Butterfly Beauties

The only thing prettier than a garden full of beautiful blooms is a garden full of beautiful blooms and butterflies flitting from flower to flower. Fortunately, inviting these beauties to your garden requires very

little . . . primarily food and water.

Butterflies navigate toward water that is shallow and that makes a dripping sound. To accomplish this, you may need to simply hang a bottle upside-down so that it slowly drips into a bird bath or other shallow container, making a gentle splash. If you have a water fountain or feature, take care to clean it regularly.

Butterflies search for vibrant colors. Bright red, pink, and purple flowers are sure to bring butterflies to your garden. The types of blooms that come in clusters are especially attractive to the little flutterby. They allow the butterfly to walk around from tiny flower to tiny flower while he snacks on the rich nectar.

The butterfly’s “mouth” is a long straw-like tube with which he can sip nectar from the flower. Blooms with tubes accommodate the butterfly’s anatomy. Butterflies also require warmth. They look for sunny spots where they are protected from wind. They also navigate toward flat rocks that absorb warmth from the sun.

There are many flowers that will attract butterflies: lilac, verbena, cosmos, lantana, zinnias, bee balm, and lilies are just a few.

Give butterflies what they need and they are sure to grace your garden.