Deb's Big Backyard: Butterfly Gardening in Fall

Yes, leaving your garden a little messier can provide habitats and food sources for caterpillars and butterflies. You can still clean up the garden to make it look nice but also ensure that the following year's population of butterflies is intact.

To attract more butterflies, you should include specific host plants in your garden, keep the garden standing through the winter or if you cut down plants, tuck the stems with leaves under a bush to continue the life cycle of butterflies. Also, have nectar plants throughout all seasons, and avoid using pesticides in your garden.

To check for eggs or chrysalises, inspect the undersides of plant leaves and look within the leaf litter. If you are cleaning the garden, be sure to check each plant stem as you cut them. You can place the trimmed stems under leaves so that any potential butterfly life stages can complete their development.

Yes, butterfly bushes are very attractive to many types of butterflies, including monarchs, because they are excellent nectar plants. Just be sure to check the plant carefully for caterpillars before pruning it down.

You might find a variety of butterflies in your backyard, including Red Admirals, Monarchs, Buckeyes, Silvery Checkerspots, Pearl Crescents, American Ladies, Painted Ladies, Tiger Swallowtails, Luna moths, and even species that rely on native trees like Oaks, as they are important food plants for various butterfly and moth species.