Unique Birdhouse Boutique

The butterfly activity around our yard is amazing this season! As compared to last summer, there seems to be at least three to four times more. We have no butterfly feeders per se, but do use various things to attract and keep them around…and it works great!

Flowers in the garden include Lantana, Butterfly Bush, Bee Balm, Abelia shrubs, and Milkweed. The best part is that these are all perennials, quite hardy, and come back bigger every year. There are also two leaf misters which butterflies flit back and forth above all day long in our excruciating summer heat, hummingbirds love them too!. The newest addition to lure butterflies is large stoneware puddler. With a spot for water in the center, the smooth, white rock gives them a place to rest in the sun and dry off, sun bathing if you will.

So, even without the use of butterfly feeders, you can still entice and attract these graceful and beautiful creatures. Create a habitat for wildlife in your yard by planting trees, shrubs and flowers to provide food and shelter, and adding a fresh water source for birds and wildlife. It brings nature home, and helps the environment too.

Entice butterflies to your yard with butterfly feeders and these simple tricks:

Butterfly feeders, either nectar or fruit can crafted pretty simply with household items. Over-ripe fruit (like bananas, melons or oranges) may be placed on a saucer and set on a tree trunk or stake. They’ll attract fruit flies, which butterflies consume for protein too. To hang butterfly feeders,  use sisal rope or twine with a grapevine wreath for the base. The secret is sunny locations as butterflies love warm sun. If using nectar in a shallow bowl, add a sponge (a new one) to absorb the liquid as butterflies will consume the nectar in this fashion. Also, no need to purchase nectar, it’s the same solution used for hummingbirds. 1 Part sugar to 4 parts water. Never use anything but plain table sugar. Boiling is not necessary, but helps to dissolve the sugar more efficiently.

Water is another attractant, but butterflies won’t drink from an open source. Leaf misters are great, as they leave tiny puddles around where the mist falls. Butterflies will flit in and out of the gentle spray.

Using a waterless pond will attract the flying flowers too. Simply gather heat-absorbing rocks and place them on their side in a sunny location. Design a small circle, square, or free-form with rocks close together, an inch or two deep. Add sand and salts and keep moist to further attract butterflies. Line the area with plastic to keep the salts from seeping into your soil.

When placing feeders, misters, or rock baths, it’s best to have them in, or in close proximity to your butterfly garden. Use host plants and nectar plants for best results.

Milkweed is a great, natural butterfly feeder, and so are nectar feeders. The sugar water recipe is the same as hummingbirds’ but butterflies will not use these feeders. Nectar feeders may be open, or have a sponge in them to absorb the liquid. A small dish works well, set on a porch rail, or hung from a shepherd’s hook or branch. Over-ripened fruit is adored by butterflies too, just be sure it does not mold.

Sadly, natural butterfly habitats are being decimated by the elimination of weeds and native grasses from yards, and chemical pesticides. Create a butterfly habitat in your garden with these simple tips:

Water: Butterflies will not drink from an open water source. They consume liquids by puddling, getting moisture from wet sand or soil, or shallow puddles. A leaf mister is a wonderful accessory to attract butterflies as the puddling process is constant.

Shelter: Mature, woody plants near your nectar producing flowers will provide butterflies with shelter during bad weather and at night. You may also want to consider a butterfly house.

Host plants: The host plants are ones that provide a site for butterflies to lay eggs and a food source for the emerging caterpillar. You may need to keep heavy mulch on these plants. Some host plants include: Thistle, Milkweed, Wild Cherry, Grasses, Nettle, Violet, Poplar, and Willow.

Food Sources for Nectar: Include Shrubs and annual flowers like; Azaleas, Lilac, Viburnums, Privets, Impatients, Marigolds, Alyssum, Cosmos, Verbena and Zinnias. Perennials include: Bee Balm, Butterfly Weed, Phlox, Seedum, Goldenrod, Coneflower, Thistle and more.

Start creating your butterfly-friendly habitat this spring and enjoy these flying flowers’ who will grace your yard!

Garden accents that are unique and functional

Butterflies will grace your garden if proper habitat is provided. Food, water and shelter are the basics…same as any other species!

These hand blown glass butterfly feeders add a touch of whimsy to any garden. The large staked flowers may be filled with butterfly nectar, or used to hold over-ripened fruit. They may also be used as butterfly baths when filled with water. Butterflies will feast on oranges, bananas, melons and berries, but be sure and discard molded fruit. Nature’s feeders include flowers like marigolds, hibiscus, butterfly weed, and lavender to name just a few.

Another way to use water as an attractant for butterflies is with leaf misters. The gentle spray will entice these flying flowers to your yard and keep them around for the season. Provide shelter from the elements and from predators through landscape and butterfly houses.

There are no set rules to enjoying wildlife in your backyard. Because a bird feeder is meant for birds, does it mean you couldn’t use it for squirrels if you wanted to? An old birdhouse can even be used for a sheltered feeding spot…sans the front wall. In my many years of backyard birding, I’ve learned to improvise with older items, keeping them useful for other species to enjoy.

This past summer a small birdbath fell over (for the third time) and broke. The break was once again a clean one, so super glue to the rescue. This time I had the idea of turning the bath into a butterfly feeder. Relocated into the flower garden, I began placing orange quarters and banana chucks on it.

The first go-round didn’t work as sadly there were no butterflies seen. Another thing I’ve learned is persistence….if it doesn’t always work the first, or even second time-try again!  After a few tries of experimenting with different fruits, the eagle had landed!.  Three Monarch’s graced the garden and ate from the feeder. For that summer, I was lucky enough to have witnessed many species of butterflies. Unidentifiable technical names to me, but what a joy to have them around everyday!

You can attract butterflies and keep them around by using nectar-producing flowers, and offering over-ripe fruit.  These make perfect butterfly feeders during mid to late summer, when butterflies are most active. Having plants blooming in succession will attract new visitors too.  The Butterfly Bush and Butterfly Weed are the most popular flowers used to attract butterflies, some other nectar-producing flowers include:

• Asters
• Black-Eyed Susan
• Blue Cardinal Flower
• Common Milkweed
• Delphinium
• Heliotrope
• Joe-Pye Weed
• Lantana
• Liatris
• Marigolds
• Oriental Lilies
• Petunias
• Phlox
• Privet
• Purple Coneflower
• Sedum (Autumn Joy)
• Verbena
• Zinnia

Over-ripened fruit also provides a tasty treat and should be placed in the sun on a raised plate, hung from a shepherd’s hook on a tray feeder, or even a shallow birdbath.  Make sure it is in close proximity to your blooming flowers.  Some favorite fruits include; peaches, bananas, oranges, cantaloupe, strawberries, and other melons.

Leaf Misters will also attract butterflies, as they love to flit back and forth through the gentle spray.  We have one in a bed of Lantana that butterflies visit daily during hot summer days.  Bring your garden to life with the magic of butterflies!