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Butterfly Gardening, If you grow it they will come!

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butterfly 2

My family has had a butterfly garden now for about 5 years.  It all started in 2008 when I took the kids for a playdate at a friend’s house.  In her backyard were actual swarms of butterflies and caterpillars galore.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I asked her what the heck was going on and she explained that you just have to plant specific butterfly attracting plants.

It can’t possibly be that easy I thought.  But lo and behold a quick trip to the plant nursery and a few weeks later we had more Monarch caterpillars than we could feed.

milkweed butterfly plant

Monarch butterfly caterpillars in particular will only eat Milkweed, aka Butterfly Weed.  Zebra Swallowtails are partial to Fire Bush.  Other hearty plants sure to attract multiple species of butterfly are Blue Porter Weed and Passion Flower.

butterfly 1

We started with a few Milkweed plants and a few Blue Porter Weed bushes.  Within no time at all the Monarch caterpillars had pretty much devoured the plants.  We actually ran out and had to buy more Milkweed and then transplant by hand, the caterpillars from the totally ravaged plants to the new ones.

Five years later the Milkweed and Porter Weed continue to reproduce on their own and our garden is thriving.  We get such joy out of seeing the butterflies and caterpillars each season.

butterfly 4

If you’re interested in attracting butterflies to your yard or garden, check out these great sites.

Monarch Watch

TheButterflySite.com

The Butterfly Website

I also own a copy of this great Butterfly Gardening book and it’s been helpful so many times.  We can look up butterfly species, caterpillars, plants and more.  I highly recommend it and it makes a great gift, which is how I got my copy.  My copy is tailored to butterfly gardening in Florida but I am sure you can find books relevant to your area.

So what do you think?  Already have butterfly attracting plants in your yard?  Interested in starting your own Butterfly Garden?  Please let me know your thoughts and if you love butterflies as much as I do!

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Comments

  1. Nicole Bear says

    November 9, 2013 at 2:44 am

    We have a few plants that attract butterflies to our yard (tangelo for citrus swallowtail, and crown flower for monarchs), and I have been enjoying showing the caterpillars and butterflies to my 1 year old daughter. We have watched a few of them through the stages of their life cycle.

    Reply
  2. Barnold says

    November 9, 2013 at 5:07 pm

    This is such a great idea. We just bought our first house and I would love to do this for my son. Now just to find the money for plants…

    Reply
  3. Megan says

    April 29, 2014 at 11:33 am

    What a wonderful idea! My girls would LOVE something like this!

    Reply
  4. Alex P says

    April 29, 2014 at 12:37 pm

    Love this idea, wonder how well it would work as a small container garden on a balcony. We currently live in a large converted heritage home with multiple units and the grounds have a lot of hummingbird action. Curious if we could coax the butterflies up here to the third floor.

    Reply
  5. Tara Coy says

    April 30, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    Wow this is such an awesome idea. I’m going to do this with my three year old!

    Reply
  6. DARLENE W says

    May 2, 2014 at 11:52 pm

    I have a vast perennial garden in front and out back, last year when the Monarchs were migrating we must of had 1000 rest in the tree in our backyard before they continued their journey

    Reply
  7. Erin B. says

    May 7, 2014 at 9:24 pm

    I would love to do this! My daughter would love to see all of the butterflies in our yard! I am definitely going to look into this for our next project :)

    Reply
  8. Jenelle says

    May 9, 2014 at 11:18 am

    I love this!

    Reply
  9. Danielle D says

    May 11, 2014 at 2:47 pm

    I remember doing something similar when I was a child and it was the highlight of my year!! I think that this is going to be doing on our must-do list with our kiddos, who wouldn’t love this? :)

    Reply
  10. Laurie P says

    May 17, 2014 at 10:39 am

    This was a great reminder of some plants I should be picking up this weekend. My little girl would love to see some butterflies out back!

    Reply
  11. Jennica says

    May 17, 2014 at 12:34 pm

    That is so cool, we will have to try this when we buy a house somewhere that isn’t still getting 8 inches of snow in the middle of May.

    Reply
  12. heather merlino says

    May 29, 2014 at 10:29 pm

    This looks like so much fun, I’ll have to try it with my little ones.

    Reply
  13. Sara Walden says

    May 29, 2014 at 11:12 pm

    this is such a cute idea! my boys would love this.. im gonna have to plant one.

    Reply
  14. Jennifer says

    May 30, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    What an awesome idea! I love butterflies but never really see that many. I’ll have to try this.

    Reply
  15. Tracy Dennison says

    May 30, 2014 at 7:40 pm

    I had NO idea something like this could be done! SO want to try it!

    Reply
  16. Kaiya says

    May 31, 2014 at 12:13 pm

    I got some milkweed seeds this year. Will have to look at some of the others you mentioned too! So neat for the kids.

    Reply
  17. Kaiya says

    May 31, 2014 at 12:17 pm

    I got some milkweed seeds this year. Will have to see if I can find some of the others you mentioned. So neat for the kids to see the butterflies close up!

    Reply

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I'm Jenn and I am PROUD to be the caretaker of this amazing resource. I have found a passion not only in educating about cloth diapers but also being a strong supporter of small business. Thank you for joining me on this journey!

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