law of attraction

Butterflies are drawn to particular plants for nectar and breeding, says MARTYN ROBINSON

Butterflies need a source of nectar, an egg-laying site and good sunlight to thrive and reproduce. One of the best plants for your garden that will attract butterflies from far and wide is buddleja, especially varieties with deep purple or blue flowers. Lavenders are also good butterfly attractors, as are daisy bushes. While these plants provide butterflies with nectar, they don’t give them anywhere to lay their eggs, so consider catering for this as well when choosing plants for your garden, to encourage butterflies to stay longer and increase their numbers.

Smaller daisies – particularly native ones – provide egg-laying sites for painted lady and meadow argus (Junonia villida, above) butterflies. For gardeners who like unusual teas or salad greens, native and introduced stinging nettles are a good choice, too, because they attract the Australian admiral butterfly. The introduced wanderer butterfly (also known as the monarch butterfly) and the native lesser wanderer butterfly feed on various members of the milkweed family – several of these are weeds, but others, such as Asclepias curassavica and some of the stapelias, behave themselves and make attractive garden plants.

The huge orchard butterflies are happy with almost any type of citrus. Mandarin and cumquat are great options, as they also give you lots of fruit to eat. Lemons are good, too, although you can only eat so many lemons!

There are many butterfly species you can attract to your garden to breed, and most have a restricted range of food plants they will lay eggs on. Most states have their own insect societies with information on butterfly gardens and what to plant. Contact them to find out more about plants that will look pretty and bring fluttering entertainment into your garden, year after year.

Martyn gardens mainly on Sydney’s Northern Beaches