DIY Butterfly Garden For Your Deck

Learning how to make a DIY butterfly garden for your deck is a great way to combine the joy of gardening with the beauty of butterflies right outside your backdoor.

Plan Your Garden: Whether you are creating your own plans or modifying some existing designs, a plan is always the best way to begin and do-it-yourself (DIY) to save money. You may wish to use freestanding pots and planters or get window boxes or deck rail planters that hang from the rail to bring your butterfly garden up to eye level to create an ideal butterfly garden.

Flowers: The key is to plant a variety of native flowers, as well as those that can attract different kinds of butterflies. Flowers that look good and are easy to use in window boxes are "butterfly bushes," daylilies, asters, marigolds and lantanas. For the butterfly larvae you should think about growing milkweed plants, parsley and dill.

Types of Butterflies: Some of the most common butterflies found through North America are the Monarch, Mourning Cloak, Red Admiral and Common Wood Nymph butterflies. These may be a good starting place for beginners, but you may wish to do further research to see what species are most common in your area.

Butterfly Houses: Butterfly houses are a nice way to attract some species of butterflies and some can be mounted on top of your deck railing posts. Be sure to get one that has one or more glass sides, so you can watch them interact in a more intimate way. Add a piece of tree bark or some twigs, for the butterflies to use as a roost. You may even try to build your own DIY butterfly house. It is possible that some of the non-migratory species of butterfly might decide to spend the winter on your deck in your butterfly garden.

Butterfly Feeders: You can easily make a homemade butterfly feeder by using a plastic plate. For your DIY butterfly feeder punch three holes around the sides amd hang it with wire or string. Decorate wire with large faux flowers and hang near real flowers to increase probability that your feeder will be found. Alternatively, you can make a terracotta feeder, by taking any small sized terracotta pot and same sized saucer and turning them upside down. Apply glue to the bottom of the pot, and glue it to the bottom of the saucer. Once the glue dries, begin decorating the exterior of the pot and saucer with paint and/or by gluing tiles to make mosaic flower patterns. The pot will serve as the stand and the saucer will be the feeder.

Butterfly Food: Old bruised bananas, fermented apples that have fallen from one of your fruit trees and many others over ripened fruits can be used as nutrient sources for attracting some butterflies. Replace the fruit when they become dried out. You can make a homemade butterfly food nectar source by combing 4 parts water and 1 part granulated sugar and boiling until dissolved. Cool and serve in your homemade butterfly feeder.

Butterfly Puddles: Butterflies pull minerals and moisture out of damp soil, known as puddling. Males are known to draw from these puddles frequently, seeking salts and minerals. Create your own homemade butterfly puddle by burying a bowl filled with sand. Fill bowl with water, a sweet drink or stale beer, until sand is completely soggy. Butterflies love the sun, so add some large stones to create places for the butterflies to sun bath in your butterfly garden.

Building a DIY butterfly garden on your deck is an enjoyable and affordable do it yourself project. The combination of flowers and butterflies will create an environment that is excellent for entertaining guest or enjoying quietly on your own.