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Garden Club Articles
Butterfly Gardens

by Ellen Sager
Butterflies and moths are attracted to cream, yellow, white, pink and blue pastels. They also like sweet scents. Most must land in order to feed, so the flowers need to be upright and grow in clusters to provide a landing surface. Butterflies and moths use a long narrow tongue to obtain nectar from the flowers. The tube within the flower, called the corolla tube, is long and narrow to discourage ineffective, short-tongued insects.
There are four key requirements to entice and keep butterflies in your garden: nectar sources, larval foodplants, sunshine, and shelter. Some of the more common flowering plants in gardens, such as asters, coneflowers, and lilacs are popular choices. Also borage, candytuft, mignonette, sweet alyssum and verbena are annuals for the garden. 

 

 

 

 

 
Butterfly-weed (Asclepias tuberosa), a member of the milkweed family might grow. It's hardy zone 3. With the proper sunny and sheltered exposure these can be maintained for many years. Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), and species of thistles (Cirsium spp.) and milkweed are good wildflowers. White cabbage, carrots, parsnips and dill will attract some females. Valerian, phlox and many sunflowers are examples of butterfly flowers.

Shelter from the wind is necessary so trees and shrubs play an important role in your garden as well. Enjoy the butterflies.