Attracting Butterflies

Gillian

10 years ago

I’ve been skipping about today because the sun is shining and we have gorgeous butterflies in the garden. Butterflies feed on lots of different types of plants but seem to love these nectar rich flowers in particular. They cluster together on our Buddleja shrubs which have thousands of tiny flowers full of nectar.

I saw Peacock butterflies, Small Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals and plenty of White Butterflies too. If you want to see some butterflies in your garden I can heartily recommend a Buddleja bush.

It’s best to buy a small Buddleja shrub because they are inexpensive and will grow really quickly. Alternatively if you have friends with a lovely Buddleja in their garden you could ask if you can take a few cuttings when it’s finished flowering. Here’s a simple guide to show you how it’s done and the second photo link will show you the results.

Growing a couple of different types of Buddleja should extend the flowering period for you. I grow Black Knight which has deep purple blooms and dark green foliage. It flowers first usually a couple of weeks earlier than the others in our garden. This lovely lilac flowered cultivar which has much more silvery leaves and keeps on going long after the Black Knight has finished.