Having a beautiful backyard to enjoy and relax in isn't just about plants, flowers and nice grass. For me, it includes birds, butterflies, dragonflies and even bats.a necessary part of our eco system.

Watching birds bathing and bats flitting about at night are great fun, but it is the Butterflies that are truly spectacular. There are hundreds of varieties of Butterflies, each unique unto itself.

Butterflies are one of nature's most beautiful and delicate creatures. Creating a habitat for them will bring a variety of Butterflies to your yard for your viewing pleasure and it creates a safe haven for them to breed. There is nothing more enjoyable than watching a dozen Butterflies feeding on a single Lavender plant or rose bush. Butterflies are an essential part of our pollination system as well. Without butterflies and bees there would be no flowers.

Incorporating plants into your landscape that Butterflies are attracted to is easy to do.

• There are many types of shrubs and trees that Butterflies like, and even more perennials.

• When planting perennials in your garden for Butterflies to enjoy, plant them in groupings or clusters. Butterflies will be drawn to a large show of flowers more easily than just one or two plants.

• Butterflies also like a rock or two out in the sun for them to warm their wings before flying in the early morning hours.

• They also are attracted to damp areas of the garden where they can suck fluid and salts from the soil.

• Shrubs and Butterfly Houses will protect them from wind and predators (mainly birds). By placing a Butterfly house in the center of a group of flowering perennials, Butterflies will be more likely to find the house and use it.

• Minimize the amount of chemical insecticides and herbicides you use, as these delicate creatures are very susceptible to their residue. Yet another reason to go organic!

• Here is a listing of plants Butterflies are attracted to:

Shrubs/Trees:

Abelia
Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)
Blueberry
Hawthorne
Mock Orange
Pear
Plum
Privet
Redbud
Rose of Sharon
Spiraea
Summersweet (Clethra)
Viburnum

• All of these shrubs/trees come in numerous varieties. They flower at different times of the season. Plant an assortment of these to get the longest flowering season a fabulous array of color and the most butterflies to your yard.

Perennials:

Althea
Ajuga
Asclepsias (Butterfly weed)
Aster
Centaurea
Coneflower
Coreopsis
Lantana
Lobelia (Cardinal Flower)
Mint
Monarda (Bee Balm)
Phlox
Rudbeckia (Black eyed Susan)
Sedum
Shasta Daisy
Verbena
Yarrow
Perennials are a great addition to the garden. There are many varieties, sizes and colors as there are types of butterfles. You can choose an assortment of perennials so that you have color from early spring to the first frost. Perennials grow and spread every year and are mostly care free plants once established. Some butterflies are attracted to specific plants. if you are trying to attract a particular butterfly, do some research as to which plants are their favorite.

Planting some of these varieties of shrubs and flowers in your yard will enhance its beauty, bring lots of Butterflies to your yard and give you a great reason to want to stay home.