How to Create a Butterfly Garden for Kids

Imagine a visual of your garden where you see a group of colourful butterflies gracefully dancing in the gentle breeze with stretched wings and floating from flower to flower. Isn’t that an amazing sight?

It is indeed a satisfying experience and you can do it too by attracting the most beautiful winged jewels of the nature to your garden. Your kids will be even more excited to see butterflies hanging around the plants in the garden.

Now you can turn this magical visual into a reality by planting a butterfly garden for kids. We all know kids love butterflies and by having a children’s butterfly garden in your landscape is a great way to capture their imagination. Not only this, but you will also get a reason to spend time with your kids by engaging them in this outdoor garden activity and in turn, they will feel connected with the garden.

So now let’s get started on how you can start creating a butterfly garden in your home!

You may also be interested in:
– Making a DIY fairy garden
– Learning how to create a children’s sensory garden
– Planting activities for toddlers

How do you make a butterfly garden for kids?

It is an undeniable fact that butterflies are very important little creatures of the nature as they carry pollen from plant to plant which is then used by the plants to make their seeds. Without these seeds, plants cannot reproduce. Thus it’s inevitable to attract these beautiful pollinators to your garden by keeping the following things in mind:

#1 – Pick a Spot with Ample Sunshine

First and foremost, choose the perfect spot in the garden that attracts full sunshine as butterflies feed in sunny areas. Ensure that the chosen garden spot receives at least six to seven hours of sunlight. Without proper sunshine, butterflies won’t survive and they’ll simply die as their wings will not be able to soak the sun’s rays.

#2 – What are the best plants for a butterfly garden? Think natives!

To attract butterflies in your garden, it is important that the spot you’ve chosen has all the elements they need in their natural habitat. Butterflies feed on nectar so consider growing native plants or flowers that produce adequate nectar.

While creating a butterfly garden, it is always advisable to have a variety of plants at different times of the year so that a continuous food supply is available for them.

Usually, butterflies are most active during summers and so extra care should be taken while choosing the summer plants.

Apart from planting the food for adult butterflies, you also need to have the food plants for their caterpillar larvae. Usually, the type of host plants a butterfly chooses to lay their eggs on completely depends on the species. For this, visit your local plant nursery and try to find out the best plants that attract butterflies and will grow easily in your garden.

#3 – Go Organic & Avoid Pesticides

Butterflies are insects and use of any kind of insecticides or pesticides in the garden can kill them and other pollinating insects. It is imperative not to use any kind of chemicals as even a small portion can ruin the balance of nature in the garden.

It is quite possible that many other unwanted creatures will also get attracted to your plants and you’ll be tempted to use pesticides. By avoiding the chemicals, you are ensuring that your garden is safe for butterflies and their caterpillars.

So consider going organic by choosing the non-chemical options and let the butterfly garden grow in harmony with nature.

#4 – Create Protective Shelter

As butterflies are cold-blooded creatures, they enjoy sunny areas and need warmth of the sunrays to fly around.

Consider having a protective shelter where they can stay during rainy days or in windy weather conditions or at night. They usually hide themselves underside the leaves, trees or shrubs during this time.

So make sure to plant enough trees or shrubs around the garden for them to take shelter during the bad weather.

#5 – Mud Puddles for Water

Just like all natural creatures, butterflies too need water as they tend to extract minerals out of it. The best way for butterflies to drink water is from a small mud puddle.

Consider building a shallow puddle with water filled with wet sand and line up some pebble stones or rocks in it. The use of pebbles or rock stones ensure that the butterflies land on them to drink the water safely.

Kids will love watching butterflies puddle in such spots and get a chance to observe them closely.

Designing a butterfly garden isn’t just about making it look beautiful visually but it also brings an innumerable learning opportunities for your kids. After active participation in planting a butterfly garden, your children may develop an interest in knowing more about the butterfly lifecycle.

So why not leverage on the double whammy of creating a butterfly garden for kids along with engaging them in some fun-learning experiences that will bring them closer to the science!