After tons of research, I finally decided what to plant in our yard to attract butterflies. As you may know, we’ve been creating a backyard wildlife habit, following the guidelines set forth by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).
My first goal in creating our butterfly garden was to add plants to our yard that will provide nectar. Several varieties of Salvia (commonly known as sage) are native to our region (San Francisco East Bay), and these plants have brightly colored flowers that the pollinators love. Salvia are also drought tolerant, so they don’t need much water… a bonus for someone like me who tends to forget to water the plants. I also think they’re beautiful, and I love their scent. So, that’s what we decided to plant first!
On Thursday, my son and I went to the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley to pick out several varieties for our yard. The gardens have a California Native Plants Nursery that is only open on Thursdays, from 10:30am-1:30pm. Of course, we were once again unlucky… it was closed this week, as the selection was depleted after their annual plant sale. But luckily, we were able to find what we wanted on the plant deck, where plants may be purchased daily, between 10:30am and 4:30pm.
When we got home, my four-year-old had fun helping me dig holes in the soil. He enjoys both digging in the dirt and helping me around the house, so he loved this project. It was a hot day, and I was thankful for the help. I hope the plants will like their new home and thrive here!
Now if I can only track down some milkweed and other host plants for caterpillars…
Interested in attracting butterflies to your backyard? Here’s a tip sheet from the NWF: Attract Butterflies
Related articles
- Creating Our Backyard Wildlife Habitat:Â Step One, Provide Food (ANatureMom.com)
- 10 Tips for Making Your Garden a Butterfly Magnet (whitecranes.wordpress.com)
- Butterfly Cycle In My Garden (lifeasweshowit.wordpress.com)
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