Here are some tips to make your garden especially butterfly-friendly.
1. Visit the Naturium to find out which butterflies are in our area. We have a large display of mounted Ontario butterflies, as well as the many live examples found in our spectacular garden during the summer. See the "Flowers and Plants" page for a full list of our garden plants.
2. Plant your butterfly garden in a sunny location (5-6 hours each day), but sheltered from the winds. Butterflies need the sun to warm themselves, but they won't want to feed in an area where they are constantly fighting the wind to stay on the plants. It is also a good idea to place a few flat stones in your sunny location so the butterflies can take a break while warming up.
3. Provide water. Butterflies need water just like we do. Fill a bird bath, dig a pond, keep a mud puddle damp in a sunny location, or fill a bucket with sand and enough water to make the sand moist.
4. Avoid using pesticides in your garden.
5. Plant both host and nectar plants. Butterflies use two different types of plants - those that provide nectar for the adults to eat (nectar plant), and those that provide food for their offspring (host plant).
Here’s a list of some of the local butterflies and their specific host and nectar plants.
BUTTERFLY |
CATERPILLAR HOST PLANT |
BUTTERFLY NECTAR SOURCE |
Black Swallowtail |
Parsley, Dill, Fennel |
Aster, Buddleia, Joe Pye Weed, Alfalfa |
Comma |
Elm, Hops, Nettle |
Butterfly Bush, Dandelion |
Common Sulphur |
Vetch |
Aster, Dogbane, Goldenrod |
Monarch |
Milkweed |
Dogbane, Buddleia |
Mourning Cloak |
Willow, Elm, Poplar, Birch, Nettle, Wild Rose |
Butterfly Bush, Milkweed, Shasta Daisy, Dogbane |
Painted Lady |
Thistle, Daisy, Mallow/Hollyhock, Burdock |
Aster, Zinnia |
Question Mark |
Hackberry, Elm, Nettle, Basswood |
Aster, Milkweed, Sweet Pepperbush |
Red Admiral |
Nettle |
Stonecrop, Clover, Aster, Dandelion, Goldenrod, Mallow |
Red-spotted Purple |
Black Cherry, Willow, Poplar |
Privet, Poplar |
Spring Azure |
Dogwood, Viburnum, Blueberry, Spirea, Apple |
Blackberry, Cherry, Dogwood, Forget-me-not, Holly |
Tiger Swallowtail |
Black Cherry, Birch, Poplar, Willow |
Joe Pye Weed, Buddleia |
Variegated Fritillary |
Violet, Passion Vine |
Joe Pye Weed |
Viceroy |
Willow, Poplar, Fruit Trees |
Thistle, Beggar-tick, Goldenrod, Milkweed |
Butterfly Garden Kits
To help you build your own butterfly gardens, we also offer ready-to-plant butterfly garden kits. Containing a mix of annuals and perennials as well as nectar and host plants, these kits are an easy way for you to begin enjoying the beauty of butterflies in your own backyard. Kits are available in a variety of sizes to suit your garden needs.
Butterfly Books
Four excellent books on butterflies are:
- Golden Guide -
Butterflies & Moths (Robert T. Mitchell - Herbert
s. Zim)
- Field Guide to the Butterflies
of Eastern North America (Alexander B. Klots)
- Butterflies
of Canada (U of T Press)
- The Butterfly Book - Guide
to Butterfly Gardening (Lillian and Donald Stokes)
The "Butterfly Bouquet" DVD or video by Norman Lightfoot is also an excellent source of information on butterfly gardening.
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