When I started my garden, my goal was simply to enhance my home's curb appeal. I didn't put much thought into what I was planting, as long as it was big and colorful. One day I noticed a few random butterflies, so I grabbed my digital camera and took a couple of photos. I loved that I was able to photograph something so beautiful with the convenience of only having to walk out my front door. So it hit me - if I put a little effort into attracting butterflies to my garden, I would have endless photo opportunities!!!
Fast forward a year to 2013 and I'm proud to say that in just two August weekends, I identified (and photographed) 16 species of butterflies in my garden. And now in 2014, I'm up to 18 species! So, how did I go from just a few random butterflies to looking out my back window at literally dozens of butterflies? The answer is simple... plant it and they will come!
Here's a little of what I've learned along the way:
1. Host plants are key. Host plants are very important to a butterfly garden as they are the plants that butterflies lay their eggs on and then serve as food for the caterpillars. There are tons of butterfly host plants ranging from weeds to trees. It seems like every butterfly species has its own set of host plants and it can be overwhelming at first. This is where the internet and some Florida butterfly books come in handy. Start simple with some herbs such as fennel, dill and parsley. These are very easy to grow and will serve as a host for Black Swallowtails. A few weekends ago I had nearly 35 Black Swallowtail caterpillars on my fennel plant. Well worth the $3 investment I made! Another easy host plant to start with is milkweed. Once you have one plant, it will continue to self-seed and new plants will pop up in random places (I welcome this!). Milkweed serves a host to the Monarch butterfly and I have it to thank for the dozens of Monarchs I have at any given time. As your garden continues to grow, try adding in more host plants to attract different butterfly species.
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| Black Swallowtail Caterpillars on Fennel |
2. Plant lots of flowers for nectar. After the caterpillars become butterflies, they'll need nectar to feed on. My favorite nectar plants are salvia, Mexican sunflowers, penta, lantana, zinnias, butterfly bush and firebush (my list could seriously go on and on and on). This is where you can have fun and add lots of color to your landscape.
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| Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Mexican Sunflower |
3. Don't hate weeds. Some of the weeds I had come to hate - Spanish Needle for one - are the best butterfly magnets. When you are researching butterfly host plants, a lot of them are what most people consider weeds. It's taken some time, but I'm learning to be a lot more forgiving when it comes to weeds. Though I won't let them grow in all parts of my garden, I do let them grow in designated spots.
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| Cassius Blue on Spanish Needle |
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| White Peacock on Frogfruit |
4. Add in some native plants and wildflowers. The last two years, I've gone on an annual native plant nursery trip with my aunt. You never really know what new plant you're going to discover. On our last trip I came across Twinflower. I had never heard of it, but a quick Google search told me that it was a host plant for the Common Buckeye butterfly, so of course I had to have it. I bought two of them and plugged them in amongst my pineapple sage and salvia. I honestly thought there was no way a Common Buckeye butterfly was ever going to find them. A few weeks later I was shocked when sure enough, there was a Common Buckeye on the Twinflower!
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| Twinflower |
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| Pearl Crescent on Gaillardia |
5. No pesticides. Seriously, this is a big one. Butterflies (and other pollinators) are delicate insects and pesticides will kill them. Make it a rule that you eliminate pesticides from your garden.
6. Let go of expectations. I define my gardening style as informal and eclectic. All of my plants have a story behind them - where they came from, what they attract. It makes it fun and interesting. I'm sure my garden is too informal for the likes of some people, but I don't care... I'm pretty certain they don't have all the butterflies I do!
