Butterfly Garden
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| Butterfly Garden |
With all of the new housing developments being built everywhere you look , we are starting to see a loss of the natural butterfly habitats like meadows. With the absence of these natural meadows, the kinds of butterflies that we see around us are dropping in numbers too. Luckily butterflies are quickly coaxed back if you plant a butterfly garden where the butterfly caterpillars can have host plants to enjoy and the adult butterfly has bloomsto partake of the nectar. Butterfly gardens are easy to create and will provide you and your family an opportunity to watch butterflies in their natural environment.
The fundamentals of building a butterfly garden are an open space with a lot of sunshine and sheltered from the wind. Secure a placewithloads of daylight with a few rocks or stones that can heat up on which the butterflies can bask in the afternoon sun. Attempt to create your butterfly garden close to hedges or shrubs that will help shield them from the strong winds. If it is too windy, the butterflies won’t stay around for long. The hedge or shrub could be used as food for the caterpillar. You can check out what the caterpillar needs from your nearby nursery or garden center.
Butterflies are fond of mud puddles where they can sip the water and consume the minerals. A patch of damp soil will make them content. Most important of all is that the butterfly garden be pesticide free. A lot of people really like to use pesticides to kill off unwanted pests, regrettably it will also chase away your butterflies too. Build your butterfly garden in a placewhere there will be no chemical pesticides used. Better still, ask your garden center about organic gardening.
Flowers with nectar are a necessity for a butterfly garden. When planting these nectar sources attempt to put in plants that will supply flowers from the beginning to end of the growing season due to the fact that these are the only form of food for the butterflies. Don’t forget shrubs and wildflowers. Roses, geraniums and lilies have no nectar, so plant them somewhere else. Keep your butterfly garden diversified to allure the highest amount of butterflies. Another addition of the garden is a supply of larval food. The caterpillar needs food to grow into a butterfly. If there is no food source they will die. Grow some herbs for both of you. They like dill, fennel, and parsley on the menu. What they don’t eat you can harvest for cooking with fresh herbs.
You could also plant a butterfly hangout in pots. Buy some pretty pots and plant them with flowers that have an alluring scent as well as brilliant delightfulcolors. Petunias, daylilies or sweet alyssum will serve the purpose. Of course the butterfly bushes are a good choice for a butterfly garden, or you could plant some hanging baskets with Impatients .
Some homeowners prefer make their own feeder and solution. And it is simple to do. Put 4 parts water to 1 part sugar in a pot and boil it until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool. Get a shallow dish, saturate a paper towel with the solution and place it the dish. Put a stone in the container so the butterflies have a place to land on while they are feeding.
Get the kids involved. Have them prepare a diary of each of the different kinds that pay a visit to your butterfly garden. Let them research the butterflies on the computer to discover all about each specific butterfly and it becomes not only fun, but a learning experience also.
Considering that there are many growing zones in the United States you will need to talk with your local nursery or garden center for guidelines on what plants to use in your butterfly garden for tempting butterflies in your distinctive zone.
There is an old American Indian Legend about butterflies: “To have a wish come true you must capture a butterfly. Whisper to the butterfly what your wish is and then set it free. This little messenger will take your wish to the Great Spirit and it will come true.” What a great legend!
