Gardening Supplies for a Flower & Butterfly Garden

Basic Supplies

• Any successful flowering garden needs holes dug to plant root balls; good finished compost to add fertility to the soil --- unless you're blessed with rich soil already; mulch to preserve soil moisture and help prevent weeds; and reliable access to a water source. Have a shovel and garden hose at the ready, along with a pile of compost and a supply of leaf litter, bark or wood chips for mulch. Consider rain barrels as well if you'd like your butterfly flowering garden to have frequent access to rainwater instead of treated municipal water.

Local Butterfly Garden Guide

• For any butterfly flower garden to be successful, you need to grow plants that will work in your geographic region. Lantana may be an excellent perennial butterfly flower, but won't hold up in a Montana garden. Likewise, butterfly gardening guides often give specific plant requirements, such as full sun or shade and the pH the plants prefer. Many guides give advice for attracting specific butterflies, or those that can only thrive with a certain plant. Check with your local garden center for a guide for your region. Your local extension center may have online, timely butterfly gardening tips and hints.

Plants

• Flowering plants that attract butterflies are only half of the recipe for a successful flower garden. Variety is key, so don't limit yourself to just one or two plant types. Some plants that produce very little in the way of flowers still make excellent food for butterfly larvae or protect larvae from predators. Purchasing a variety of plants with varying bloom colors, blooming times --- both time of year and time of day --- and heights, and combining both perennials and annuals, will ensure that the garden stays interesting year-round and is attractive to a wide variety of butterflies.

Gardening Supplies to Avoid

• Avoid pesticides in or even near your butterfly garden. Although they are too often considered a necessity for gardening, pesticides will devastate your butterfly population. Even when you don't see butterflies in your garden, their eggs or larvae --- caterpillars and worms --- may be hiding in the foliage or in the mulch. Tolerate some "extra" bugs in your garden along with your butterflies, and your garden will eventually find its balance without the use of pesticides.