Focus on Arts and Ecology

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Build a butterfly garden

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Attracting these cool creatures to your yard is one way to protect the Earth. 

Swallowtails are common butterflies in North America.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ADOBE STOCK

Sure, butterflies are pretty. But they’re also pollinators. Like bees, they travel to flowers seeking nectar to eat. As they move from flower to flower, they spread pollen from one area to another, helping other plants grow.

In fact, about 75 percent of the crops that we grow—including watermelons, blueberries, and almonds—depend on pollinators like butterflies to help them reproduce. That’s why planting flowers that attract butterflies is important; when the insects spread pollen, it helps valuable plants grow in many other places.

You will need:

• Butterfly-friendly plants
• Host plants for butterflies to lay eggs on
• An afternoon to plant your garden

Getting ready

Choose a spot for your garden. Butterflies like lots of sun, so make sure your garden will be in an area that gets at least six hours of direct sunlight a day.

Butterflies also need protection from wind and rain. Make sure trees or shrubs are part of your butterfly garden.

Not all butterflies live in the same place. Look in a field guide or ask a ranger at a local park about which butterfly species are common in your area.

Found in the eastern half of the United States, the eastern tiger swallowtail lays its eggs on woody plants like wild cherry and cottonwood trees.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOSEPH LACY / ALAMY

North America’s red-spotted purple butterfly is a trickster. The insect is thought to mimic the pipevine swallowtail, which birds avoid because of its bitter taste. And the red-spotted’s larvae look like bird droppings!
PHOTOGRAPH BY TOM VEZO / NPL / MINDEN PICTURES

The fluttering of Compton tortoiseshell butterflies is often an early sign that spring is coming in the northern United States and Canada.
PHOTOGRAPH BY © TIM HALL / CULTURA / CORBIS

Native to Southeast Asia, tailed jay butterflies flutter their wings superfast, almost like a hummingbird.
PHOTOGRAPH BY DARRELL GULIN / GETTY IMAGES

Every fall, millions of monarch butterflies make a nearly 2,500-mile journey to the mountains of Mexico to mate. During their return trip, females lay their eggs on milkweed plants.
PHOTOGRAPH BY SARI ONEAL / SHUTTERSTOCK

Flying mostly at dusk and dawn, the owl butterfly uses its eye spots (they sort of look like an owl!) to startle or confuse predators in their Central and South American habitat.
PHOTOGRAPH BY © TIM HALL / CULTURA / CORBIS

Choosing plants

Many butterflies are attracted to coneflower, lilac, and purple verbena. But depending on where in the country you live, certain butterflies probably like different kinds of plants. Your local nursery can help you find the right ones.

Some plants only bloom in fall; others in spring. Try to pick a mix of plants that bloom in different seasons. That way, butterflies are always attracted to your garden.

Butterflies will also need some host plants, such as milkweed, to lay their eggs on. Your nursery can help you select the best ones.

After you plant

Set up some chairs or a bench and check out the action. Butterflies are less shy than birds and usually don’t mind people being around them.

Text adapted from the Nat Geo Kids book Get Outside Guide by Julie Beer and Nancy Honovich

(Sources: National Geographic Kids)

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