Text by Sarah Marcin With spring in full bloom, now is the time to liven up your backyard with a custom-made butterfly garden. Watching the colorful butterflies flutter around the beautiful flowers will give you an endless source of enjoyment and comfort. Butterfly gardening has quickly become one of the most popular hobbies and couldn’t be easier to do.

Here are some tips on how to transform your own garden into a gorgeous butterfly haven:

1

Find out what butterflies live in your area. A few butterflies common to Travis and Williamson Counties include the Silver Flash, the Zilpa Longtail, the Flashing Astraptes, the Mazans Sootywing, the Texas Powdered Skipper and the Bluish Banded Duskywing. This is just a taste! There are many more varieties that call Austin home.

2

Let a corner of your backyard go wild. Many butterfly species lay eggs on native “weed” plants like clover, Zinnia, Butterfly Bush and milkweed. Don’t bother mowing the area. Butterflies love tall grass.

3

Locate your butterfly garden in a sunny location protected from high winds.

4

Nectar plants supply food for adult butterflies, and a colorful variety will attract them to your garden. Don’t forget to include host plants, which are those preferred by butterfly larvae (caterpillars). Sunflowers, wild sienna, elm trees and passionflowers are some native to Texas, amongst others. Some nectar plants to choose from include lavender, purple verbena, orange and white coneflower and several varieties of aster and daisies.

5

Plant flowers that bloom at different times so that your garden provides nectar all year. Laurel cherry, wild garlic, Texas almond, sumac and buckeye are perfect choices for the spring. When summer comes around, the blooms of pepper vine, wild carrot, butterfly weed, rose vervain and several types of sage will attract your butterflies. In autumn, try bluebonnets, the cardinal flower, abelia and camphorweed.

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In planning your garden, place short species of flowers in front and tall ones in back, and clump them by species and color. As butterflies search for food, they are better able to see large splashes of color than individual flowers. Butterflies are particularly attracted to red, orange, yellow and purple flowers.

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Dark stones in your garden can provide a warm spot where adult butterflies can bask in the sun and warm their bodies for flying. Tree branches give the butterflies a place to perch as well.

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Puddles or other shallow water sources are important as a source of salt and amino acids. Fill a shallow dish or saucer with wet sand and sink it into your garden soil. On hot days, butterflies will enjoy the moisture provided by the wet dirt.

9

Do not use any pesticides on or near your garden. Insecticides harm butterflies. a. If you have a pest problem, treat it manually. Pick off the unwanted insects or use boiling water on ant nests. b. Eliminate fire ants, as they are the butterfly larvae’s natural predators. Instead of poisons though, use growth hormone treatments.

10

A damp sand patch with fermenting fruit such as bananas or cantaloupe will attract butterflies. Also, red or orange sponges with sugar solution may be suspended from branches as artificial nectar sources when there are few flowers.

For more information on butterflies native to Texas and what plants they prefer, do your own research on the Internet or at the bookstore. You can also visit your local greenhouse or plant store and to ask a professional for advice. You will be amazed at your options.

After all your hard work, just sit back and watch as butterflies fill your garden. Not only are butterfly gardens a simple and fun way to see nature at its best, they also help to conserve these stunning creatures as their natural habitats disappear.