How to Attract Butterflies to Your Yard

Everyone loves butterflies; they are the beautiful and colorful insects that have managed to catch our eyes since childhood.

Having butterflies fly through the yard, especially during summer months is relatively common; however if you want to attract them to your yard for a longer period of time, rather than have butterflies go through your yard in a fast fly by, there are a few things that you can add to your yard that will actually attract them, and they will stay for longer periods of time.

Different types of flowers attract butterflies, but the top flowers you can use to really attract a lot of butterflies is a butterfly bush. This provides butterflies a source of food, making your garden seem all the more appetizing to the flying work of art.

Other plants that you can plant are sunflowers, clover, violets, wisteria, willow trees, apple trees, etc. These types of flowers and trees attract them because while some of the flowers and trees are a source of food for adult butterflies, the trees will provide spots for caterpillar's to feed and hatch. If you have caterpillar's in your yard, and a good source of plants and trees for the butterflies to feed, they will stay a lot longer than usual, and the more catipillars in your yard, the more butterflies you will eventually see.

Adding other simple extras will also attract even more butterflies. Butterflies like sun, so planting your plants in direct sunlight help keep them around. Butterflies also drink water, so making a small puddle nearby your butterfly garden will also attract more and more of them to your yard.

To keep butterflies present, always avoid using any type of pesticide. This will not only kill butterflies, but it will also kill any caterpillar's that will soon become butterflies.

-Other plants and trees to consider planting (or allowing to grow wildly)
 
Dogbane, poplar, milkweed, dandelion, goldenrod, hyacinth, butterfly bushes and wild roses.

Every area in the world contains different species of butterflies, so in order to attract butterflies that are common in your area, you can google common butterflies, and then your state. You will come up with the names of what types of butterflies can be found in your area, making purchasing plants and trees easier.