Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden

Gardens & Nature

As well as being beautiful, gardens can be a place where humans meet nature in a unique and positive way. Imagine watching colourful butterflies flitting around the boarder, moving from flower to flower in search of tasty nectar. Or sitting perfectly still while a bright green hummingbird investigates a flower not five feet away!

Butterflies and hummingbirds exist naturally over most of the populated areas of our continent although species vary from region to region. By planting flowering plants that are their favourite food sources, we can easily set the stage for the local population to become regular visitors to our gardens. This provides them with a much-needed source of nutrition and gives the gardener an opportunity to view them often and from close proximity.

What Attracts Them?

Butterflies are guided by the world of scents and smells. Certain kinds of flowers give off a fragrance that butterflies find attractive, a signal that the plant might be a source of sweet nectar for them to feed on. Butterflies sometimes pollinate the flowers they visit, so it is a mutual sort of arrangement.

So Where Do I Start?

The following plant list will give you a starting point for deciding which perennials to include in your garden, and we?ve also listed some annuals and other plants that are favourites. Get the whole family involved! This kind of interactive nature project is an ideal way to introduce kids to the garden, and they may have already studied this at school.

What is the Best Site?

Select a location that gets full sun for at least 6 hours a day. Both butterflies and hummingbirds appreciate the warmth from the sun, and will be guided more quickly to the plants you have placed to attract them. Also, nearly all the plants on our list prefer full sun exposure, oddly enough. Shelter from strong winds is also beneficial.

How Soon Will They Come?

Butterflies and hummingbirds are usually migratory, particularly in the northern part of the continent. Since they often spend the winter in warm, sunny places, don?t expect to see them return until the weather begins to warm up, usually no early than May. As soon as the plants you have put in the garden being to flower, you can expect to see some activity. Sometimes hummingbirds will find a Fuchsia basket only minutes after you hang it up.

Don?t give up looking! If you don?t see much action the first season, wait another year or two and just enjoy the flowers in the meantime. Vary the times you go our in the garden until you figure out the favourite feeding times. And remember to keep as quiet and still as possible.

Why Isn?t it Working For Me?

Okay, you?ve planned it all out with the right plants, they are flowering away and STILL no sign of your guests. A few possible reasons:

• Dogs or cats (or restless humans) may scare away hummingbirds
• Wet rainy weather can keep butterflies from being active
• Lack of nesting sites, few trees or shrubs for hummingbirds to hide in or to nest
• Nearby use of chemical insecticides may kill butterfly larvae (caterpillars) and reduce insect food sources for hummingbirds
• Your neighbours garden may be even MORE attractive!

What Else Should I Know?

Butterflies are the adult stage of an insect that starts life as a creeping caterpillar. You might not like that, but remember?no caterpillar, no butterfly. If you use insecticides regularly in your garden, chances are that you may kill off these caterpillars before they can pupate and develop into the very butterflies that you are trying to attract. Food sources for the caterpillars should also be planned for in the garden. Some of the best are native shrubs and trees such as willow, cherry, birch, poplar and elm.

Don?t Catch the Butterflies!

Each one that you catch will never be able to reproduce and create the next generation. Enjoy them for the moment, but let them live and prosper.

What Should I Plant?

Botanical Name	Common Name	Hardiness Zone	Attracts
? Perennials
Achillea	Yarrow	2-9	?
Agastache	Anise-Hyssop	2-9	?
Alcea	Hollyhock (red,purple)	2-9	?
Allium	Ornamental Onion	3-9	?
Aquilegia	Columbine	2-9	?
Asclepias	Milkweed	4-9	?
Aster	Michaelmas Daisy	3-9	?
Buddleia	Butterfly Bush	5-9	?
Caryopteris	Bluebeard	5-9
Chelone	Turtlehead	3-9	?
Coreopsis	Tickseed	4-9	?
Delphinium	Delphinium (Dark colours)	2-9
Dianthus	Pinks, Sweet William	3-9
Echinacea	Purple Coneflower	3-9	?
Echinops	Globe Thistle	2-9	?
Hesperis	Dame?s Rocket	2-9	?
Heuchera	Pink or Red Coral Bells	3-9	?
Kniphofia	Torchlily, Red Hot Poker	5-9	?
Laveandula	Lavender	4-9	?
Leucanthemum	Shasta Daisy	4-9	?
Liatris	Blazing Star	2-9	?
Lobelia cardinalis	Cardinal Flower	4-9	?
Malva	Mallow	3-9	?
Monarda	Bee Balm	3-9	?
Perovskia	Russian Sage	4-9	?
Plox paniculata	Summer Phlox	3-9	?
Physostegia	Obedient Plant	2-9	?
Rudbeckia	Cone-Flower	Various	?
Salvia	Perennial Sage	3-9	?
Scabosia	Pincushion Flower	3-9	?
Sedum	Autumn Stonecrop	2-9	?
Solidago	Goldenrod	2-9	?
Thymus	Thyme	3-9	?
? Common Name	? Botanical Name	?	? Attracts
Annuals
Ageratum	?		?
Begonia, Tuberous	?		?
Canna (Red)	?		?
Cleome (other than white)	?		?
Cosmos	?		?
Flowering Tobacco	Nicotiana		??
Fuchsia	?		?
Geranium	Pelargonium		?
Gomphrena	?		?
Heliotrope	?		?
Lantana	?		?
Monkey Flower	Mimulus		?
Nasturtium	?		?
Petunia	?		?
Salvia (Red)	?		?
Snapdragon	?		?
Sunflower	?		?
Sweet Alyssum	?		?
Verbena	?		?
Zinnia	?		?
?	?	?	?
Botanical Name	Common Name	Hardiness Zone	Attracts
Shrubs / Vines
Campsis	Trumpet Vine	5-9
Cotoneaster	Cotoneaster	Various	?
Hibiscus	Rose of Sharon	5-9	?
Lonicera	Red Trumpet Honeysuckle	4-9	?
Ribes	Flowering Currant	4-9	?
Spiraea	Spirea	3-9	?
Syringa	Lilac	2-9	?
Weigela	Weigela	4-9	?
?	?	?	?
?	?	?	?
?	?	?	?
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