Butterfly Gardens

Did You Know:  Breeding – When two insects mate for the purpose of reproduction, breeding can bring change as two different parents create a new type of baby bug.

One of the most rewarding gardens you can grow is a butterfly garden, a garden that attracts butterflies to come and live there and to raise their butterfly families.  One way to make a butterfly garden is to plant dill, an herb that attracts monarch caterpillars and butterflies.

When the mother monarch butterfly finds good-tasting dill plants, she will lay her eggs there.  When the little caterpillars hatch from the egs, they’ll have plenty of food to eat as they grow to eventually become adult butterflies.  Another plant that will attract monarchs is the milkwee, which sets a good background for butterfly breeding.

Here’s a list of some other things to plant and which bugs like it:

• cabbage – cabbage butterfly
• clover – the wooly bear caterpillar; tiger moth
• parsley – black swallowtail
• dogwood – common blue butterfly
• trumpet vine – plebeian sphinx moth
• cosmos – hummingbird moth
• larkspur – all different types of butterflies

Many of the flowers that you plant for the butterflies will also attract moths.  And although they seem a lot alike, they are different in four ways.

Differences Between Moths and Butterflies

1. Butterflies hold their wings together while at rest; moths lay them falt.
2. Butterfly antennae have bumps on the ends; moth antennae are thick and feathery.
3. Butterflies prefer the daytime; moths come out at night.
4. Butterfly bodies are thin; moth bodies are usually thick.

Here’s a recipe to enjoy from the dill you planted for your butterflies!

Dilly Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon dried dill (finely diced)
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1 dash of seasoning salt

Stir and serve with crackers or chips or vegetables.

Variations:  Try adding cream cheese; olives, sandwich spread, or pineapple.

The Small Garden

In the wildlife garden, small-scale attractions can lead to large-scale delights for birds, butterflies and other creatures that fly.

There are lots of ways to attract winged wildlife with simple steps and small projects.

A brushpile is much more than discarded limbs, by taking a little care and building your pile so that it is a place where dragon flies will perch, and birds like wrens can find a natural and ready source of the insects they crave>  The pile will also attract other birds such as sparrows or juncos who will also build their nests within the brush, feeling secure and sheltered. 

Be sure and provide a container or two filled with dust so that you’ll be able to watch birds taking a dust bath.  Also, set out a few stones, and be treated to the sight of butterflies basking in the sun.  These are simple and effective projects that are explained in other blogs on this site.

Sparrows taking a dust bath.

Did You Know Tip:  While one hummingbird can visit hundreds of flowers a day, a hummer’s diet doesn’t just consist of nectar-rich flowers.  They also consume protein-packed spiders and a variety of small insects snatched from a spider’s web, from flowers or from the sky.

 

Diversity Is Key To A Garden

A woodland wildlife garden features a diversity of plants at all levels, from ground covers and vines to towering trees.  Birds especially appreciate the birdhouses located beneath the shelter of large trees.

Diversity is key, whether in a small or large scale garden, it’s important to have the right mix of plants and trees, shrubs, ground covers, vines and flowers, in addition to amenities such as feeders, birdhouses and baths.

Together they provide a complete package of food, shelter, and water for wildlife. 

FlowerPot Birdbath

You’ll not only be rewarded each and every day with the chance to observe wildlife up close, but you’ll have the satisfaction of knwoing you’re helping to combat habitat loss, the leading cause of wildlife population decline. 

Once you’ve created a welcoming place for winged wildlife, you’ll find that gardening becomes more enjoyable and even easier, too!  That’s because a fascinating synergy exists bewteen the garden and nature’s winged creatures.

Synergy of Gardening and Winged Creatures

Birds, butterflies, and geneficial ugs assist in the regeneration of plants: 

• Birds disperse the seeds of everything from lowly ground covers to stately trees.
• Butterflies and beneficial bugs such as nonstinging beeds lend a hand in pollination.

Birds and beneficial bugs are among the most effective natural forms of controlling pest insects that damage or even kill plants. 

Did you know that over her lifetime, a lady beetle can eat on the order of 2,500 aphids?  Aphids can damage roses, vegetables, trees, and shrubs.

Garden Planting Strategy

As you plan your planting strategy on whatever scale you choose, always remember to think vertically as well as horizontally.

Wildlife habitats exist at variouis levels of the vertical space that exists between the canopy and the soil.

The uppermost tree branches form the canopy, or highest level.  Smaller trees, shrubs, and vines compose the understory while just below lies the lower horizon, featuring low-growing shrubs, perennials, and annuals.

Finally ground covers, which offer habitats for soil-dwelling creatures, beetles, and ground-feeding birds, blanket the floor.

So, by grouping your plants in latyers, or wildlife zones, you can cater to different species of wildlife, whether they feed or nest on the ground, in trees and bushes or in the air.

Stressed in life?  Gardening is one of the best stress busters around!!  Now, you are beginning to see why!  Once you begin transforming your yard and seeing the results unfold, you’ll have an intimate look at wildlife that’s bound to be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life! 

Happy Gardening while butterfly attracting!

Atracting Winged Wildlife to Your Backyard

Femail Widow Skimmer Dragonfly

If you want to attract winged wildlife to your own yard, the first question you need to answer is:  which wildlife species can you attract?  After, it’s fruitless to intall a purple martin house if there are no purple martins to be found in your corner of the country. 

See Wildlife Profiles on this site to find descriptions, ranges, and tips about how to attract many species of birds, butterflies, moths, dragonflies and damselfies.   Once you’ve deterined which species live in your vicinity, you can design your wildlife habitat either to entice a particular group, such as hummingbirds, dragonflies, moths, bees, birds, or swallows, or to invite a viriety of species to take up residence right outside your door.

You’ll also need to decide just how large a wildlife habitat you’re ready and willing to create.  A wildlife-friendly garden doesn’t need to be large to do the job.  With careful planning, you can increase the winged population of your yard noticeably with a habitat covering as little as 10 x 10 feet if you already have existing trees and shrubs. 

Of course, the larger the habitat the greater the rewards.  You might well find yourself starting small and then being inspired to add on over the years. 

Basics for Winged Backyard Wildlife

No matter what size garden you have in mind, you need to remember the basic scret to creating a habitat welcoming to wildlife.  Simply put, the creature comforts that make your yard a more nature-friendly place are the same ones we all need for survival:  food, fresh water, protective cover, and a cozy shelter.

Food preferences vary, depending of course on the particular species and also at times, on the location and time of year.  In addition to insects and worms, differenet types of winged wildlife and their offspring need seeds, leavesd, nuts, nectar, fruits, berries, and even tree sap for fuel.  Growing trees, shrubs, ground covers, and flowers that produce food in summer will certainly entice winged creatures to come for a visit.  However, they’ll be more likely to stay awhile, and perhaps even nest, when there’s an abundance of food available throughout each of the four seasons.

Shelter is very important to wildlife when the weather is going against them.  Dense deciduous trees and shrubs as well as evergreens provide not only a much needed refuge from the elements, such as a sudden downpour, pounding hail, a blizzard, or searing heat, but also protection from predators and a safe place to breed or just rest for the night. 

Then, there are the grasses, low-growing conifers, and trailing blackberries that create a sanctuary for ground-nesting birds, a windfall of insects for ground-feeders, and places for dragonflies to perch.  Even vines, such as Virginia creeper or honeysuckles, offer a place where birds butterflies and moths can perch and nest.

For me, I decided to plant fragrant bushes, shrubs and flowers to enhance the backyard’s appeal to me and insects and birds, alike!

Water, Please!

A clean, accessible year-round water source is a necessity that’s easily overlooked, yet it is often more scarce than food in many urban and suburban landscapes.   Always indispesable in especialy hot or dry areas, wildlife water sources are extremely crucial during the summer.  A small piond or pool is always ideal, but even a rudimentary birdbath can meet birds’ needs for a place to drink and bathe. 

Of course, it’s not just birds that need water.  If you meet wildlife’s basic need for water, you’ll be guaranteed to attract a wide variety of butterflies and beneficial bugs, too.  Once they’ve discovered a source of water in your backyard, many will keep coming back, and they’ll bring others!

Plants to consider:  Rhododendrons, azaleas, and flowering dogwood provide a complete package of food, shelter, and nesting sites for a variety of winged creatures.