Lexington, KY - There's something so appealing about a butterfly garden, isn't there? The motion picture images that come to mind might look something like this: lovely blooms dancing in the sunlight with colorful butterflies fluttering about in their charmingly erratic manner, pausing to take a sip of nectar now and again.
As pretty as this picture is, let's remind ourselves that those nectaring butterflies have one important goal in mind. They need to mate and then find the appropriate host plant on which to lay their eggs. These lovely creatures have a lot of work to do in a very short period of time.
Remember your high school biology class, when you learned about the life cycle of the butterfly? Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and then -
miracle of miracles -
a butterfly emerges. Without food for the caterpillars, there can be no butterflies.
While butterflies can nectar on a relatively wide variety of the blooming plants in your gorgeous gardens, in the larval (caterpillar) stage their needs are much more specific. Certain host plants are a requirement for caterpillar survival. And these host plants are often shrubs and trees, not just wildflowers.
What plants are important to add to our gardens?
Monarch butterflies need milkweeds, which are also a host plant for the queen butterfly. These plants come in a variety of heights, shapes and colors. Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) has wonderful orange blooms, is very drought tolerant and fits in with any perennial planting. Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) has pink blooms. While its native habitat is moist to wet soils, as its name suggests, it does just fine in the garden. Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is a rougher looking plant that can spread aggressively. If you have a larger garden and don't mind keeping it under control, it's still worth having.
Purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) are tough, easily managed plants that look wonderful. They are host to the silvery checkerspot caterpillar. The many varieties of asters - lots of choices of height and bloom color - feed the pearl crescent larva.
Many of you already have an herb garden. Black swallowtails have adapted to non-native host plants. Give them parsley, dill and fennel and they'll be happy.
Vines add an interesting backdrop in the garden. I just planted a pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla) for the pipevine swallowtail. Passion vine (Passiflora) has amazing flowers and feeds a variety of caterpillars.
Native trees are important, too. Pawpaw is good for zebra swallowtails. Willows, oaks, tulip poplars, hackberries and elms host many species.
Another important garden addition is a spicebush (Lindera benzoin), because it is a primary larval food for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly, which can also feed on sassafras and sometimes sweetbay magnolia. The wonderfully fragrant leaves of the spicebush and the yellow fall color are a bonus.
Recently, I found seven tiny spicebush swallowtail caterpillars and quite a few eggs on my spicebush. My friend, photographer Betty Hall, whose work illustrates this article, has taught me how to raise butterflies indoors. My babies are now happily munching on spicebush leaves in my kitchen. They are growing by leaps and bounds, and will soon enter the chrysalis phase. About 10 days later, I will have beautiful butterflies to release in my garden. (Betty has developed a method for raising butterflies that is very easy and a wonderful experience for children. If you're interested, please e-mail me.)
Of course, there are many more host plants that would be beautiful in your garden. I highly recommend "The Life Cycles of Butterflies" by the Louisville authors Judy Burris and Wayne Richards for more information.
Host and nectar plants are readily available. Shooting Star Nursery in Georgetown and Dropseed Nursery near Louisville are exceptional sources of native plants. Springhouse Gardens has a wonderful display of native perennials and shrubs, including the spicebush. Some of these plants are also carried at Redmond's and King's Gardens.
A garden with caterpillar host plants doesn't just mean more butterflies. It will also attract more birdlife because most caterpillars provide very tasty and nourishing food for their young. Nature knows how to work all of this out. Your garden will become a good host in this wonderful web of life.