3 Crucial Ways to Attract Butterflies to Your Garden (Aside From Choosing the Right Plants)

Watching as a butterfly floats across your yard can feel magical, as if it’s reminding you to slow down and enjoy the view. But as it turns out, routine visits by these ethereal insects can be more than just a good omen—butterflies can also be good for your garden.

“Butterflies, while not as efficient as bees, help fertilize flowers by transferring pollen from one bloom to another,” says Angela Judd, certified master gardener and founder of Growing in the Garden. “They’re a sign of a pesticide-free ecosystem. This means there are many more beneficial insects and pollinators that are less visible, happily working and living in your garden.”

Andrew Bunting, the vice president of horticulture at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, agrees. Alongside wasps, moths, flies, and even hummingbirds, he says, butterflies ensure that your garden maintains a healthy pollination cycle. But if there doesn’t seem to be all that many floating around your garden, don’t worry, there are several things you can do to attract these pollinators to your yard—in addition to growing butterfly-friendly plants.

Plant Where There’s Lots of Light

Plants and butterflies have more than a love of blossoming in common: They also share a love for a clear and bright forecast. “Butterflies are cold-blooded and want to feed in warm, sunny areas,” Judd says. If you’re hoping to attract more of them to your garden, Judd and Bunting recommend planting a few of their favorite blooms in a spot they can’t resist. “Pick an area in the garden that is in full sun,” Bunting continues. “Many of the plants that will be selected are sun-loving perennials.”

Bunting would plant options like the pale coneflower, gayfeather, buttonbush, ironweed, or any milkweed, while Judd would add zinnias, lantanas, and tithonias to the mix. As for herbs, she says fennel, dill, and parsley will spur swallowtail butterflies. “I check these regularly for signs of caterpillars, and I’m always happy when I see them,” she says. “Passionvine will also bring caterpillars about. They’ll decimate it, but then my garden is full of Gulf fritillary butterflies.”

Remember to continue to plant throughout the year, even in chillier temperatures, so butterflies visit from spring into fall. “Many of the asters, such as the aromatic aster, are a great nectar source late in the season,” Bunting says.

Make Sure There’s a Water Source

Aside from watering the soil to keep your plants healthy, Bunting says you’ll want a secondary water source for butterflies.

“This could be as simple as a boulder where water is allowed to puddle or a low birdbath,” he says. If butterflies know that your garden is a place to refuel, they’re more likely to come by and stay a while. Speaking of which, Bunting adds that a log or old stems would work well with the water source, too. “It’ll give them somewhere to land,” he notes.

Don’t Use Chemicals

Even if you grow all the right plants, and give butterflies sun and water, both Bunting and Judd say the pollinators won’t visit if your garden is covered in pesticides.

“Don’t use pesticides, even organic ones,” Judd says. Bunting notes that any chemical will be a deterrent, so avoid using them entirely. “Like any garden a little weeding will be necessary,” he says. By visiting your garden as part of a daily routine, you’ll be able to spot signs of fungi or rot and can change course without a harsh intervention.

Judd also advises against using artificial light at night, which can be disorienting to insects, and to wait for flowers to fully open before cutting them—that’s when they’re the most attractive to butterflies. “And don’t get upset when you see chewed leaves,” she notes. “That’s the whole point!”