Want to add interest, color, movement and wildlife to your garden this summer? If so, then plant a butterfly garden! There are few insects more pleasurable to watch than butterflies flitting around your outside space. They look like fluttering flowers, and serve an important purpose as plant pollinators. With just a few simple tips, you can create a garden bed that will attract an array of butterflies this summer for the whole family to enjoy.

Tip #1: Learn about the butterflies that live in Georgia. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, there are about 750 species of butterflies in the United States and Canada and about 160 of them can be found in Georgia. Some favorites include monarch, swallowtail, skipper, sulphur, painted lady and gulf fritillary. To get more enjoyment when viewing butterflies, invest in a field guide that identifies local species. My favorite resource is Butterflies of Georgia by Jaret C. Daniels. Binoculars add to the viewing experience, letting you get up-close-and-personal with the butterflies you see. There are four stages to the life cycle of a butterfly (egg, larva, pupa and adult) and to maximize the number of butterflies in your garden you will need to provide a habitat that is conducive for all these stages. 

Tip #2: Lay out your butterfly garden bed in a sunny location that also gives some shelter from the wind. Most plants that attract butterflies need full sun to grow and bloom – at least 6 hours per day. Butterflies will further enjoy your nectar-producing plants if they are not fighting a strong wind to hold on! Before adding plants, amend the soil with organic matter and save spots for flat stones to be placed around the bed for butterflies to sun themselves. For further interest, add a “puddling” area – a shallow tray with moist sand or soil for butterflies to enjoy a mud bath. 

Tip #3: Plant several “host” plants for butterflies to lay eggs on and as a food source for the emerging caterpillar.  In order to support the full life cycle of the butterfly, don’t forget these first two important stages – egg and larvae! Those caterpillars (larvae) you find eating plant foliage may be precursors to those lovely butterflies you want to attract. Specific species will look for specific host plants in your garden on which to lay their eggs. Monarchs need milkweeds (Asclepias spp.), like butterfly weed, (Asclepias tuberosa) as hosts. The gulf fritillary looks for passionflowers (Passiflora), like maypop, (Passiflora incarnata) and the spicebush swallowtail, as its name implies, needs the spicebush (Lindera benzoin). So if there is a particular butterfly you want to attract, make sure you have planted that butterfly’s preferred host plants!

Tip #4:  Add an array of nectar-producing, blooming plants to attract the adult butterflies.  Butterflies are attracted to flowers with bright colors (red, purple, orange and yellow) and strong scents. Many of our native perennials are the perfect lure for butterflies and will also provide you with a pleasing bed of colorful, fragrant blooms to enjoy well into the fall. The more varieties of nectar-producing plants you add, the greater variety of adult butterflies you will attract. Remember that when you plant perennials in the fall, they will quickly go dormant and seem to disappear for the winter but will begin coming up again next spring. 

Some plants to consider are black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), ironweed (Vernonia baldwinii), Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum), coneflower (Echinacea), blazing star (Liatris), New England aster (Aster novae-angliae), lantana and zinnia. If you take the time to deadhead (pinch off) fading blooms, you will encourage new flower growth, adding to the beauty of the garden and the attraction of butterflies. At the ending of the growing season, let some blooms go to seed and collect the seeds for next year!

Tip #5:  Refrain from using pesticides in the garden. While you are killing off those “bad” bugs defacing your flowers, you are also killing off the butterfly larvae, adult butterflies and many other beneficial insects.  Believe it or not, most insects are more beneficial than harmful! Look into organic methods of controlling undesirable pests.

Tip #6: Keep the garden a little untidy. This should be easy to do! Keep some leaves and other plant debris on the ground and add ornamental grasses to give butterflies, their eggs and larvae some protection from predators who find them a tasty snack.
Tip #7: Enjoy the show!  After all your hard work creating this wonderful habitat for butterflies, don’t forget to sit back and appreciate their beauty.