Butterflies and Butterfly Gardening in the Pacific Northwest

Joan Lovisek, Ph.D., is a consulting anthropologist and ethnohistorian
in British Columbia.

In this slim, well-illustrated guidebook, Woodward outlines the
essential ingredients needed to attract butterflies, or “flying
flowers,” to gardens. The guide is divided into three main sections
that offer advice on the necessary conditions to attract butterflies,
identify various types of butterflies and larva, and point out the
climatic zones in which certain species can be found. Identifying the
various species is not an easy task, since butterflies may look
different depending on the season, geography, generation, or sex.
Identifying a butterfly’s larva also presents a challenge, since
larvae can resemble such common garden artifacts as bird droppings. They
also change rapidly in appearance depending on their stage of growth.
Butterfly gardening is clearly an activity for the truly dedicated.

Preparing the garden to attract butterflies is the key element. As a
form of gardening, it complements other ecologically attuned methods
that promote sustainable practices, such as permitting weeds and
avoiding pesticides. In this case, however, the garden must support not
just butterflies but their larvae. Because single-flower plant varieties
provide butterflies with the necessary access to nectar, old-fashioned
plants like hollyhocks, zinnias, and marigolds in mass plantings of
flowers in green, purple, and pink are central floral requirements.
Woodward, a landscaper and artist, obligingly provides landscape plans
and colour photographs of the various stages of butterfly development.

Even if you follow all the instructions Woodward provides, there are no
guarantees that butterflies will come to your garden. The chance that a
butterfly will choose larval plants in a particular garden is related to
the availability of larval hosts and environmental conditions. Even
though butterflies are a fragile species and have a short lifespan, they
are aggressively territorial and this characteristic will limit the type
of butterfly a garden may attract. This means that no matter how
butterfly-friendly the garden, certain species won’t come.

This comprehensive guide shows gardeners how to prepare and be aware of
the conditions necessary to attract butterflies, while at the same time
contributing to ecologically sustainable gardening.