Flowers for butterflies: creating a beautiful garden for wildlife

Picture a cottage garden in the summer - brightly coloured annual and perennial flowers fill the warm air with their intoxicating scents, insects buzz around, bees dip in and out of nectar rich flowers and a host of beautiful butterflies flutter from bloom to bloom. Or do they?

Urban spread, modern gardening techniques and use of non-native plants has somewhat depleted natural habitats for many of our once common butterflies, and some species have actually declined. If you can do anything to encourage them back in to your garden it will not only help them to flourish but also bring you the pleasure of seeing them. Thoughtful planting can provide new habitats for your local butterflies, and greatly enhance your gardening experience.

First you need to know which butterflies are native to your region, what sort of habitat they like, and what plants they lay their eggs on. Some butterflies will only lay their eggs on one particular plant, and others favour certain flowers to feed on.

Stinging nettles, for example, are an excellent plant that many species of butterfly - including Peacocks, Commas, Red Admirals and Small Tortoiseshells - choose as a nursery site for their eggs. Stinging nettles are not the sort of plant that most people want in their gardens, but a small patch can always be cultivated out of sight at the bottom of your garden, or in a container so that the roots do not spread where they are not wanted.

Other butterflies may prefer more ornamental plants, which can be incorporated into your planting scheme, but don't forget that the reason the eggs are laid on these plants are so that the caterpillars can eat the leaves!

Another consideration is to provide plenty of food for the butterflies, to encourage them into your garden to feed. There are many nectar-rich flowers to choose from, but try to choose some that are close to the local butterflies natural foods, and also those that flower when the butterflies are around – this may only be for one or two months of the year, depending on the species, so timing is important. Perennial daisy type flowers such as michaelmas daisies, echinacia or rudbeckia are all good choices.

A source of water such as a pond, bird bath or water feature, will be beneficial to all kinds of insects and wildlife - many people forget that even insects need to drink.

The examples here are based on an English cottage garden and butterfly species that are native to the UK, some of which may also be found around other parts of Europe or the Americas, but the same principles can be applied whatever part of the world you are from.

The table below is a seasonal guide to a small selection of useful plants and the types of butterflies that are attracted to them.