Gardening For the Butterflies

I just found out the Monarch Butterfly is on the Top 10 Most Threatened Species of 2010 list, because of the use of chemical pesticides, and many of their habitats are in jeopardy.

I love watching the Monarch Butterflies in my garden during late summer, so I always plant a few plants just for them, and any other butterflies I can attract to my backyard garden. Since I’ve been fairly successful at attracting them, I thought I’d share a few plants you might want to add to your garden this summer to attract a few butterflies of your own.

Plants to create a butterfly habitat in your backyard:

• Milkweed is the most important plant for the Monarch Butterfly, they lay their eggs on the milkweed plant, and it’s the only plant their larvae will eat. Pesticides, and ditch mowing have cut back the supply of mikweed considerably. If you have a place to let it grow in your backyard plant a few seeds, and watch the butterflies come.
• Thistle is another butterfly favorite.
• Butterfly bush
• Bee balm
• Russian sage
• Butterfly weed
• Yarrow
• Shasta daisies

Most of these are easy to grow perennials, once you plant them they’ll keep coming back year after year to feed your butterfly population. Just make sure you don’t use any chemical pesticides that might harm your butterfly friends.