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Make a Butterfly Border

Published in Organic Gardening Magazine - September 2006

September heralds the gentle decline of summer.  Even though we are sometimes blessed with warm ‘Indian Summer’ weather, cool evenings serve to remind us that autumn is definitely on the way.  This is the time of year to take stock of how the garden has performed over the last few months and make plans for next year in all areas.  If your garden was rather bereft of butterflies through the summer, this could be a good opportunity to make improvements to provide more nectar for them next year, and include some larval food plants to encourage breeding.

Butterfly numbers fluctuate from year to year for many reasons.  Wet spring weather can have a detrimental effect on many species, as this is the time of year when pupae or small caterpillars are at their most vulnerable.  Damp conditions may cause butterflies in their pupal stage to succumb to fungal diseases and tiny larvae will not thrive in damp cold conditions.  For example, the common blue butterfly spends the winter as a tiny caterpillar deep in thick grass, to complete its growth and pupation in the spring.  It is not difficult to see how vulnerable a tiny creature like this may be if the spring is cold and wet.  Other species spend the winter months in hibernation deep in thick, leafy vegetation or in a sheltered outhouse. 

Create a new nectar border  If you have the space you may be in the enviable position of creating a new nectar border from scratch.  Few of us are blessed with this option and therefore may be looking at adding to existing borders, but the principles to apply are the same: choose plants with a proven track record and plant them in a butterfly friendly place.  In essence not a huge amount of space is required to make a small butterfly area - in fact even a couple of containers will suffice if space is really limited.  Although it may be desirable to plant large numbers of nectar plants, just a few will make a difference.  However you intend to cater to your local butterflies the first consideration must be shelter.  Most butterfly species prefer to go about their business well out of the wind, where temperatures will increase on even a mild spring day.  Being cold-blooded insects they rely on the warmth of the sun to energise them early in the day.  A cold windy spot will present a problem so shrubs such as evergreen Viburnums, Buddleia, Escallonia or Cotoneaster or perhaps a screen of willow hurdles to block the worst of the prevailing wind will be useful.  A new small area on the south side of a house or shed could be ideal.  The best of the butterfly nectar plants prefer sunny well drained conditions so desiccated soil in this type of situation should not be a problem.

Having chosen your site, next prepare the area for planting.  You may prefer to leave planting itself until the weather is cooler, but plan, prepare the ground and source your plants while you still have the enthusiasm of summer upon you!  Remove turf from grass areas, hoe out annual weeds, dig out perennials and add well rotted home made compost.  Although you may wish to include a few wildflowers you will still want the majority of your nectar plants to grow healthily and withstand drought.  Replenishing the soil nutrients will ensure your plants grow healthily while adding humus will increase its moisture holding capabilities – an important consideration if nectar flow is to be a priority.  Make a simple plan if you are inclined.  Choose wildflower species and a mixture of good butterfly perennials and shrubs from the lists below and sketch them onto paper.  This can be as rough or detailed as you wish.  Sometimes simply putting your ideas down on paper can inspire latent design skills.  Use graph paper if you want to be really accurate but often a scribble is all that is needed.  Check heights of plants and plan to plant the tallest towards the back, and shortest at the front, with the occasional aberration for a little more interest (a perfectly tiered border can look rather contrived). 

All that remains is to source your varieties and plant when the weather is cooler and damper.  Don’t forget to include a mixture of large and small shrubs, annuals and herbs, perennials and wildflowers.  Finish off with a good organic mulch.  If you are adding nectar plants to an existing border the principles outlined above are much the same.  You may wish to choose flower colours that complement existing plants, or enjoy a more random ‘cottage garden’ approach.  Whatever you decide prepare your soil, choose your plants well and plant when the conditions are suitable.  Adding new plants to a tired old border can give it a new lease of life, not just for you but for your garden insects as well.  

A healthy butterfly population can be indicative of the general wildlife value of your garden.  If you have plenty of butterflies around, the chances are that you will have good numbers of honeybees, bumblebees and hoverflies too, as well as moths, ladybirds, lacewings and a whole host of other insects that rely on pollen and nectar.  Enhancing the butterfly attracting capacity of your garden will benefit many other types of garden wildlife, and ensure that your garden is a well-balanced environment, buzzing with life.

What to plant

Top 10 natives wildflowers for nectar

Greater knapweed, lady’s smock, wild marjoram, field scabious, teasel, wild thyme, hemp agrimony, dandelion, cornflower, ox eye daisy.

Top 10 non-natives for nectar

Ice plant, lavender, Michaelmas daisy, scabious, thyme, Verbena, cosmos, statice, sunflower, coneflower.

Top 5 shrubs and climbers

Buddleia, goat willow, ivy, Hebe, privet.

Top 10 larval plants

Nettle, bird’s foot trefoil, honesty, buckthorn, nasturtium, elm, wild sorrel, garlic mustard, sweet rocket, native grasses.

© Text and photographs Jenny Steel 2008