Butterflies are choosy insects. Any gardener can have aphids, but Red Admirals, Painted Ladies, and Tiger Swallowtails insist that certain conditions be met.

Ample sunshine is the foremost consideration.

Butterflies avoid shady areas. Ideally, your garden should have a southern exposure. Butterflies use early morning for basking on sun-warmed rocks, bricks or gravel paths. As morning temperatures rise, they begin visiting their favorite nectar flowers, but always in sunlit areas of the garden.

Butterflies prefer gardens that are sheltered from prevailing winds. If yours is not, consider planting a windscreen of butterfly bush or viburnum ­ both shrubs which are rich in nectar. As an added bonus, many nectar plants also attract hummingbirds!

Butterfly Bush

Butterfly bushes are hardy, deciduous summer blooming shrubs which bloom in glorious shades of pink, purple, violet and white all summer long. Mature height reaches from 4 feet to 6 feet with flower "panicles" of 4 to 10 inches. Foliage colors contrast nicely with the silvery white underside of the leaves.

Plant your bushes in a sunny area (at least 4 hours of sun each day) and water adequately. Butterfly bushes are fairly drought tolerant once established, but the new plants, especially small ones, will need to be watered as soon as they begin to get dry. Removing dead flowers will encourage new blooms.

Butterfly bushes usually survive all but the harshest winters. Mulch them heavily in late fall. In early spring, cut the branches back to 6 to 12 inches above the ground.
Mud Puddles
Create a shallow puddle to attract swallowtails, blues, sulfurs and other butterflies that enjoy drinking at mud puddles in order to obtain needed salts in their diet. A sprinkling of table salt and the addition of some manure will increase the puddle's appeal. Since salt harms plants, however, use a plastic liner or locate the puddle outside your flower border.
In February 2007, we registered Vinland Valley Nursery as an official Monarch Butterfly Waystation through the Monarch Watch program. It's easy to do, and it's a fun way to be a part of a global conservation effort. For information on how you can create a monarch habitat to help these amazing creatures, visit Monarch Watch through the link below!
Plants for the Butterfly Garden

Top Ten Guidelines for Butterfly Gardening:

1) Watch butterflies in nearby areas to see which flowers they prefer.

2) Grow plants recommended on the back of this sheet.

3) Position plants in a sunny place, sheltered from wind.

4) Grow large clumps of the most favored species.

5) Try to maintain diversity in height, color and blooming periods.

6) Avoid (or at least seriously limit) your use of pesticides.

7) Provide a mud puddle in a sunny spot.

8) Grow larval plants for butterflies that appear in your garden.

9) Try some plants in containers for increased flexibility.

10) Leave some undisturbed corners for weedy larval and nectar plants.

TREES

All of the following are excellent larval food sources for butterflies:

Willow
Plum
Cherry
Tulip poplar (tulip tree)
Cottonwood

PERENNIALS/HERBS/VINES

Larval plants include:
Fennel
Parsley
Carrot
Dill
Rue
Violet
Queen Anne's Lace
Aster
Wild senna
Milkweed
Pipevine

Nectar plants are:
Bergamot
Sedum
Black-eyed Susan
Chives
Chrysanthemum
Coreopsis
Goldenrod
Wisteria

ANNUALS

Larval plants:
Verbena Snapdragon
Cabbage Nasturtium

Nectar plants:
Pentas
Lantana
Mexican sunflower (torch tithonia)
French marigolds
Cosmos
Zinnia
Sunflower

SHRUBS

Spicebush is the larval host for the Spicebush swallowtail!

The following shrubs are preferred by adults for their nectar:
Lilac
Dogwood
Butterfly bush
Blue mist spirea (Caryopteris)

Learn more about creating a
monarch butterfly waystation at

 Bees in Peril
Local honey is said to help lessen allergies from pollen by exposing the person who eats it to allergens in small amounts. Two local bee keepers manage hives at Vinland Valley Nursery. Snow's Honey is one, and their honey is offered for sale in our garden shop as well as the Lawrence Farmer's Market.

The wild bee is virtually extinct in North America. The bees you see are visitors from nearby hives kept by beekeepers for honey, and even these domestic bees had a devastating year in 1996. Massive numbers of bees died off from an epidemic, and honey prices soared as a result.

While bees do sting from time to time, it is never out of aggression. Usually the victim has accidentally stepped on the poor bee. Unlike hornets, wasps and sweat bees, the honey bee is a peaceful creature who only wishes to be left alone to forage for honey materials.

Bees are beneficial not only for the honey they produce, but also by pollinating flowers as they collect pollen for honey making. Without pollination, flowers would cease to exist, and it is a proven fact that more pollinators equal more blooms in the garden.

Bees are attracted to nectar plants just like butterflies and hummingbirds., so when you garden for the latter, you will also be helping the local bee population.

Some plants that bees especially enjoy:
Perennials
& vines:
Monarda (Bee balm)
Salvia (Pitcher sage)
Sedum (Live forever)
Honeysuckle vines
 Annuals:
Ageratum
Cleome
Petunia