Butterfly Gardening

Don’t Forget Trees and Shrubs

When we think of butterfly gardens we tend to focus on lots of flowering plants, but did you know many more species of butterflies and moths feed on trees and shrubs? You can create a very successful butterfly garden by adding the right trees and shrubs to your wildlife garden.

Trees and shrubs also provide shelter from rain and wind and create the microhabitats that protect butterflies in addition to providing the food they need.

Mass Plants for Greatest Impact

You will want to when planning a butterfly garden. You do not want to plant a collection of mostly unrelated plants, which may be pretty but doesn’t provide much in the way of butterfly value.

Instead, you’ll want several plants of the same species together. A planting of 7 Swamp Milkweeds will do far more to attract Monarch Butterflies than a single plant will.

So your goal is to provide the best habitat you can for just a few types of butterflies, rather than trying to create mediocre habitat for a lot of different kinds.

Plan for Multi Seasons of Bloom

You want to stretch the blooming season in your butterfly garden from at least early spring through late fall to provide the most value for these beautiful insects. Of course, in Florida we can plan for all four seasons, not all butterflies to not leave us in the winter.

So choose a wide variety of nectar plants to support butterflies through all of these seasons. Your reward will be the ultimate butterfly garden filled with the swirling beauty of these winged wonders!

www.flawildflowers.org

www.fnps.org

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

www.nsis.org

www.afn.org