Tips for starting a small garden to attract butterfly

[spar]

Hello,

Any tips on starting a small garden to attract butterflies? I live in North of Melbourne and have a small size backyard. Looking to understand where to begin, precautions, what sort of plants to put in garden and how to care for it.

Thank you

spar

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @spar. It's fantastic to have you join us and many thanks for your question.

The best way to attract butterflies to your garden is by growing a variety of flowers which they find irresistible. A great place to start would be with Mr Fothergill's Bee Butterfly Flower Mixed Seeds or Mr Fothergill's Butterfly Friendly Flower Mix Shaker. You then might like to provide them with a Mr Fothergill's Butterfly House to shelter in. They also need sources of water, so shallow dishes can be left out for them to drink from. Butterflies are not fond of herbicides, insecticides and pesticides so look for natural alternatives in our product range if you need to use them.

If you were looking for native plants for your backyard Leptospermums, Grevilleas, Melaleucas and Brachyscomes would be great options from our range. If you would like low maintenance plants I would encourage you to go with natives.

Let me mention some members passionate about gardening @Adam_W and @mich1972 that might like to join the discussion.

Please let me know if you need further information or had any questions.

Mitchell

[Jason]

Let me also extend my own warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @spar.

This previous discussion also contains very helpful information for you - Plants that attract butterflies

Please let me know if you ever need a hand getting the most from the site.

Jason

[Adam_W]

Hi @spar , @MitchellMc has pretty much nailed it - get the ball rolling by planting a heap of flowering annuals and then look at your longer term plantings.
Basically you're looking for the plants that have long flowering seasons and have good, nectar-rich flowers.
The annuals fill that area well so even once other things are established they can still serve a useful purpose. At our last place. for example, I found that marigold were a butterfly fave.
Worth finding out what butterflies to expect in your area as many of them are fussy eaters so plant what they like and you'll have more success. Your local Landcare group or similar should be able to help with that sort of info or point you the right direction.

Definitely worth the effort. Hard buggers to photograph but here's a few I've shot over the years in our gardens for you

Common crowBlue tigersBlue triangle

[Jason]

Beautiful shots @Adam_W. Many thanks for sharing.

Jason

[mich1972]

Agreed with what Mitch said. Here is a list I put together for a small garden. A mix of colourful perennial plants that are rich in NECTAR that is so important to attract the butterflies, bees and beneficial insects into your garden. You will provide plenty of fodder for them to forage on. Also make sure you have shallow trays of water with pebbles and sticks so they can get a drink and not drown. 

Here is my list 

Buddleya butterfly bush

Heliotrope

Borage

Elderflower

Pentas

Ageratum

Marigold

Alyssum

Verbena

Coreopsis

Yarrow

Aster

Echinacea

Perennial Salvias

Perennial Basil

Tagetes

lavender

Scabiosa

i highly recommend planting perennial basil , we have a lot growing in the garden and it certainly is nectar rich. We always have bees and even have Blue Banded Bees foraging on the flowers. Also Borage is a popular plant in our garden too. 

If you had a larger garden you can plant Australian Natives like Grevilleas , Melaleucas , Hardenbegias , Eucalyptus, Eremophilas , these are also great bird attracting plants. 

Good luck and enjoy your Garden 😊🐝🦋🐞

[spar]

thanks everyone. I have started making a list and will order those plants soon. Cheers