Creating a Butterfly Garden

I always look forward to participating in Blue Mondays, which is so graciously hosted by Sally at Smiling Sally. Today I'd like to share this pretty blue blown glass butterfly feeder I found at a specialty gardening shop in Jackson. After trying it in several places, I finally settled on a spot close to the waterfall in our courtyard. The information on the tag suggested filling the tube part of the flower with the same kind of nectar you put in hummingbird feeders [one-fourth cup sugar to one cup water], which I did. Then, I googled "how to attract butterflies" and found the following information. Plant good nectar sources in the sun. Your key butterfly nectar source plants should receive full sun from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Butterfly adults generally feed only in the sun. Provide a place for butterflies to rest. Butterflies need sun for orientation and to warm their wings for flight. Place flat stones in your garden to provide space for butterflies to rest and bask in the sun. Give them a place for puddling. Butterflies often congregate on wet sand and mud to partake in "puddling," drinking water and extracting minerals from damp puddles. Place coarse sand in a shallow pan and then insert the pan in the soil of your habitat. Make sure to keep the sand moist. Butterflies are attracted to red, yellow, orange, pink, and purple blossoms that are flat-topped or clustered, and have short flower tubes. Flowers and plants that attract butterflies: Milkweed, arabis, black-eyed susan, purple coneflower, hollyhocks, sweet william, white and purple alyssum, cosmos, lantana, coreopsis, phlox, daisies, catnip, asters, stocks, zinnias, yarrow, lavender, rosemary, thyme, candytuft, and verbena. Good choices for shrubs and small trees include the butterfly bush, common lilac, mock orange, beauty bush, blackberry, honeysuckle, hawthorn, weigela, sumac, rose of Sharon, spirea, and privet. If you love butterflies and would like to attract them to your yard, I hope you find this information useful. I'm looking forward to capturing some butterflies with my camera while they dine on nectar from my little feeder, flitter amongst the lantana and butterfly bush, drink from our waterfall, and bask in the sun on our rocks. I'll let you know if it works!