Beckoning Butterflies

If you love butterflies but aren't an avid gardener, it's a match made in butterfly heaven. That's because an untamed garden becomes more like a natural habitat. Think about it: where do you see lots of butterflies flit and flutter freely? In wild meadows where the terrain is left alone to do what it does naturally, without the help of green thumbs.

Extreme butterfly gardeners allow their home turf to become genuine ecosystems and are willing to tolerate a bit of a mess. They leave their rakes in the garage and allow fallen leaves and plant debris to become nesting territory for butterfly larvae.

Don't be discouraged, however, if the entire weekend was just spent cleaning the yard. Allowing just one small corner of the yard to go unkempt, says horticulturist and nursery owner Leana Beeman-Sims, "gives butterflies a place to rear their young, which is one of the most important ingredients in attracting them."

The four ingredients of a successful butterfly garden, she advises, is "plant diversity, a chemical-free environment, sunshine and a bit of wet ground."

Diversity means growing some tall plants such as trees and evergreens to help create a breeze-free zone. Butterflies need a sheltered, peaceful place to feed.

"Don't blow your butterflies away," says Beeman-Sims. "Even windy balconies and decks can be made more user-friendly by adding medium- sized bushy shrubs such as bluish-purple flowering Ceanothus or lavender. This gives butterflies a kind of fast food stop."