by Ken Lain, The Mountain Gardener, Watters Garden Center
Abutterfly corridor is a series of interconnected gardens that provide the two things every butterfly needs: high-energy nectar for the adults and specific host plants for their caterpillars. If you only offer flowers, you’re just a fast-food joint. If you provide the host plants, you’re a nursery. To truly help, we need to be both.
When planning your corridor, think in “drifts.” Butterflies are more easily attracted to large splashes of color than to single, isolated plants. Instead of planting one Butterfly Bush, plant three or five in a cluster.
Fueling the Flight: Nectar Plants
For the nectar portion of your highway, you want a succession of blooms from early spring through the first hard frost.
- Spring starts: Lean on lilacs and creeping phlox. These provide that early energy boost when the weather is still unpredictable.
- Summer staples: Butterfly bush (buddleia) is a classic for a reason — it’s a nectar powerhouse. I also highly recommend coneflowers (echinacea) and black-eyed Susans (rudbeckia). They are tough and drought-tolerant.
- Autumn endurance: As the monarchs begin their long trek south, they need Autumn Joy sedum and native asters. These late-season bloomers provide the “super-premium” fuel required for migration.
The Nursery: Host Plants
To have butterflies, you must tolerate caterpillars.
The most famous partnership is the monarch and milkweed (asclepius). Without milkweed, we simply don’t have monarchs. Whether you plant the showy butterfly weed or the native narrow-leaf milkweed, you are providing the only food those striped caterpillars can eat.
If you want the giant, lemon-yellow western tiger swallowtails, you need trees like Arizona ash or cottonwoods. For the delicate black swallowtails, tuck some parsley, dill or fennel into your herb garden.
Water & Shelter
Butterflies can’t drink from open water like a bird; they’ll drown. Instead, create a “puddling station” with a shallow saucer filled with sand and a few flat stones — keep it damp.
Shelter is equally essential. Our mountain winds can be brutal on a butterfly’s wings. Planting dense shrubs or evergreens, such as juniper or mountain mahogany, on the windward side of your flower beds creates a “micro-climate” of calm air where butterflies can rest and conserve energy.