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Butterfly Garden

What a bummer! No cats or butterflies :,(

12 years ago

This spring I planted 2 spicebushes, bunches and bunches of parsley and dill, turtlehead, and milkweed hoping to have a yard full of butterflies and caterpillars by the end of the summer...

Well the summer has come and is just about gone and I have hardly seen any butterflies whatsoever!

Any clue what I can do to get them into my yard next year? I do have some flowers, too, albeit not much- I started most from seed and this year they didn't do a whole lot.

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Comments (5)

MissSherry
12 years ago
Where are you located, Sammy? I don't mean your address, but the general vicinity and whether or not you live in an urban, suburban or rural setting. If you live in a rural setting, I'm shocked you haven't seen any cats or butterflies. You also should see at least a few butterflies in a suburban setting.
Sherry
SammyG
Original Author
12 years ago
It's relatively urban, or close to it. My neighborhood is right next to the woods though... but I'm also about 5 miles from the White House in northern Virginia.

I had hoped to be beneficial to the local pollinators since I'm not sure there is a whole lot for them around here!

I used to live in a very, very rural place and grew accustomed to a yard FULL of butterflies and bees all summer! This was so unusual to me.
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bob_71
12 years ago
Sammy, you are very close to my garden and while the early attendance of butterflies was rather poor this year, later on it turned out to be pretty good.

My expertise is not in the same class as some of the responders, but from your list, it appears to me that almost all your plants were of the "host" variety rather than those that are primarily furnished as "nectar" plants. The host plants are completely necessary for the caterpillars but the adults must first be attracted with nectaring sources and their fragrance.

In our general area butterfly bushes and lantanas are excellent for drawing them to your yard. Lantanas purchased as plants, rather than as seed will be quite productive in their first year.

Milkweed is an excellent nectar plant but I've had trouble getting them to bloom productively during their first year.

Don't give up too quickly, I really think that your results will get better each year.

Bob
docmom_gw
12 years ago
I agree with Bob. Give it time. And keep expanding your nectar and host plants. Verbena boniarensis is a great annual nectar plant that is very easy to grow. Zinnias are also favorite annuals of many on this forum. Good luck!

Martha
SammyG
Original Author
12 years ago
I did have a butterfly bush and lantana in the front yard, but my husband said the same... give it another summer, maybe the butterflies just hadn't found me yet! :)

Thanks for responding and maybe next summer my bee-balm and liatris and coneflowers will bloom more than they did this year!

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