How to Attract Butterflies to Your Garden

To attract butterflies to your garden is as effortless as planting flower producing trees. However, your choice of plants and the flowers they produce can have an effect on the populace of butterflies. Flowers vary in type, color, the nectar they produce, and the butterfly is eager to come to those gardens that have an abundance of nectar. For example, funnel-shaped flowers are exceptional producers of nectar and butterflies naturally get attracted to gardens having such flowers. Lantanas and Zinnias are equally good producers of nectar and the butterflies get attracted to them. Educate yourself on the type of plants and flowers fancied by the butterflies and caterpillars, and follow the methods envisaged to attract butterflies to your garden.
This way, you can watch on the complete life cycle of an assortment of lovely butterflies and relish every moment with them. Butterflies have a liking for fragrant flowers with big petals to land themselves on, in the red /yellow color category. A few of the ideal choices to attract butterflies to your garden are marigold, salvia, zinnia, cosmos, sunflower, daisy, straw flower, etc. You can try perennials and constantly blooming flowers such as, butterfly bush, lavender, roses, hibiscus, hydrangeas and others of the same category. Always include plants that are cultivated in your area to attract butterflies to your garden. The garden should ideally locate in an area where there is good sunlight. Another idea is to arrange a sprinkler in your garden, which will help you to water the plants and also the puddles formed by the sprinkler will attract butterflies seeking water. Several of the flowers that attract the butterflies to your garden are easy to cultivate.
It is not possible to attract butterflies to your garden without creating a habitat for caterpillars. In order to do that, you must have plants they love to eat. It is possible to attract butterflies your garden by providing a place for butterfly larvae to live. This can be done by by planting the right variety of food plants in your garden. Plant trees like willow and shrubs such as hackberry, spicebush and sassafras as habitats for caterpillars. Let plantains, milk weeds, clovers and thistles grow. Seasonal cutting of the vegetation should be done cautiously as the plant stems may have chrysalis of butterfly larva.
Numerous adult butterflies are partial to decomposing fruits. Arrange a board in a sunlit area and put mashed bananas and citrus fruits on it during warm weather and when the adult butterflies are very active to create a butterfly feeding station. This also will attract butterflies to your garden. Avoid the use of insecticides in your butterfly garden. The all pervasive use of insecticides is the main cause for the decline in butterfly populace.