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Children are amazed and delighted by butterflies. Encourage more butterflies to stop back for a visit in your yard this planting season by building a butterfly garden to share with your children.

Types of Flowers

Different butterflies prefer different types of nectar that comes from specific flowers. These flowers can vary in color, height and soil and climate requirements. Finding out which flowers attract particular butterflies is a fun and educational project to share with the kids. Start by doing research at your local library, then ask a local greenhouse or agriculture department which butterflies are common in your area. For added fun, experiment with the varieties of flowers you plant and have your children keep notes on which butterflies visited the various flowers that you planted.

Here is a list of common flowers and the butterflies they attract. Most flowers will attract a variety of different species, but some are preferred over others.

• Asters: This flower comes in so many different colors and sizes. It attracts Viceroy butterflies, which are known for their mimicry of the famous Monarch butterflies.
  
• Echinacea: This flower is also known as the purple coneflower. It is a popular natural remedy as well as a butterfly attractor. Common butterflies found among these flowers are the Tiger Swallowtail and the Painted Lady.
  
• Black-Eyed Susans: These fun little flowers are mostly a prairie flower, perfect for attracting butterflies. They are sometimes called Rudbeckia after their scientific name. They tend to attract many butterflies, including the Great Spangled Fritillary.