6 Plants That will Set Your Garden Aflutter

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL -- Butterfly gardens add interest and color to any Hillsborough County landscape.

With spring's arrival, there's no better time to make your yard, or neighborhood, an oasis for these appealing creatures. Many Florida-friendly plants attract insects, and they're easy to grow.

Flowering plants draw butterflies with nectar. Other "host" plants, such as native milkweed, have leaves that provide food for their caterpillars. Plants also provide shelter, resting spots and protection from intense weather and predators.

It's important to provide water. Most bird baths are too deep for butterflies, and a dish of water dries quickly. Try filling a shallow dish with sand and water, moist sponges or even pieces of fruit.

Here are a few plants you might consider adding to your landscape to attract butterflies:

• Firebush: A hearty Florida native with tubular red flowers from late spring until early winter. Monarch and zebra long wing butterflies love it.
• Blue porterweed: A host plant for some butterflies, this evergreen ground cover also attracts insect pollinators with its bright-blue flowers.
• Beach sunflower: Another favorite of many butterflies, this showy, drought-resistant ground cover blooms throughout the year.
• Pentas: An upright perennial with star-shaped flowers that are extremely popular with butterflies.
• Native milkweed: The many varieties are known for attracting butterflies and bees. It's a larval host to monarch and queen butterflies.
• Passionflower: Some butterfly gardeners plant two vines. In sunny areas, they lure gulf fritillary butterflies. In shade, they invite zebra long wings.

These plants, and others that butterflies favor, are available at local nurseries and garden centers.

Florida has more than 180 species of butterflies, and some of them are found nowhere else.

Butterflies commonly seen in Hillsborough County include monarchs, zebra long wings and varieties of sulphurs.

To ensure your garden attracts different species, place plants in both direct sunlight and shade, and select ones with flowers of varying colors and shapes. Learn to recognize not only adult butterflies, but also the other stages of their life cycles: eggs, caterpillars and chrysalises.

Don't spray pesticides on your butterfly garden. Pesticides and habitat destruction are largely to blame for a dramatic decline in the prevalence of monarch butterflies and other pollinators, such as bees.

Target problem leaves or other small areas directly. Remove the affected part of a plant, or treat the vegetation with soaps, oils or other less-toxic substances intended to control pests.

Download free butterfly brochures from the Florida Museum of Natural History.