Butterfly Gardening
Avid gardeners out there know that there never seems to be enough time to get everything done once spring arrives. There is mulching to be done, weeding, annuals to plant, shrubs to prune, new trees to buy, new trees to water. Then suddenly, the end of August is looming and you realized that you haven’t posted a new blog since March. Wait, that’s just me. I love working in this plant business though I often get so wrapped up in the hectic pace of summer that, ironically, I neglect to stop and smell the roses. But as much as I enjoy a sweet-smelling rose, for me it is much more therapeutic to stop and watch the butterflies.
Like most people (except for a friend who inexplicably finds them creepy) I’ve always liked butterflies. But I really started to love them when my husband and I visited the Milwaukee Public Museum Butterfly Vivarium a few years ago and an employee allowed us to help take newly emerged butterflies from the chrysalis case and release them into the exhibit. It was my birthday, too, so it was an especially cool experience. This got me started researching how to create gardens to attract these colorful insects. Because the problem with stopping to watch butterflies outside of an enclosed, controlled environment is, like good parking spaces, they’re never around when you’re looking for one. So the next best thing is to make your yard an inviting place for them to stop and hopefully spend the summer brightening the landscape.
Here is a list of 8 key factors in creating a successful Butterfly Garden at home:
1. FOOD SOURCES FOR CATERPILLARS
Female butterflies will lay their eggs directly on a plant so that any newly hatched caterpillars won’t have to go far for food. Generally, each species of butterfly will lay eggs on specific plant species. For instance, Monarchs exclusively utilize Swamp and Red Milkweed and Butterfly Weed for egg-laying.
Other plants that are good food sources for attracting a variety of butterflies are:
Serviceberry
Prunus species
Native Grasses
Willow species
Plants in the Legume Family (Prairie Clover, Baptisia, Wild Senna)
Violets
Parsley species
Turtlehead 
Sumac species
Eastern Red Cedar
Sedum
Butterflies indigenous to Wisconsin will lay the most eggs on native plants. Johnson’s Nursery carries many of these native food sources. Other plants that we would consider weeds in a traditional flower bed like Queen Anne’s Lace, Curly Dock, White Clover, and Thistle are also native and attractive to butterflies. This is why you often see lots of butterflies in open, undisturbed fields.
2. NECTAR SOURCES
Though the butterflies you’ll find in Wisconsin are typically attracted to native plants as food sources, they seem to be less particular about nectar sources (however, indigenous plants are often more efficient nectar producers than cultivars). Bright colors like purple, orange, yellow, and red will draw them in.
Try incorporating plants such as:
Milkweed species
Joe-Pye Weed
Liatris
Buttonbush
Bottlebrush Buckeye
Tall Garden Phlox
Upright Sedum
Black-Eyed Susan 
Butterfly Weed
Unique Hydrangea
St. John’s Wort
Cup Plant
Ironweed
Ornamental Onion
Purple Coneflower
Yarrow
Buddleia
Buddleia (common name Butterfly Bush) is more of a hardy perennial and rather short-lived in our climate. It requires a good layer of mulch around the base to protect the roots in winter and will die back to the ground. However, even though it’s a high maintenance addition to the landscape, there is a lot of butterfly activity around this plant in our nursery. On a warm sunny day I can almost guarantee seeing a Monarch, an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and a Hummingbird Moth drinking nectar from a Buddleia.
3. SHELTER & PROTECTION
Besides some acting as food sources, trees and shrubs, whether deciduous or evergreen, offer butterflies protection from predators, shelter during inclement weather, and a place to rest at night. Planting larger specimens along the back of your garden can also act as a wind break.
4. WATER SOURCE
Butterflies need a source of water, but prefer extracting moisture from mud puddles or wet sandy areas, which provide extra salt and nutrients important to reproduction in males. It’s called “puddling”. Often times you’ll see a group of butterflies hanging out on the gravelly side of a road sucking out the nutrients after a rainfall. You can create the same scenario by digging out a depression in the ground of your butterfly garden and keeping it moist. Another, perhaps more aesthetically-pleasing option, would be to take a bird bath, fill it with sand, and keep just enough water in it so your hand leaves an impression for an instant “puddling” effect.
5. BASKING
 Butterflies need a hot sunny area to warm their wing muscles so they can fly. Include flat stones in your garden to absorb the sun’s rays. This offers a heated spot for a butterfly that needs to warm up when temperatures are cool, an activity called “basking”.
6. NO PESTCIDES, PLEASE
Another important factor in a successful butterfly garden is to stay away from the use of pesticides. Pesticides will not only kill unwanted pests but can also harm caterpillars and adult butterflies. Either try to live in harmony with all of God’s creatures or employ a manual method of extermination. Japanese Beetles in particular are a common scourge of the garden. Try going out when the Japanese Beetles are feeding and knock them into a can of soapy water. Or knock ‘em to the ground and stomp on them to release any pent up frustration. You might just see a butterfly while you are doing this.
7. NO FALL CLEAN UP
Many butterflies over-winter as eggs or caterpillars on plant material. Leaving perennials up through the winter not only offers food for birds and winter interest, but prevents accidentally throwing away any potential butterflies for the following year.
8. OBSERVATION 
Finally, make room in your garden for a bench or an observation area. Many of the plants that attract butterflies will also draw hummingbirds, moths, and honeybees. If the garden is near the house, place it within view of a window like we have done here at our nursery in Menomonee Falls. Or have it surround a patio. Imagine if you will: the colorful winged-wonders drinking the fruits of your labor, while you sink into a chair at the end of the day, relaxing in the warm glow of a setting sun, a cool drink in hand. Sound good? Click here to see an example of what you could create with plants available from Johnson’s Nursery. If you plant it, they will come!
Don’t have the time to create a butterfly haven? We have design and installation services to help you, including the popular “We Plan-You Plant” program. Don’t have the space available for another garden bed? Visit these great local locations to satisfy your Lepidoptera craving:
Milwaukee Public Museum
Puelicher Butterfly Wing
Milwaukee, WI
www.mpm.edu
Visit the butterfly vivarium for an interactive experience.
Riveredge Nature Center
Newburg, WI
www.riveredge.us
Ask about where the rare Metalmark Butterflies live!
The Milwaukee County Grounds
Wauwatosa, WI
www.themonarchtrail.org
Walk the trail where every year Monarch Butterflies migrate and see why it’s so important to preserve their habitat.
Wildflower Florists
Wauwatosa, WI
www.barbanddicks.com
www.thebutterflystore.net
The locals lovingly call her “Butterfly Barb” and fourteen years ago she and her husband opened their floral shop. The shop has evolved to include the Butterfly Store, Lepidoptera-friendly gardens outside, and terrariums inside housing butterflies in every stage of development. Barb has played a key role in preserving the Monarch Trail on the Milwaukee County Grounds and has an enthusiasm for these colorful insects that is infectious. Plus their floral arrangements are beautiful.
Boerner Botanical Gardens
Hales Corners, WI
www.boernerbotanicalgardens.org
Haven’t been here in awhile or didn’t realize we have very fine botanical gardens in the Milwaukee area? Take a walk through the different theme gardens, get some ideas, and see for yourself that when you plant it, the butterflies will come.
Johnson’s Nursery, Inc.
Menomonee Falls, WI
www.johnsonsnursery.com
We invite you to come peruse our own display gardens (one is designed for butterflies!) and plant center. Late summer and early fall brings an increase in butterfly activity as they take advantage of all the different plants in bloom.
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