How to Create a Butterfly Garden
A garden that is a haven for butterflies, is a most beautiful one. So delicate, butterflies are a floating vision of color as they flutter from one flower to the next, sipping on nectar, and helping in the pollination process. Here's a great list of ways to create your own ideal Butterfly Garden.
Provide Food and Water      
Create Shelter and Provide Safety   
Host/Larval Plants for Caterpillars         Butterfly Gardening Resources    
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Provide Food and Water:
Fresh Water: An important resource, fresh and clean water will not only attract butterflies, but will also keep your garden lively with a variety of birds and other backyard critters. Put rocks or stones in your birdbaths to give the butterflies and birds a supportive landing area.
Flower Nectar: Flower nectar is rich in sugar which gives the butterfly energy to fly. Using their proboscis, butterflies drink nectar from many species of wildflowers, shrubs, flowering herbs and garden flowers. In clumps or groups, plant flowering herbs and plants that have bright and colorful flowers, and have flat daisy shaped flowers or plants with short tubular flowers. Plant these flowers in groups of similar colored flowers. Some of the flowering plants that butterflies favor as a nectar source include lantanas and verbenas, butterfly bushes, heliotropes, sunflowers, coreopsis, milkweeds, asters, thistles, clovers and vetches, and buckwheats. If your butterfly garden is restricted to your patio or balcony just plant 'butterfly-friendly' plants that do well in containers including vines, flowering herbs, and some flowering shrubs. For a list of flowering plants that are good nectar sources for butterflies click here.  

Rotten Fruit, Tree Sap and Gatorade: Not all butterflies eat nectar exclusively. Some species eat rotting fruit, tree sap, feces including dung and bird droppings, and carrion. Place big pieces of washed fruit in a birdbath filled with water. Make sure the fruit skin or rind is in the water and the fruit flesh is exposed so that the butterflies can land on the fruit easily. The more rotten the fruit, the better. Alternatively, fill a birdbath with Gatorade, and place a colorful, plastic kitchen scrubby in it. Butterflies will land on the scrubby and sip on the Gatorade - it's healthier than sugar water as it provides needed minerals and nutrients for them. his method is great if your garden is limited to a balcony or patio. Having trees in your garden is a plus for the butterflies who survive on tree sap. Trees are also good resting place for birds, who supply another butterfly food source - droppings. A variety of trees (basswood, hawthorn, plum, cherry, pear, redbud and sumacs are good choices) also feed the caterpillars who eventually become your wanted butterflies. For a list of butterfly species that survive on rotting fruit and tree sap click here.

Puddling: Besides sugars, butterflies also need salt, nitrogen and amino acids; and some butterflies - especially the males get these nutrients by 'puddling'. These butterflies take up these extra nutrients at puddle edges, and muddy and damp ground. The females then get the extra nutrients they need through the spermatophore that the males passes to them during the mating process. Create a damp patch or muddy area in your garden so butterflies can land and sip on the salt and minerals found in the soil - adding a little table salt to the patch gives an extra boost of minerals. For a list of butterfly species that 'puddle', click here.

Host/Larval Plants for Caterpillars:
Although many consider caterpillars a garden pest (unless you have a plague of them they don't really do that much damage), you need them for your butterfly population. In a hidden corner of your garden, plant some plants that the larva/caterpillars can feed on (host plants). Butterflies will lay their eggs on these plants so that when the caterpillar emerges, it has a ready food supply. These plants include a few garden flowers, some trees, vegetables, weeds, and wildflowers. For a list of host plants that feed caterpillars click here.

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Create Shelter and Provide Safety:
Wind Protection: Provide wind-sheltered areas to protect the butterflies and their favorite plants. 
Warmth: Butterflies are cold-blooded insects, so they are most active in warm, sunny areas. Bricks, rocks and gravel paths are great places for butterflies to land and sun themselves.
Chemical Killers: Stop using chemicals and pesticides as they will kill the butterflies, caterpillars, birds and other beautiful backyard critters. Try some organic alternatives, they work just as well - if not better.
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