Pesticides deter butterflies and beneficial insects as well as the pests you aimed to be rid of in the first place. Why not try companion planting and other organic techniques to look after your flowers? (Refer to leaflet No8 for more information.)
Wild privet, clogwood, bramble, hawthorn, rose briar, guelder rose (damp loving), yew, beech, honeysuckle, ivy, travellers' joy, alder buckthorn
Keep an area approximately lm2 free of all other plants while your tree or hedge becomes established. Other plants will compete for nutrients and water and stunt the growth of the tree. This can be done with mulch or special materials available from garden centres.
Once your tree or hedge is established, you can add colour with native species such as bluebell, foxglove, hedge woundwort, archangel, lords and ladies, traveller's joy, primrose, betony, bush vetch, Dame's violet, dog violet, everlasting pea, garlic mustard, herb robert, lungwort, musk mallow, nettle-leaved bellflower, red campion, sawwort, greater stitchwort, lesser stitchwort, sweet cicely, white deadnettle, red deadnettle, wood crane's-bill
You need to devote a larger area of your garden to butterflies if you want success as breeding station rather than just a feeding station (or butterfly pub!). Provide a variety of grasses and a range of sward heights and conditions. Butterflies will move from long to medium to short grasses as they progress through their life cycle
Place a pile of logs in a shady area. Logs provide a home for insects including stag beetles, which in turn provide a source of food for birds. Logs proved hibernation sites for newts frogs and many other creatures. You may also be treated to a wonderful fungal display.
Once established, coppice hazel every 5-10 years to give you a 'bush' rather than a tall tree which may be more suitable for town gardens. You can use the canes produced for other jobs in your garden such as making trellises or structures for climbing peas .
Chose species that have berries over winter for birds to feed on.
Did you Know ?
Oak trees in Britain have 284 associated insects, many exotic trees imported into Britain have none !
In order to provide for butterflies and other nectar feeders throughout the year, you need as series of plants that will be in flower at different times. Suggested species can be found on the chart. Make sure the border is sheltered from the wind.
These plants reach a mixture of heights and so should provide you with a well structured, pretty, bountiful butterfly border
| TALL | Buddleia davidii, Hebe, Buddleia globosa, |
| MEDIUM | michaelmas daisies, Anaphalis margaritacae, Anchusa azurea, Polygonum bistorta, Sedum spectabile. |
| SMALL | Primula dendiculata, dwarf michaelmas daisies, marjoram, bugle, Auberita, Fleabane, Centaurea sachiosa. |
Introduce flowers to the grass that you have set aside for breeding butterflies for example birds foot trefoil (common blue, dingy skipper) cuckoo flower (orange tips). Cut the grass to 5cm in autumn and rake up grass to keep the nutrient levels low. Every year, leave a small patch standing for butterflies to survive over winter in various stages of their lifecycle.
Beware of certain grasses such as cock's-foot, tall fescue, and perennial rye grass as they can take over if you don't control their growth.
When mowing, using a 'hover mower' is slightly better than a conventional mower as it avoids too much rolling and is less likely to disturb the bottom layer of the grass.
Nettles and ivy are the preferred food plants of many butterfly species in their larval stages. Ivy will not harm your wall unless you have soft, old lime mortar between your bricks, or grow it over a wooden fence. Plant nettles in a pot and cut them back once a year.
Put a bat or bird box in your tree.
In autumn, clip your hedge or lay every 4-5 years. The best shape for a wildlife hedge is an A shape. Come and help on a DWT reserve to learn how to lay a hedge and other management techniques. (We're very friendly and there are reserves right here in south-east Dorset!)
Hang a hammock and watch the world go slowly by...