Crafts & Fun

Kids are naturally attracted to the fluttering wings of butterflies - and butterflies are naturally attracted to the colourful flowers in your garden! But did you know that you can encourage butterflies to visit your garden more often by choosing the right flowers?

Creating a “butterfly garden” with your kids is a lot of fun, and a great way to introduce your family to the wonders of nature.

Your butterfly garden does not have to be very large; it can be a few containers or a small plot in the corner of your yard. With some planning, you can expand it each year, creating a long-term project for you and your kids to enjoy.

First of all, find the sunniest location in your yard (don’t forget the sun hat for your little ones!). Then the fun begins - you and your child get to play in the dirt, working up the planting area. Once the soil is loosened, you can begin planting.

For best results, you should use nectar-producing flowers. Perennials are generally better than annuals, however, a succession of flowering blooms will ensure butterfly visits throughout the summer. Butterflies are generally attracted to bright coloured flowers, such as red, orange, yellow, purple and dark pink. See the handy list below for types of flowers that will be most enticing butterflies.

When planting the annuals (from the nursery cell packs), your child can help by handing you the individual plants, arranging the order in which they will be planted or, depending on the age of your child, actually planting them by digging the holes. Remember to put the small plants at the front and tall plants at the back of the bed.

After the planting comes the watering (your child will love this part too!). Some butterflies, like swallowtails and skippers, need minerals found in mud puddles to survive, so you should provide a water source in a shallow container for species that “puddle.” It can be an old hubcap from a car, a Frisbee, or any other container that will hold water. Fill it almost full with soil and then saturate it with water, making a sloppy mud puddle.

Time to decorate! Brainstorm with your kids about how to accessorize your butterfly garden. You can use garden butterfly signs, lawn ornaments, or help your child make a sturdy sign that says “Jill’s Butterfly Garden” to give it a personal flavor.

Now that the hard work is over, you and your junior gardener can pull up the lawn chairs, have a cool drink and talk about flowers, butterflies, and other joys of summer. Here are some fun butterfly facts to get you started:

• There are 292 species of butterflies in Canada, most of which are found in British Columbia (176). Only 42 species are found in Prince Edward Island (42).
• Butterflies taste with their feet, smell with their antennae and breathe through holes in their abdomens.
• Butterflies are the second largest group of pollinators, next to bees.
• Some butterflies (like the Monarch) migrate thousands of kilometres to Mexico to escape the winter freeze; others like the Morning Cloaks hibernate and emerge in early spring.
• Some butterfly species live for a matter of days (Spring Azure) and others live as long as 11 months (Compton Tortoiseshell).

Don’t Forget!

• Choose a sunny location, protected from the wind and a place where butterflies can bask to warm up in the morning. Planting Lilacs, Mock Orange or Butterfly Bushes will help protect and attract them.
• Provide “host” plants (listed below) for egg laying and food for the caterpillars. This will ensure a continuous crop of butterflies.
• Avoid using pesticides in your garden. Pesticides will kill adult butterflies and/or larva.
• Botanical gardens, garden centers, libraries and the Internet are good sources for information on butterflies to help educate your children and add to your enjoyment.

Plants That Attract Butterflies

For continuous blooms throughout the summer, try planting these:

April 2002