Tom Terrific

Butterfly Gardening.Org

Bring Butterflies into Your Yard

9016 Robyn Rd
St Louis MO 63126
Phone: 314-849-6114

Garden Design

Sun
The first question you might ask yourself is, "Where should I put the Butterfly Garden?"
The answer is usually, "Wherever it's sunniest." Butterflies prefer sunny areas and usually the flowers they feed on prefer sunny areas also. We'll discuss this a bit more later, but in general, the more sun the better.

Drainage
Is the area well drained? Does water have a tendency to sit or does it sink in? Butterfly plants don't like to sit with their roots swimming in water, so if you've got a wet, swampy area, you'll have to fix that situation. It's most easily remedied by adding lots of peat moss and mounding the dirt. You can also add Gypsum if you have clay soil to help drainage. Or you can also surround the area with timbers or concrete wall blocks and then add enough extra dirt and peat moss to raise the level above the surrounding soil by several inches.

Curves
Aesthetically curves are more pleasing to the eye than squares or rectangles. One of the tricks I use is to get out the hose and lay it on the ground where I want the Butterfly Garden to be and then play with the design until it suits me. I then use spray paint or flour and follow the hose design to outline the border for the Garden.

Viewing
When planning your garden area take into consideration how easily you can view it. My latest Butterfly Garden is directly off the patio and visible from the breakfast room. I can look outside while sitting at the table and see beautiful butterflies and flowers in a truly lovely setting. Ideally place your garden where you can see it for a good part of the day.

Plant Height
Every plant that goes into the garden will grow to a certain size depending upon a number of factors, but genetically a four foot plant is going to try and grow to four feet. A miniature/dwarf plant will never be a towering giant. When you design your garden take this into account and plan accordingly. One of my front yard Butterfly Gardens is directly in front of the house. I want to make sure that people walking by will not only see the plants, but will also see the house, so I put in smaller plants in this area. This takes a bit of experimentation, but that's what makes Butterfly Gardening fun. In general you want the lower growing plants in the front, so they can get some sunshine and the taller growing plants in the back. In a round or near circular design, with lots of sun, you might plant the taller plants in the center and the lower growing plants graduated out toward the edges.

Front Yard
Many traditionalists might be put off by putting a Butterfly Garden in the front yard, but it can literally stop people in their tracks. People who walk past my front yard share compliments with me all the time. As long as it's neat and orderly, people will appreciate the time and effort you put into your plants. I'm a little more particular about the front garden than the back and the walkers appreciate it.

Borders
I've put a border around all my Butterfly Garden areas. In some cases it's wood or a concrete stone edging and I even use plastic fencing in the front. The edging accomplishes two things. Number one, it finishes off the garden area and makes it look more professional and number two, it tends to keep kids and dogs out. Two of my front yard areas are next to the sidewalk and I would constantly find dog prints, kids prints and even bicycle tire tracks going right through my flowers. Putting a plastic fence around 2/3 of the area can stop those problems. A border makes it easy to control the grass and weeds which have a tendency to invade the Butterfly Garden. I use Roundup™ to control both weeds and grass at the border edging.

Patios
If you don't have a lot of land or even no land at all, but you'd like to attract butterflies, you've still got a number of options. Pots, hanging baskets, ½ oak barrels and window planters are all acceptable Butterfly Gardens. Butterflies don't care where your plants are located, they just need plants. I have a video of butterflies laying eggs on a tiny 6-pack of plants I just bought. My aunt Betty living in a city apartment has a Butterfly Garden on her small second story patio.

Garden Design takes a little thought, but it's time well spent before you actually begin buying plants.

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