Plant a Butterfly Garden
June 02, 2025
Want to make your garden a magical place for kids? Imagine the wonder on their faces as colorful butterflies flutter by! By planting a butterfly garden, you’ll not only beautify your outdoor space but also provide incredible learning opportunities. This downloadable guide is packed with tips to help you and your children create a thriving butterfly sanctuary.
Why a Butterfly Garden is Wonderful for Kids
A butterfly garden is more than just pretty flowers. It’s a living classroom where children can witness the fascinating life cycle of a butterfly firsthand. By including specific nectar-rich plants for adult butterflies and host plants that caterpillars love to munch on, you’ll create a vibrant ecosystem right in your backyard. This allows kids to observe each stage of transformation and understand the vital connections between plants and the creatures that depend on them. Plus, you’ll often attract hummingbirds too!
Ready to Begin? Here’s What You’ll Need:
- A sunny spot in your yard, a raised garden bed, or even a few containers.
- A small shovel or trowel.
- Flowering plants that adult butterflies adore.
- Leafy host plants that caterpillars can feast on.
Let’s Get Planting!
1). Find the perfect spot for your butterfly garden. It should bask in at least 6-8 hours of sunlight each day and be somewhat protected from strong winds. Remember, butterflies also need safe places to rest at night, like small trees or large shrubs, and spots to hang their chrysalises.
2). Choose plants that thrive in your local climate. It’s important to select both nectar plants that butterflies will sip from (many have favorites!) and host plants that will entice egg-laying butterflies and feed their hungry caterpillars (the larvae). For the best results, prioritize native plants, as they are naturally attractive to local butterfly species.
When choosing your plants, aim for a variety that will flower throughout the growing season. This will ensure a continuous buffet for visiting butterflies. Combining annuals and perennials can provide a diverse range of blooms during the butterflies’ most active period in mid- to late summer. To make your flowers easy for butterflies to find, plant each type in clusters of at least three. Consider adding some flowering shrubs like glossy abelia, lilac, summersweet, buttonbush, blueberry, mock orange, ninebark, and spicebush, as they offer both food and shelter.
The butterfly bush (Buddleia) is a well-known butterfly magnet, but be cautious. Most commercially available varieties are cultivars of Buddleia davidii, which has become an invasive weed in many areas (its sale is even restricted in Washington and Oregon). Look for sterile varieties that don’t produce viable seeds; these are a much better choice for your garden. Good options include ‘Miss Molly,’ ‘Miss Ruby,’ and those in the Flutterby and Lo & Behold series.
Meet the Butterflies and Their Favorite Foods
| Butterfly | Host plant(s) for caterpillars | Nectar plants for adult butterflies |
| Giant Swallowtail | Citrus, hop tree, prickly ash, rue | Lantana, orange tree |
| Monarch | Milkweed | Milkweed, asters, red clover, zinnia, cosmos, lantana, pentas, daisy |
| Variegated Fritillary | Violets, pansies, stonecrops, passionflowers | Meadow flowers, hibiscus, composite family |
| American Painted Lady | Daisies, everlastings, and other composites | Burdock, daisy, everlastings, mallow, yarrow, zinnia, heliotrope |
| Silver-Spotted Skipper | Beans, beggar’s tick, licorice, locusts, wisteria | Many garden and meadow flowers |
| Eastern Black Swallowtail | Carrots, celery, dill, parsley, Queen Anne’s lace, rue, Texas turpentine broom | Milkweed, phlox |
| Orange Sulphur | White clover, alfalfa, vetch, lupine | Clovers, dandelion, parsley, zinnia, other meadow flowers, members of the composite family |
3). Time to plant! Place a couple of large, flat rocks in a sunny spot; these will provide warm basking areas for cool mornings. Butterflies can’t drink from open water, so create a “puddle” by filling a shallow container like an old birdbath with wet sand where they can safely perch and sip.
4). Now, step back and observe! A thriving butterfly garden will become a living science lesson for your children. They’ll witness eggs hatching into larvae (caterpillars) that munch on host plant leaves before transforming into chrysalises (the pupa stage). In about two weeks, these chrysalises will reveal the beautiful butterflies they’ve been waiting for. Remember that a little nibbling on leaves is a sign of a successful butterfly garden!
- Important Note: Protect your delicate butterflies by avoiding all pesticides, even those labeled “organic,” as they can be harmful. Herbicides can also damage essential nectar and host plants. If pests become a concern, try hand-picking or squishing them first, and encourage beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings, as well as birds. To manage weeds, use mulch and pull them regularly.
This guide is inspired by the resources and educational materials provided by KidsGardening.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting garden-based learning.
