5 Tips and Tricks For Butterfly Gardening

This list teaches you about different tips and tricks for butterfly gardening. The following points give detailed explanations on how to help butterflies survive and overwinter in your garden throughout their lifespan.

1. Clean very delicately during spring and fall

If you typically clean up and prep your gardening space in the spring before sowing, it’s important to note that most butterflies will overwinter as caterpillars or in their chrysalis. They could be overwintering in a pile of leaves or on stems of your dormant plants. It’s crucial to check your plants before disturbing your soil.

When cleaning, try to keep as much undisturbed as possible. I try to keep my dead leaves and other debris in a separate container (like this one) with a little soil to prep. This way, the organic matter composts and breaks down to release natural nutrients I can then use to replace my topsoil when I’m ready. This also gives any surviving caterpillars a chance to potentially make their way back to their host plant when they wake up. Not only does this make soil and plants healthier, but it gives anything that chose to overwinter a chance for survival instead of being discarded.

Use similar cleaning practices in the fall when you’re preparing your perennials and garden for the end of the season. If you’re looking for an affordable composter with a lid that doesn’t take up too much space, try this one. You can add all of your fruit peels, leaves, weeds, grass, etc. to it throughout the year for fertilizer.

2. Try not to use any pesticides

Pesticides kill a lot of host plants for caterpillars. You may be trying to get rid of weeds or other insects, but you’re killing important plants and poisoning your beneficial insects in the process. Milkweed, which is the only host plant for monarch butterflies, will die from the use of pesticides.

If you find an unwanted weed growing, just pull it out at the root and discard. If you need to get rid of aphids, you can use a mixture of dish soap and water that will do the trick. Try to refrain as best as you can from the use of any pesticide and search for other remedies that don’t harm your beneficial insects or host plants.

3. Plant for continuous blooms throughout the growing season

The obvious advice is to plant flowers that have similar light and soil requirements together. What you may not have realized, though, is that there are flowers you can plant together that bloom at different times. This creates a butterfly habitat that’s entirely sustainable for the entire growing season. You don’t have to have a “spring seed/bulb area” and “summer seed/bulb area.” You absolutely can and should mix and match!

Let’s take tulips and delphiniums, for example. Delphiniums like full sun to partial shade with well-draining soil. Tulips also like full sun to partial shade with well-draining soil. Both flowers don’t tolerate a lot of heat. Both thrive in similar types of soil. Perfect match! The difference is that tulips bloom in the spring and delphiniums bloom in early to mid-summer. Not only do delphiniums attract butterflies, but they also attract hummingbirds. So if you plant these two together, you’ll have a gorgeous display of tulips followed by jaw-dropping spikes of delphiniums for color practically all growing season long. This combination is not only pretty, but it’s functional for pollinating insects.

For a list of companion planting for continuous blooms, check out this post.

4. Supply adequate “puddling” and drying areas

Caterpillars get their water from their host plant. Similarly, butterflies get the liquid they need from the nectar of plants. While nectar provides nutrition and energy, they do need additional places to “puddle” to receive the minerals they require. Butterflies like shallow baths with a few stones or pieces of wood that reach above the surface. They also will need a place to bask in the sun to dry their wings before taking flight again.

Try fashioning a small “butterfly bath” among some taller flowers for shelter with a few sticks and stones jutting out. Butterflies need places to perch while they hang out because they can’t be fully submerged. Create a “drying area” out of stones or broken terra cotta pieces nearby for them to go and dry their wings once they’re finished in the water. Nectaring flowers, shelter, shallow water, and a drying area is all you need to provide to make a butterfly happy. To view a list of nectar plants that feed butterflies, read this post.

If you’re not into DIY crafts, this cute little butterfly puddler adds a nice touch to any garden space. You can place it in a container or on the ground.

5. Check plants daily for new eggs or larvae

You may wake up one morning and find a once barren plant bustling with tiny caterpillars. But what comes before the caterpillar? The egg! It’s important to inspect all stems and leaves carefully, yet thoroughly, daily for any signs of life.

Try setting up a routine of inspection and then watering directly after. You’ll want to water at soil level instead of overhead because you could accidentally wash away eggs or small cats. Caterpillars can actually drown if knocked onto wet soil. This goes for any herb, vegetable, fruit, and flower that’s considered a “host plant” for insects.

To view a list of caterpillar host plants native to Illinois and their corresponding butterfly, read this post.