Tropical Butterfly Garden
Tropical Butterfly Garden
Tropical Butterfly Garden
Tropical Butterfly Garden
Tropical Butterfly Garden
Tropical Butterfly Garden
How to Create a Tropical Butterfly Garden
By Joan Norton
Butterfly gardens are becoming more popular as a source of beauty and environmental conservation. Purple passion vine, pentas, firebush and blue plumbago grow well in a tropical butterfly garden. Tropical climate temperatures rarely rise above 93 degrees F and have humidity in the 77 to 88 percent range. Monarch, swallowtail, cloudless sulphur and zebra longwing butterflies thrive in the moist humidity of tropical gardens. Butterflies have a wide range of flight and are important in the pollination process of many endangered plant species. There are several steps to creating a tropical butterfly garden.
Instructions
Things You'll Need
* Paper and pencil
* Plants
* Rocks
* Bucket
* Logs
1. Map your garden to determine soil types, sun and shade areas. Choose a garden area sheltered from wind that receives at least six hours of direct sun per day.
2. Choose plant varieties that vary in color, season of bloom and height to provide foraging opportunities and habitats year-round.
3. Provide cover and shelter for the butterflies with logs, broad-leafed plants and shrubs. Plan garden areas with large, diverse groups of plants. Please see Resources for a complete list of plants that attract butterflies.
4. Plant caterpillar food plants such as parsley, spicebush, hackberry and clover to provide food for the insects before they mature.
5. Create a water source for butterflies by burying a bucket in the ground with equal portions of sand and water. Periodically replenish the water. Place several rocks nearby to provide a resting place.
