A butterfly landing on you is suppose to be a symbol of good luck heading your way. A butterfly landing in your garden is kinda the same thing, because they actually help pollinate your plants {which I personally think is a good thing}.
To attract butterflies, start with native flowers. It’s that ol’ “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. Butterflies have adapted to the native flowers, they have a sorta zen thing going on. On that note, try to recreate nature in your backyard, place flat stones around your garden, giving butterflies a place to land and rest the weary wings.
Next, be sure to think about all of the stages of a butterfly’s life: Adult butterflies are attracted to red, yellow, orange, pink and purple blossoms that are flat. Caterpillars {the caterpillars of the butterflies you are trying to attract are not the destructive ones that are eating your leaves} like to eat passionvines, milkweed, gooseberry, azalea, and pawpaws {different species eat different types of flowers, so plant an assortment if you would like to see more than one type of butterfly}.
Avoid using pesticides, they get rid of the good and the bad guys {read: they kill butterflies}.
Because adult butterflies typically only feed in sunlight, make sure you plant your flowers in a nice sunny location. Also, providing them a shallow pan with wet sand in the bottom will give them a place to drink. Just set the pan near the flowers.
That’s pretty much it, now sit back and wait for one to land ON you.
Good luck,
Mavis
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