I have always been a big fan of butterflies. When I was little I ordered special kits in the mail to raise my own and searched for their tiny eggs on queen anne's lace in the woods. Since I have started gardening more, I have found out that I need not work so hard to enjoy butterflies. It is just a case of if you plant it, they will come. Here are the steps to set up a butterfly garden you can enjoy watching from your porch:
Step 1: Plant nectar plants. Butterflies like to feed on sugary nectar from flowers. Plants some flowers in the sun lure some butterflies. Flowers like penta and lantana and many others are butterfly favorites.
Step 2: Having lots of pretty flowers will certainly bring in some occasional butterflies, but the real secret is to plant some larval plants. Each species of butterfly likes to lay their eggs on certain plants because their caterpillars only like to eat the leaves of that particular plant. They are very picky eaters. If you plant the right larval plant, every butterfly in the neighborhood who likes that plant will hang out in your yard. As an added bonus, you get to observe all the life stages of the butterfly right outside your house. You can see the butterflies laying eggs, see the eggs on the plant, see the eggs hatch into caterpillars, see the caterpillars eat and eat some more, see the chrysallis form and see the new butterfly emerge. How exciting!
Step 3: Give each butterfly a name. This step is optional, but I like to name mine George, Heather, Penelope, etc...
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