DIY Life

One of my greatest summer joys is watching butterflies delicately fluttering and swooping in the sun. Last spring, I finally got around to starting my very own butterfly garden. It's still very much a work in progress; however, I'd love to share it with you. Click over to my gallery to take a tour of my butterfly garden.

Want to give butterfly gardening a try yourself? Here are 20 tips to get started!

BUTTERFLIES 101

1. Learn some butterfly garden basics. The most important thing to know is that butterflies are attracted to brightly colored flowers, and to certain plants in particular. Some of the best plants for attracting butterflies are butterfly bush, lantana, pentas, milkweed, purple coneflower, willow, and fennel.

2. Know your local butterflies. Find out which butterflies are commonly found in your state. For example, the butterfly in my picture is a Gulf Fritillary which is found all over Florida. Is there a specific butterfly you want to attract? Perhaps the gorgeous Monarch? Then learn up to find out which plants are most likely to attract that species. Tip: for Monarchs, try planting milkweed.

One day when I was a kid, my mom dragged out an old terrarium and set it in the corner of the living room. Then she sent us out hunting for milkweed and the hungry black, yellow, and white caterpillars that were sure to be chomping on them. We filled the terrarium with milkweed and caterpillars and got our very first lesson in the life cycle of a butterfly.

We tried this last year with my own kids, but we bought painted lady caterpillars. While it certainly was an enjoyable project, it didn't feel the same. Though it's easier to have your caterpillars shipped to you by mail, part of the fun is the hunt. So this year, our little wigglies will come from our own backyard, or at the very least, our own state park.

If raising butterflies sounds fun to you, you can learn more about the process at Butterfly School. Learn how to build a simple, homemade cage for your caterpillars while they grow. You can also create a Monarch butterfly way station in your backyard by ordering milkweed and nectar plants that offer Monarchs food, shelter, and breeding grounds during their migration.

If you take the care necessary to handle living creatures, raising butterflies can be an educational and enjoyable experience for the whole family.

I have a list a mile long of the things I want to do with my kids. Some of them are far fetched, that trip to Machu Pichu might have to wait awhile, but others a fairly realistic. On that side of the list is my aspiration to create our own butterfly haven. It would be therapeutic for us all to be able to watch the butterflies flitting about colorful flowers and it would be a bonding experience to put it all together.

I am not sure if we have the time to get it done this summer, but I am already planning for the next go around of hot months. If you are keen on making your own butterfly garden, follow the next few steps to colorful happiness.