Butterflies are a delightful addition to every garden. They bring natural beauty and a sense of motion to the space. In addition to their important role as pollinators, butterflies help maintain ecological harmony by luring other beneficial insects to the garden. Butterfly gardening involves creating and maintaining natural habitats for moths and butterflies.
Encouraging children to help transform your backyard or terrace garden into a butterfly habitat would be a rewarding and entertaining activity. Here, we share detailed instructions on planning and creating a butterfly garden with your children.
Determine The Best Spot For Your Garden.
Choosing a proper location that yields enough sunlight and air is essential for a good garden. A little bit of natural vegetation, such as shrubs, plants, etc., would be nice to see there.
Select Appropriate Garden Plants.
Usually, butterflies are attracted to specific plants, like host plants and nectar plants.
The butterflies prefer plants such as curry leaves, asters, mint, milkweed, custard apple trees, citrus, etc. In addition to feeding on such plants, they also lay eggs on them. These plants are known as host plants. To attract butterflies, you need to grow such plants in your garden.
Nectar plants are flowering plants that bloom in clusters. Aside from being more aesthetically pleasing, they also enhance the garden. When looking for nectar, butterflies choose colourful plants like Ixora, marigold, hibiscus, zinnia, etc. Select plants like these if you want your garden to be a butterfly haven.
Have A Planting Celebration Where The Kids Can Participate.
Let your child participate actively in planting activities. Allow him to dig the soil according to its accurate width and depth and create space for each plant. Let him touch and feel nature and understand the importance of planting trees. For them, gardening is a great way to spend quality time outdoors.
Make Use Of Cute Garden Decor And Feeders.
Encourage your little one to use ice cream sticks or twigs to build little homes for butterflies. These tiny huts will be a sight to behold when viewed hanging from the plants. More than that, these cute huts can serve as shelters for the butterflies. Make butterfly feeders out of plastic bottles. Fill the feeder with sugary water or honey. Observe the beautiful butterflies feeding on the homemade nectar!
Observation And Creation Of The Butterfly Journal
A great way to foster your child’s knowledge and interest is to teach them through various activities. Let children observe the garden every day. They understand the flowering season of each flower, the type of butterflies, how they feed on, the life cycle of butterflies, etc. Give them small notebooks to jot down their observations every day.
Tips And Tricks On How To Enhance Your Garden’s Butterfly Population
- Avoid tall trees on the east side of the garden if you want your garden to get enough morning sunlight.
- Use rinds of vegetables and fruits as organic fertilizers. Butterflies feed on these items, too.
- Prioritize flowering plants in your garden, as they will attract more butterflies once they blossom.
- Avoid using any pesticides in your butterfly garden. Butterflies and moths are susceptible to the effects of any chemical. The alternative is to closely monitor the plants and regularly remove any pests by hand. Ladybugs, lacewings, frogs, and other predatory insects in your garden will aid in the hunt for pests.
Through this educational activity, your children will enjoy nature and its beautiful creatures. Moreover, they gain valuable knowledge about the equilibrium of this ecosystem. Embrace nature’s wonders, and let them enchant your children.
