Pomona Valley Audubon -
Create a Butterfly Garden

Create your own butterfly garden to attract butterflies into your yard. All you need is a sunny place to plant flowers and other plants to attract butterflies. There are some plants that butterflies will drink nectar from and breed on, such as milkweed, which is also the main food plant for the caterpillars of the Monarch, Queen and Tropic Queen, all close relatives.

Milkweed is a nectar source for the:

• Monarch
• Pitevine Swallowtail
• Eastern Black Swallowtail
• Giant Swallowtail
• Tiger Swallowtail
• Western Tiger Swallowtail
• Spicebush Swallowtail
• Checkered White
• Cabbage White
• Common Sulfur
• Orange Sulfur
• Gray Hairstreak
• Great Spangled Fritillary
• Red Admiral
• Painted Lady, and more!

There are other good plants such as;

• Passion Flower
• Parsley
• Butterfly Bush
• Butterfly Weed
• Anise
• Mint
• Clover
• Lantana
• Queen-Anne's Lace
• Aster
• Dandelion
• Daisy
• Thistle, or
• Carrot

There are many more, probably some plants that are already growing in your yard. So consider planting a butterfly garden this summer, and realize the beauty of butterflies.

Remember:

There are two kinds of plants that you need to consider when planning your butterfly garden:

• Food plants for catepillars, and

• Nectar producing plants for the adult butterflies.

When selecting flowering plants, keep in mind that purple, pink, white and yellow flowers are preferred by butterflies.

Also, most butterfly flowers are full sun plants.  Your butterfly garden should receive full sun for about 5 to 6 hours each day.

Finally, plant your plants in groups of one color, rather than single plants of different colors.

Suggested California Native
Plants for Your Butterfly Garden

Useful Internet Sites

• Butterflies

• Butterfly House Plans