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General Information Butterfly Garden |
If
you like to observe butterflies and moths you might like to make your garden
attract them. So you can create a butterfly garden by planting plants which
attract butterflies. Additionally, you contribute towards conservation.The easiest way to do so is to leave a part of your garden to wild flowers. The butterflies and moths living in your area need these native plants for their caterpillars or, as butterflies, to nectar.
You can also plant particular plants loved by many species of butterflies and moths.
The following list of plants provides only examples of the variety of butterfly plants. You also have to make sure that the plants you chose for your garden grow in your area.
The butterflies mentioned are only examples for the wide range of species attracted.
Butterfly plants
| plant | example for attracted species |
| Iceplant | Small Turtoiseshell (Aglais urticae) |
| Buddleia |
Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) Common Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) |
| Hebe | Peacock (Inachis io) |
| Marjoram | Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) |
| Honeysuckle | Hummingbird
Hawkmoth
(Macroglossum stellatarum) |
| Apple (fallen fruit) |
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) |
Examples for other butterfly plants:
| Lantana | Buphtalmum salicifolium |
| Pentas | Cirsium arvense |
| Heliotropium | Calamintha nepeta |
| Eupatorium | Monarda dyidyma |
| Aster amellus | Perovskia x hybrida |
| Aster dumosus | Salvia pratensis |
| Aster novae-anglicae | Salvia sclarea |
| Aster novi-belgiae | Echinops ritro |
If you want to enjoy butterflies and moths in your garden it is sensible to offer them plants for their caterpillars as well. Many of them depend on particular species of plants so it gets harder for them to find appropriate caterpillar plants because more and more natural areas are destroyed. You also contribute to conservation planting caterpillar plants. Leaving a part of your garden to wildlife plants is the easiest way. However, some caterpillar plants are mentioned here. You get more information about native caterpillar plants in your area.
The bigger the variety of appropriate plants is in your garden, the bigger is
the chance of attracting numerous butterflies.
Caterpillar plants
| plant | example for attracted species |
| Apple (foliage) | moth caterpillars |
| Stinging nettles |
Peacock (inachis io), Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) |
| Dandelion | Garden Tiger (arctia caja) |
| Carduus | Painted Lady (Cynthia cardui) |
| Asclepias | |
| Citrus | |
| Passiflora | |
| Aristolochia | |
| Musa |
