Having a butterfly garden is a great first step to support the lepidopterans in your region and the local ecosystem.
But if you already have a butterfly garden, why not take it a step further and make it butterfly-friendly throughout the year rather than only for a single season or two?
While it will for sure require more planning and effort, by investing a little bit more into your garden, you can multiply its butterfly-friendly effects, by as many seasons.
If you already have a butterfly garden though, I’m guessing you love your lepidopterans and are willing to go the extra mile for them. If that’s the case, we’re here to guide you on the right plants. All you need to do is follow them.
Let’s get started!
Having Someone Professional Do It for You
Experienced landscapers like Louisville Landscape Pros will be well-versed in the various aspects of landscaping, which naturally include butterfly gardens. The easiest no-brainer and low-effort way is to simply get someone who does it for a living to do it for you.
Of course, you can’t simply assume that all landscaping companies will know how to landscape butterfly gardens, as it is a somewhat niche field.
As such, remember to check beforehand with the contractor or company. And if possible, find one that specializes in butterfly gardens or has some previous experience.
1. Spring
For spring, you’ll want flowers that bloom from early spring onwards, as that’s when butterflies will emerge from overwintering, making it crucial for them to find food. This means plants like crocuses, lilacs, and cherry trees.
Spring is arguably the most important season to provide food sources for butterflies. Not only are blooming flowers scarcer, but at this point in time, having used up most of their energy overwintering, butterflies don’t have much energy to go search for food.
This lack of energy also means they’re less able to withstand hunger and starvation. If they don’t find food in time, there’s a good chance they won’t survive. Given that food sources are scarce and they can’t travel much, spring is arguably the most important period to provide food sources for butterflies.
As such, make sure to prioritize having food sources in the spring before other seasons.
2. Summer
Moving on to summer, when butterflies are the most active, this is another important time for butterflies as they will be carrying out activities like reproduction and moving around a lot.
Many flowers bloom in summer, so you’ll have no shortage of choice. Some great nectar-rich choices are the Black-Eyed Susan and coneflowers for perennials, marigolds and spider flowers for annuals, and the butterfly bush and buttonbush for shrubs.
Summer is the next most important time after spring to provide food for butterflies, so make sure to prioritize accordingly.
3. Autumn
In the autumn, butterflies are charging up their energy reserves for overwintering or migration. Nectar-rich plants that bloom in the autumn include chrysanthemum, asters, and goldenrods.
While less important than spring and summer, autumn is still a relatively crucial period for butterflies to fuel up before the huge task ahead of them. Food isn’t as scarce as spring, but it is still scarcer than summer, so it’s still a good idea to have some nectar-rich plants for butterflies to fuel up.
4. Winter
Finally, food in winter is as scarce as it gets. However, there’s no real pressing need for food sources, at least not as much as in the other seasons. During the winter, due to the cold, butterflies are usually overwintering, so they won’t be actively feeding.
That said, there are exceptions. During certain warm days, or if your winter is on the milder end, butterflies can still come out to feed. Even though, it’s not all butterflies. Only those that overwinter in the adult stage might come out to feed.
So even on warmer days or if your winter is mild, don’t expect to see many butterflies around your garden. For the winter, some great nectar-rich plants are camellias, dawn viburnum, and winter jasmine.
If your winter is on the colder end, you probably won’t see any butterflies flying around at all. Nevertheless, you can still support them by growing evergreen shrubs that they can use for shelter when overwintering.
Additional Tips
By having plants that can feed butterflies in every season, your butterfly garden can continue to support butterflies regardless of the season. Here are some additional tips to make your butterfly garden even more effective.
Use Native Plants
Native plants are plants that naturally grow in your local region. Where possible, it’s a good idea to use native plants as butterflies will take to them more readily since they recognize and are used to these plants.
Native plants also require less maintenance, which means less time and effort, as well as lower costs. Native plants are also more resilient against diseases and pests, which brings us to our next point.
Minimize Chemicals
Insecticides and herbicides contain ingredients that can be harmful to butterflies and caterpillars, so you should be using them only as a last resort.
It’s not always possible to not use chemicals, especially if the issue is more serious. However, taking measures to mitigate the issue and using alternatives to chemicals can help greatly reduce chemical use.
First off, one of the most effective ways to deal with pests naturally is to encourage pest predators such as ladybugs and praying mantises. After all, they’re basically doing what you do, i.e. removing pests, except they do it every day to get food for survival. To encourage pest predators, it’s similar to what you do for butterflies–incorporate plants that produce pollen.
Next, complement the previous method with targeted traps placed in strategic locations like pest hotspots. For the traps, try to use pheromone ones instead of sticky traps, as sticky traps will trap pest predators too.
Third, using native plants will reduce the need for pesticides. Native plants, being in the region, tend to evolve to have natural defenses against the local pests, thus reducing the need for pesticides.
Finally, opt for natural solutions where you can, like diatomaceous earth, neem oil, or a simple solution of dish soap with water.
Conclusion
By now, you should have a good idea of how to go about ensuring butterflies can find support in your garden all year round, regardless of the season.
If you’re willing to take the extra effort, you can also use our Zip Locator and see which butterflies are in your region and plants they like, this will increase the number of butterflies you can see.
Good luck!
