Beautiful Butterfly Garden Ideas: 10 Ways To Attract Pretty Pollinators To Your Yard
Bringing butterflies to your backyard is one of the most important ways you can enhance wildlife, boost pollination and improve biodiversity. These 10 butterfly garden ideas can get you started
![tiger swallowtail sitting on zinnia flower in butterfly garden](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VmzmsZrxA7BPBcLtC9bdCg-415-80.jpg)
The best butterfly garden ideas don’t need to be tricky to bring to life in your garden. There are plenty of good reasons why butterflies matter and why it is important to make an effort with them. For many gardeners, it’s simply delightful to see them flitting around outside. But butterflies are also important pollinators and vital components of the ecosystem. Anything you can do to attract butterflies to your yard supports the local ecosystem and brings beauty and wonder to your outdoor space.
Try These 10 Easy Butterfly Garden Ideas
A butterfly-friendly garden should include a habitat for shelter and nesting, flowers for feeding on nectar, and water sources. There are many ways to add these elements to your yard or garden. Use these backyard butterfly garden ideas to create a dream landscape for your winged friends.
1. Plant a Variety of Pretty Flowers
Butterfly garden designs must include an abundance and variety of flowers. Butterflies feed on the sugary nectar found in many flowers. The colors and shapes of flowers evolved to attract pollinators like butterflies, so the more variety you include, the more butterflies you’ll see. Some good examples include bee balm, Joe Pye weed, zinnia, hollyhock and purple coneflower.
2. Grow Flowering Shrubs
Beautiful butterfly flowers are not restricted to perennial beds. Flowering shrubs are a great way to add more blooms to your garden that attract butterflies. Place flowering shrubs in protected areas of the garden, where butterflies can access them but also have some shelter from the wind. Good shrubs for butterflies include American beautyberry, buttonbush, dogwood, fragrant sumac and butterfly bush.
3. Get Privacy with a Mixed Hedge
Kill two birds with one stone by creating a mixed privacy hedge that will also attract your favorite flying insects. A single species hedge won’t contribute much to the effort, but a privacy screen made from different trees or shrubs that produce flowers will attract more butterflies.
4. Don’t Forget about Annuals
Perennials and shrubs should be the foundational plants for drawing in pollinators, but annuals can help as well. Attractive flowering annuals for pollinators like dahlias, borage, salvia and sunflowers do their part to attract a season-long stream of different types of butterflies.
5. Add a Pop of Pink
Butterflies are attracted to certain colors, including pink. Include pops of pink pollinator garden plants in a varied garden and flower beds to get more types of butterflies. Try to incorporate plants that will give you a series of blooms throughout the growing season, including spring, summer and fall bloomers.
Gardening tips, videos, info and more delivered right to your inbox!
Sign up for the Gardening Know How newsletter today and receive a free download of our most popular eBook "How to Grow Delicious Tomatoes."
6. Plant a Pollinator Strip
A pollinator wildlife strip is one of the best butterfly garden ideas. This is a long, thin bed dedicated solely to butterflies and other pollinating species. This is a good option for areas of the garden or yard that are narrow, such as along a driveway or between closely spaced homes. A concentrated area of butterfly-friendly species will attract many individuals.
7. Short on Space? Try Containers
A small space shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying butterflies. Even if you only have a patio or balcony, you can attract butterflies with container-grown pollinator flowers. Choose a variety of blooms that grow well in pots to enjoy a summer full of butterflies in your small space.
8. Start Early With Spring Bulbs
Flowering bulbs can be a great way to support butterflies early in the season when nectar is otherwise hard to find. Some good spring bulb options to plant for early blooms include Virginia bluebells, spring beauty, crocus, squill and trout lily.
9. Keep Butterflies Well-Fed in Fall
Butterfly garden ideas aren’t just restricted to spring and summer. Don’t forget your butterflies in fall. Late fall-blooming plants will help to feed pollinators as the growing season winds down. Flowers like asters, coreopsis and sunflowers provide an ongoing food source to support butterflies when summer blooms have faded.
10. Milkweed is a Must for Monarchs
One of the most notable species of butterfly, monarchs are beautiful visitors to the garden. They are also in trouble due to habitat loss. Monarchs need milkweed plants to lay eggs. The caterpillars feed on these plants, so be sure to include milkweed in your perennial beds or native areas.
Mary Ellen Ellis has been gardening for over 20 years. With degrees in Chemistry and Biology, Mary Ellen's specialties are flowers, native plants, and herbs.
-
Moon Garden Plant Palettes: 5 Shimmering Designs For Pots And Borders
Design a moon garden that comes to life after dark with these stunning planting combinations – for a night-time oasis that appeals to all the senses.
By Ellen Wells
-
8 Native Shade Plants To Brighten Up Your Garden
If you have dark gloomy corners in your garden or yard, plant some native shade plants to brighten and liven up the space.
By Mary Ellen Ellis
-
All About Fertilizer: Everything You Need To Know About Feeding Plants
Identifying the best plant food and feeding times are critical to plant health. Our guide to fertilizer explains how and when to feed crops and ornamentals for happier plants
By Bonnie L. Grant
-
Essential Cottage Garden Ideas: 5 Ways To Dive Into The Cottage Garden Trend
If you’re after easy cottage garden ideas for old fashioned beauty in any garden, read on! These five thematic selections will help fill your plot with old world charm and elegance
By Susan Albert
-
Attract More Monarchs: 8 Best Flowers For Monarch Butterflies
Creating a floral haven for pollinators is one of life’s joys – and monarchs are some of the most precious. Here are the best flowers for monarch butterflies
By Tonya Barnett
-
9 Bird-Friendly Flowering Plants: Flowers That Attract Birds Through The Seasons
Choose the right flowering plants and your garden will become a favorite hangout for avian visitors. Try these nine flowers that attract birds to your yard
By Tonya Barnett
-
Support California Dogface Butterfly: Do More For Zerene Eurydice
Would you like to know how to support California’s state insect? We explain the vital pollinating role of the California dogface butterfly and how to help it in your backyard
By Teo Spengler
-
Try These Hummingbird Vines: 8 Best Flowering Vines For Hummingbirds
Want to improve your chances of attracting some of the world’s most charming avian visitors? Here are the best eight flowering vines for hummingbirds
By Tonya Barnett
-
Landscaping Around A Fire Hydrant: Landscaping Tips And Safety Considerations
It might not sound like the obvious choice for a landscaping project, but a fire hydrant can work with a bigger gardening vision. Follow our tips on landscaping around a fire hydrant
By Mary Ellen Ellis
-
Planting For Chickens: Why You Should Plant A Chicken Garden
If you’ve never considered planting for chickens, this is your chance to enjoy their joyful benefits. We show you how to make an easy chicken garden
By Amy Grant