Butterfly Garden Landscaping | DC’s Lawn and Landscaping
Butterflies are the most beautiful and awesome creatures. Other than bees ….butterflies are one insect many homeowners do not mind sharing their yard with. Building a Butterfly garden is a garden that contains plants which attracts butterflies at all stages of a butterfly’s life.
Butterfly Garden Basic Requirements:
- Flowers and Plants: Flowers and plants that will serve as a food source for developing larva.
- Nectar Sources: Flowers and plants that attract and nourish adult butterflies.
Your butterfly garden can range from any size you desire as long as you cover the butterfly garden basics above.
Butterfly Garden Landscaping Designs:
- Grow flower and plant sources that ensure a variety of butterfly species. Offering a variety also encourages butterflies to remain in your yard instead of simply passing through.
- Incorporate plants with a variety of shapes and sizes that will appeal to a diversity of butterfly species.
- Grow and use colorful plants and flowers with elements that attracting different butterflies to different colors.
- Use a variety of-flower shapes. Butterflies require different shaped flowers to feed on. Smaller butterflies have no problems feeding on daisy type flowers, but some will require tube shaped flowers with easy access to nectar.
- Incorporate native plants into your existing landscape if possible. Most host plants are natives and will produce a small extension to the butterfly garden itself.
- Provide consistent host plants throughout the growing season. Choosing plants that bloom different times throughout the year will ensure your garden remains attractive and productive for as long as possible.
- Plant in both shade and sun, this too will ensure a variety of species. Many forest species prefer shaded areas.
- Plant in groupings which are aesthetically pleasing and provide larger masses of color. Groupings will be more apparent in landscape and will allow larvae to locate additional food sources if needed.
Butterfly Garden Landscaping Maintenance
Mulching should be done upon installation to give your plants a great start. Your garden should be kept up upon just like any garden. Water, pruning, weeding and fertilization should be done on a schedule. Butterflies are sensitive to pesticides, and fertilizers. Use organic materials and methods at all costs. If you need a pesticide for any reason do not use it. The following article shows a decrease in butterflies: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/07/27/expert-warns-of-decrease-in-butterflies-in-illinois/
Different areas have different butterfly species. To find out what plants will be best for your garden we recommend researching butterflies in your area. The plants you need will be native and will be readily available to you, this will also ensure maximum butterfly viewing in your yard. Illinois butterfly species list
Contact DC’s Lawn and Landscape Today to get your Butterfly Garden Started!
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LYCAENIDAE-Gossamer-wings | ![]() |
RIODINIDAE-Metalmarks Still searching….. |
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