How to make your garden butterfly friendly

Pollinators are the bread and butterflies of your garden. Without them, our flowers will cease to bloom, and our vegetables just won’t grow. Many of San Jose’s butterflies are endangered, as their habitats are disappearing. You can help restore the population by making your garden move inviting and attractive to California Pipevine Swallowtail, Large Marble, Pacific Orange Tips, and other butterflies native to San Jose. Here are some tips to make your garden butterfly-friendly.

Flower power

The key to enticing native butterflies is filling your garden with San Jose’s native plants such as Joe Pye weed and zinnias. Try native daisies like the seaside daisy and golden-aster, or any of the azalea varieties at home in Northern California.

Host plant hospitality

Host plants can mean the difference between a full garden habitat and a spot that butterflies will only visit now and then. Host plants provide shelter to adult butterflies and nurseries for their larvae. Another benefit? These hosts have beautiful blooms of their own.

The California buttonbush is a unique host shrub that attracts monarchs and skipper butterflies. California wild lilacs take the cake for the sheer number of host species. They're breeding places for California tortoiseshells, pale swallowtails, echo blues, hedgerow hairstreak, and spring azure butterflies.

Provide food and water

To turn your garden into a sustainable butterfly home, you’ll need to add a way for them to get extra food and water when their favorite plants aren’t in bloom.

Many San Jose butterflies love mud puddling, which allows them to get water, salt, and nutrients by gathering around puddles. You can easily create a butterfly puddling pool by filling a shallow pan or saucer with some sand or gravel and water. Place it under a faucet or drain pipe to keep the water flowing.

Reach new heights with baskets and trellises

Butterflies are naturally curious, and one way to keep them coming back to your garden is by giving them various heights to explore. Set up hanging baskets, moss poles, or trellises in your butterfly garden to train climbing vines and rambling roses.

Balance bloom time

Want to keep butterflies living in your yard year-round? Make sure your garden has something blooming during every season. Evergreen plants like the valley violet and winter bloomers like the California golden currant will weather the cold with ease and keep the fluttery friends in your yard.

Butterfly and eco-friendly

Butterflies are a vital part of any garden, providing pollination for your plants and a gorgeous buzz of life for your yard. Making your garden butterfly friendly with a few simple steps is an easy way to invite them to stay. As a plus, you’ll combat the habitat loss that many California butterflies are currently facing. So choose your flowers wisely, add some extra resources, and help migrating butterflies find their way to your San Jose yard. 

Annie Parnell is a freelance writer and audio producer based in Virginia. She is passionate about gardening, outdoor recreation, sustainability, and all things music and pop culture.