards your colorful visitors, you should also provide them with a resting place and shelter from the wind and cold. Flat rocks with shallow depressions where water can puddle, will serve as a double service for butterflies: a place to sun themselves, and a surprise source of water to drink.

Be also kind to yourself; include a comfortable bench where you can admire your beautiful visitors. You have created a beautiful garden for the butterflies to enjoy, it should also be a haven for you to enjoy.

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SBI!