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Growing a Butterfly Garden?

I want to grow a little butterfly garden in a little piece of land in my backyard. My question is, what types of plants do butterflies like? Also, since it's fall, what kind of bulb-growing plants do they eat? Is there anything besides plants I should put in the garden? (like a little pool of water or something). Thanks!

Public Comments

1. Yes do have a pool. Grow scented plants like roses, lavender, sedum, budlia bush, all the cottage garden plants. You could go onto the BBC web page and click on gardening, or the RHS site. Have fun.
2. Butterfly bush is a given. Love the plant. Lantana. A small dish of water with old fruit in it ( oranges , apples , bananas ) will produce a ethylene gas that draws them into your garden and the water is for them to drink.
3. A Butterfly Bush of any type. Period. Works wonders, very low maintenance, easy to grow, tough to kill. They also love lavender. http://www.greenthumbmomma.com
4. Buy some grown, flowering trumpet vines and a butterfly bush which is flowering. It's too late to plant snaps and wild flowers, do that next spring, but the vine and bush will attract many butterfly's now, add a shallow big saucer type bowl and put some pebbles in the middle of it and add water, they will sit on pebbles and sip.
5. Here is a site that may be helpful to you, there are just too many plants for me to list for your butterfly garden but I did list a few for you at the bottom. But this site will give you a more full list of plants, some beautiful photos and even how to design your new Butterfly garden. http://www.milkweedcafe.com/bflygarden.html Here is another informative site... to tell you things like what they eat, how they eat, what they drink and so forth. http://www.butterfly-ireland.com/Guestbook.htm#Q14 And here is my small list that may help you: Butterfly perennials: Asters, Bee-balm, Black-eyed susan, Daylily, Phlox, Hollyhock, Hibiscus, Orange glory flower, Poker primrose Butterfly annuals and biennials: Cosmos Impatiens Sedum, Verbena, Purple Cone Flower, Butterfly trees and shrubs: Rose of sharon, Butterfly bush, Spiraea Pear, Blueberry, Viburnum, Scabiosa, Blue Mist Shrub Butterfly host plants: Milkweed,Parsley,Hollyhock,Nettles, Spicebush
6. Do some research on Milkweed. Butterflies love it. May have to order it on-line to get it in your area.
7. We've had good luck with butterfly plants, water in a dish and a plate with really ripe fruit. And a rock or statue for them to land on.