Butterfly Garden | Pollinators | Hostplants | Balcony Gardens | Butterfly Conservation
If you love nature, having butterflies visit your garden is very rewarding. They bring beauty and colour and help pollinate plants. When considering what type of butterfly garden you’d like to create, ask yourself how much space you have, how much sun you get and what sort of soil conditions you can offer for growing plants.
Tip 1: Entice with sweet nectar
Plant plenty of brightly coloured flowers. Butterflies will visit almost any flower to sip nectar. When choosing which flowers to plant go for natives first. By prioritising native flowers, you’ll be supporting the local ecology and conservation efforts. When butterflies visit flowers to sip nectar pollen grains accidently stick to their bodies and are transported to the next flower. This is ‘accidental pollination’ but effective for kicking off the next generation of local plants, nonetheless. To find out which flower producing native plants to try in your area, ask at your local nursery.
Tiny Spaces | use pots, hanging baskets or even try a bonsai version. If native plants aren’t your jam try pentas, otherwise known as the Egyptian Star. Pentas aren’t native to Australia but they are easy to propagate and will grow almost anywhere. You’ll still be offering the butterflies in your area a tasty sip of nectar. In fact, it’s one of our go-to plants at the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. Choose bright whites, reds and pinks.
Tip 2: Plant hostplants for egg-laying
Different types of butterflies deposit their eggs on different species of plants. Likewise, butterfly caterpillars will only eat from their specific hostplant. To attract a more constant flow of butterflies to your garden try growing hostplants to encourage egg-laying. Again, check at your local nursery for butterfly hostplants and remember to consider seasonality. It’s likely you will need a good supply of hostplant as caterpillars can eat quite a bit! Purchase multiples of the same hostplant, provided you have the correct space and environmental conditions.
Big Spaces | plant large flowering trees, flowering bushes and vines. Again, choose native plants first. In tropical north Queensland our first priority for big spaces is to plant Euodia spp. and/or the Dutchman’s Pipe Vine (Aristolochia tagala). Both double up as a nectar source and hostplant for the Ulysses and Cairns Birdwing butterflies respectively. For a big pop of colour plant nectar producing Ixorias.
