The Butterfly Flutters By

When I was a little girl I loved to organize my toys. Everything had a place and everyone in my family knew that my toys had to be just like so. I still remember the Christmas my grandma gave me a storage box with Winnie the Pooh on it and the phrase “the butterfly flutters by patrol”. It’s been over twenty years and I still think of this phrase from time to time. It crossed my mind today and it got me to thinking about butterfly gardens.

Here are some neat facts about butterflies that you may or may not know

-They have taste receptors on their feet

-They get essential nutrients from drinking from mud puddles

-They are unable to fly at temperatures below 55 degrees Fahrenheit

-They see a range of ultraviolet colors invisible to the human eye

Starting your butterfly garden can be as simple as planting a few flowering plants that will attract adult butterflies, or as extravagant as designating an entire corner of you yard to these beautiful creatures. But if you want to create a butterfly garden that will act as a sanctuary, attracting a wide variety of butterflies while also providing a place where butterflies can grow and multiply, you will first need some simple planning. That’s where I come in.

My mother adored butterflies. I can still see her dried displays of butterflies that had passed over the rainbow bridge on the wall next to the dining room table in our cozy cottage on Kirkwood Ave. One spring, she and I designed our own butterfly sanctuary. Although it was not without plenty trial and error, our small corner of our yard was all a flutter with butterflies by late spring. Each year she and I would redesign our garden, carefully planning which spots the larvae could build their cocoons all the way to small cups made out of the tops of golf tees for drinking water. So, not to toot my own horn, but I might even fancy myself somewhat of a butterfly garden expert. Butterfly gardens feel like the legacy of my mother, so that a little bit of her might live on In your own yard.

Many flowering plants will attract butterflies to your location, but not all flowers are created equally in the compound eyes of a butterfly. Selecting plants that will feed butterflies while also encouraging them to stick around for a while, laying eggs and creating a new generation of butterflies, is your goal. To do this, you will need to choose plants that fall into two groups: nectar plants that will provide adult butterflies with energy and caterpillar food plants that will feed caterpillars. With careful selection from these two groups, your garden will provide for the entire life cycle of butterflies.

Here is a short list of some flowers that I would recommend for a starting point in building your butterfly sanctuary.

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (blue porterweed)

Buddleia davidii  ‘buddleja buzz’ (butterfly bush)

Buddleia davidii ‘Miss Molly’

Cosmos sulphureus (orange ‘cosmic’ cosmos)

Tithonia rotundifolia or speciosa (Mexican sunflower ‘torch’)

But, alas, I can’t give you the complete recipe to my mother’s secret butterfly sanctuary recipe, or else I’d have to kill you! Actually, it’s just a very extensive list and I feel that the art of building a home for butterflies is best discussed over a cup of tea.

If you are interested in a butterfly garden of your own please give us a call, I’ll bring the tea.

Sweet Wishes,

Chelsea

The Butterfly Whisperer