Plot to pull in the beauties
Attracting butterflies will truly bring your garden to life, and once you spot a couple you’ll be hooked – and so will the children
Last week, I wrote about outdoor projects to help keep your little ones entertained during the lockdown.
This week I want to introduce a slightly more ambitious project that will transform your garden into an insect-friendly haven – especially for butterflies.
Anecdotal evidence suggests wildlife has been booming during the pandemic, perhaps as a result of falling pollution, fewer cars and less noise.
So now’s a great time to make your own outdoor space even more insect-friendly.
A flying start
Butterflies are one of the most marvellous insects that visit our gardens. As a child, I remember a giant Buddleia (butterfly bush) in our front garden where we’d go to spot all manner of butterfly.
The pretty Peacock butterfly, with its brownish-red wings with what look like eyes; the spectacular Swallowtail, with
its golden wings and a swallowlike tail that resembles antennae; and the large white butterfly, also known as the cabbage white, were all regular guests in our garden.
Another common British butterfly is the small tortoiseshell, a frequent garden visitor in my youth and now, but one of my favourites is the Red Admiral. With its striking black and red colouring, it’s probably the most famous British species.
Spotting butterflies on a warm afternoon is a great way to entertain the kids and helping to instil in them a love of nature.
Picking and planting butterflyfriendly plants can only enhance their enjoyment. Visit the Butterfly Conservation charity’s website – butterflyconservation.org – for an easy-to-use guide to identifying your visitors.
Kids can draw them, take pictures or even keep a butterfly diary.
Butterfly Conservation reckons a well thought out garden can attract more than 20 species.
And if you manage your patch carefully to create a breeding habitat, you might see even more. Not only do butterflies look stunning, but you get what they bring to your patch of paradise. Just like bees, butterflies are pollinators. When they visit a flower, they collect pollen and carry it to other plants.
This helps your fruit, veg and flowers reproduce. So introducing plant varieties with the purpose of attracting butterflies helps your garden just as much as the insects.
Butterfly haven
There are 56 species of butterfly in the UK and there are several species of shrub and plant that are especially suited to attracting them.
As well as my childhood Buddleia davidii (butterfly bush), which is a sure-fire win, hebes are favourites too. The magnificent ‘Midsummer Beauty’
Manage your patch carefully to create a breeding habitat, and you’ll see more
is a lovely medium-sized shrub, while smaller varieties, such as Hebe rakaiensis and ‘Pagei’, form really good garden features, and their lovely flowers are perfect for pollinators.
They’re generally a compact shrub, easy to prune and attractive all year, and they grow well in most soils.
Another butterfly-friendly option is Sedums, including ‘Autumn Joy’. By choosing varieties that flower earlier and later in the year, you’ll ensure there is a continuous supply of plants.
With purple flowers from summer to autumn, Verbena bonariensis are a great addition, as are cornflowers, Achillea and echinacea, with their long-lasting blooms.
Space to grow
Dot these plants in and around borders, or as specimens within the lawn. You can grow just about anywhere, so don’t let a compact plot hold you back.
These plants and shrubs will thrive in sunny, sheltered spots.
These will also help attract butterflies, because the insects need to keep their body temperature high to fly.
That’s why you’ll see them congregating in garden heat traps – they can’t move until they’re warm enough.
Interestingly, butterflies taste using receptors on their feet. As they walk over the plant, the receptors tell them if it’s the right one.
Patio gardens
If you don’t have a full garden but rely on a patio, balcony or even a windowbox, don’t despair. Lavender is a great insect-friendly choice for a box or container.
About 10 inches of ordinary compost, which some drainage holes in the bottom, and you’re away – but be sure to water well in warm weather.
Another perennial herb is Marjoram. Its white, pink or purple flowers grow on spikes from June to September and it’s great in pots, along borders or even as a groundcover variety, needing little maintenance.
Or try Lantanas, a species of perennial flowering plant in the verbena family.
I love this plant and so do the butterflies. If you touch the leaves, you get an incredibly zesty Mediterranean fragrance and the flowers are delightful, in reds, oranges and yellows.
You can grow this in pots, but it does need a bit of shelter to get it through the winter.
Finally, try the perennial wallflower (Bowles Mauve), which produces dozens of sweet-scented purple flowers from April right through the summer.
Wallflowers make great bedding plants, and will grow well in full sun or light shade as long as soil isn’t prone to waterlogging. They also thrive in pots and hanging baskets, providing you don’t let them dry out.
The added benefit of all these plants is that it’s not just butterflies that enjoy them. Pollinating bees benefit from the same plants, and the more insects come to visit, the more birds you’ll see and get to enjoy.
Some final tips
To keep your visitors happy, deadhead flowers during the season to keep them blooming, mulch your beds with organic compost and water well.
If you must use pesticides, look for one that doesn’t harm pollinators.
And when you buy garden centre plants, be sure to give them a good hosing down before planting out in the garden. Good luck.