Facts About Butterflies in Your Garden
Bring Gorgeous Butterflies to YOUR Garden!
Do you enjoy the jewel-like beauty of the wings of butterflies? Do you want to lure more butterflies (both local and migratory) into your garden? Slowly watching wonderfully made butterflies dance around blossoming flowers of a garden is a sight to see, and we are excited to help you build a butterfly garden in your backyard.
Besides being lovely to see, butterflies are also very helpful in the ecosystem. These gentle insects start life as a caterpillar and eat their way through leaf after leaf as they grow. If you want to see a large amount of butterfly species in your garden, you should grow and plant a lot of caterpillar host plants. Even though you will need to accept the fact that there will be a small amount of leaf damage, the reward of being able to see butterflies fly around your garden is worth it.
What Do Butterflies Eat?
They drink flowers' nectar through a long straw-like tube called a proboscis. To get butterflies to visit your yard every day, plant a large variety of nectar-rich flowers. Some plants butterflies enjoy are:
Lilac: Known for its sweet smell and butterfly-attraction.
Butterfly Bush: Its name says it all; it's a popular plant for drawing butterflies right to your yard.
Zinnia: These colorful flowers are easy to grow and attract butterflies.
Petunia: These are classic flowers in any garden and they are loved by butterflies!
Sunflower: These flowers attract butterflies and they grow seeds for birds.
Daisy: These flowers add cheer to the garden and are loved by butterflies.
Lavender: The flowers are sweet and calming scents. They are loved by butterflies.
Sweet Rocket: This flower growing biennial is better known for nectar giving.
Ivy: These are not flowers, but they give butterflies food and extra space.
Planting many flowers that give food to butterflies will attract different butterflies. If you try to sync the blooms to the season you will have food available the whole time.
Creating the Perfect Butterfly Habitat
Sunlight helps butterflies move, so plant flowers where they will have direct sunlight. Butterflies and the flowers like the sunlight.
Instead of drinking from open water, butterflies like dry spots that are damp. Sand and shallow water in a bowl work well for butterflies to drink. The bowl also helps keep the area dry.
How Butterflies Help Your Garden
In addition to simply being beautiful, butterflies help your garden thrive. While sipping nectar, butterflies spread pollen from one flower to another, helping more plants grow. Thanks to butterflies, your garden will be filled with flowers year after year.
Plus, butterflies are an important part of the food web. They get eaten by songbirds and other animals. When you make your garden butterfly-friendly, you help the environment and support plants and animals to live together.
Best Plants to Attract Butterflies
Here are the best butterfly-friendly plants to include in your garden from TN Nursery.
Butterfly Weed- This flower is a native plant and a favorite to monarch butterflies.
Trumpet Vine- With bright, trumpet-shaped flowers, this plant is great for attracting butterflies.
Coneflower - This perennial plant is hardy and offers nectar and seeds.
Black-Eyed Susan- This flower offers a cheerful aesthetic and helps attract butterflies and bees.
Daisy- A classic flower given to any butterfly garden.
These plants help make your garden more colorful, and attract butterflies.
Interesting Facts About Butterflies
Did you know butterflies taste their food with their feet? They have taste sensors on their legs which helps them figure out what plants are good to use for their eggs!
The colors that they can view include the color we refer to as ultraviolet which is a shade that people cannot view.
Butterflies in the Monarch species can fly from North America to Mexico as a part of a migration that can last several years.
The lifespan of our butterflies is quite short as they can die in the span of a few weeks or a few months.
Being an animal that is cold-blooded means they require the warmth of the sun in order to fly.
Transform Your Garden with TN Nursery!
Do you want to make your yard a butterfly haven? Look at TN Nursery to find butterfly friendly plants, including many flowers and tough perennials. TN Nursery can help you create a butterfly garden. Get started today!
FAQs: Butterflies in your garden
What are 5 facts about butterflies?
Butterflies can taste with their feet, they see ultraviolet colors, they cold-bloodedly rely on the sun for heat, they have a short lifespan, and they migrate long distances.
Why are butterflies nice to have in a garden?
Butterflies help gardens by being important pollinators for flowers. They also help the ecosystem and provide extra beauty and charm to your garden.
What does a butterfly do in a garden?
A butterfly polls and flowers the garden by feeding on nectar from the flowers, and allows the plants to produce fruits and seeds. They are also a food source for birds, and other wildlife.
What are three things a butterfly garden should have?
A butterfly garden should have: flowers that are rich in nectar, plants that attract caterpillars, and a shallow water source or a wet soil.
What makes butterflies special?
Pollinators that have dazzling colors, enchanting life cycles, and are vital to various ecosystems are butterflies. They also represent the changeable and gorgeous aspects in nature.
Where do butterflies sleep at night?
Predators of butterflies are not able to spot them at night, they have to keep still in order to stay hidden which lets them rest.
