create a butterfly & hummingbird garden

Well they like my feeder, and they like the verbena and I have at least 2 regular hummingbirds that come and fight over the feeder. The butterflies I dont get quite so regularly, but I put out a small shallow ceramic bowl as a tiny pond for them and have planted for them, hope they figure it out. I will continue to work on this and will be buying more plants with hummingbirds and butterflies in mind, but I am going to mark this done for now.

I put up a hummingbird feeder last week and we have been getting a lot of hummingbirds coming to it. I planted verbena which butterflies also like, and which does well here. I planted two Mexican Bird of Paradise, but they are really tiny right now. I have a large Hibiscus already, and I think that might be good for hummingbirds.

At the Living Desert Reserve they have a huge butterfly garden and it inspired me to plant my own. We get a lot of butterflies through the area and hummingbirds also. I am going to devote a corner of the yard to this and have been researching the types of flowers to plant. I plan on adding a small water feature also.

I started my butterfly garden with wildflower seeds about five years ago. Each year, I add new wildflower or other native seeds and each year, I see new butterfly species come to my mini meadow just for them. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences.

I’ve also raised Black Swallowtails two years in a row, from eggs laid on dill in my garden planted as a host plant.

Seeing everything come full circle – the butterflies feed here, they mate, they lay eggs, they transform and start the process again – makes it all beyond worth doing.

If you’re thinking about doing it, go for it. Take it in small steps, a few flowers at a time. Read up on butterflies and plants native to your area. Once you get into it, it’s addictive!

My 2 y.o. son’s favorite things are butterflies. I have no, simply NO idea what to plant, though.

I want to plant a garden to attract Butterflies and Hummingbirds and place several white Adirondack chairs in the middle under a big sun umbrella. I envision summer afternoons sitting around with my girlfriends sipping lemonade and ice tea.