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Diversity: The Key to Successful Butterfly Gardening

© Naomi Mathews

There is an old adage that still rings very true: "Variety is the spice of life!" Those people who apply a few connotations of this sage proverb to some of the mundane aspects of their lives doubtless lead happier and more meaningful lives. Eating the same foods, wearing the same color or style of clothing, keeping the same hairstyle, or always eating at the same restaurant will indeed make one's life extremely monotonous. However, changing even one or two daily humdrum habits will lend diversity - and a bit of spice! - to an otherwise uninspiring life.

Diversity not only applies to the quality of life for humans, it is also very relevant to the welfare and proliferation of one of Nature's most remarkable and mystical insects - the butterfly. For gardeners aspiring to design and plant backyard habitats that will specifically attract butterflies, diversity is a key element for success.

"What does 'diversity' have to do with planting a successful butterfly garden?" you may be asking. "Don't butterflies simply need nectar from my flowers to survive?"

Yes, it is true that the butterfly's primary food source is the nectar found in the blossoms of flowers. However, there is more to be considered than merely planting a few pretty flowers if you're really serious about butterfly gardening. Your ultimate goal should be to provide a healthy natural habitat for the butterflies indigenous to your area.

One of the finest teachers we have at our disposal as butterfly gardeners is Mother Nature. In addition, gardening lessons learned from Nature are free! For both aspiring and novice butterfly gardeners, much valuable knowledge can be acquired by observing the natural ecosystems in and around your own locale. By following as many of Nature's principles of diversity as your garden plot allows, you will be more knowledgeable about designing and planting your own butterfly habitat.

To quote John Muir, renown naturalist and great writer of his era (1828-1914): "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike."

Muir may well have said something very similar about the needs of butterflies. They really do require a bit more diversity in their habitats than many other insects do, primarily because their brief lives are more multifaceted. Therefore, a true butterfly habitat should contain those plants that cater to each stage of the butterfly's different life cycles: the egg, the caterpillar, the pupa, and finally the exquisite adult butterfly. When gardeners provide appropriate plants for each of these life stages, the butterfly will have a place of beauty to mate and lay eggs, a food supply for their voracious caterpillars, a safe place for their pupae to develop and mature, and finally - a brand new "relative" to help preserve their species on Planet Earth. What more could any butterfly ask for?

The copyright of the article Diversity: The Key to Successful Butterfly Gardening in Butterfly Gardening is owned by Naomi Mathews. Permission to republish Diversity: The Key to Successful Butterfly Gardening in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.