Nifty Ideas: Butterflies

Another round of fantastic nifty ideas I have discovered. You too may become inspired by these nifty things and in turn create your own. If you have any of your own nifty ideas please share them with me I'd love to learn about what is nifty to you.

 I love butterflies it brings out the little girl in me. I love watching them float flower to flower happily visiting. They bring nothing but pleasantness to the garden. Because my love has been passed on to my girls we make a big effort to put the proper plants in our garden. We want these beauties to visit us.

For a good butterfly garden you'll need only some seeds and a little bit of dirt. Even using a large pot will do. We use these flowers to bring on our butterfly friends: purple coneflower, zinnias, sunflowers, daisies, asters, marigolds, and black-eyed susans. They need nectar flowers and will come for them. If you want to be an all out butterfly garden try planting some host plants for the butterfly you want to visit your garden. The Butterfly Site has some great plant ideas for putting together a great butterfly host garden.
*If you have the space putting in a butterfly bush or two will also be a great butterfly magnet. They smell nice too. Planting clumps of their favorite flowers along with butterfly bush is going to do wonders for your viewing.


Another thing you can do is give them a place to bathe. Really they do like some water too! How about making a small bath for them to visit while they taste your flowers. Check out Organic Gardening Magazine's article on how to make Fast, Free Butterfly Baths if you'd like to make one for your garden. We will be giving one of them a try to help our little fluttery friends have a refreshing visit to our yard.

Can't grow any flowers to attract butterflies? Well how about getting one of these pretty Monarch Butterfly finger puppets. They are fantastic. My girls love theirs and can't get enough of how real they look when fluttering on their fingers. They would also make a great addition to any story time either at home or school.

There are so many things to do that if you'd like more ideas check out the North American Butterfly Association's website. There are plenty of ways you can help create a little butterfly habitat in your own yard.

Special note: Using pesticides on your flowers will have a negative effect on your luring butterflies to your garden. If you want them to come don't spray your blooms. Treat only non-blooming plants and don't treat plants that are near blooming butterfly favorites. Not only will you keep butterflies alive and healthy you'll save some bees too!

Comments

wealhtheow said…
Butterflies are nice but right now I am MUCH more concerned about bees. Thinking about building a mason bee house to get the little guys to pollinate my pumpkins!

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