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Balfour Gardeners Seek Butterflies
Seniors Marketplace News
September 2003
No one doubts that gardeners love nature — from the vegetables and flowers they plant and nurture to the wildlife these gardens attract. One of the most beautiful guests gardeners can attract to their gardens includes butterflies.
In a joint effort between the Westminster-based Butterfly Pavilion, the first stand-alone nonprofit insect zoo in the nation, and Balfour Retirement Community of Louisville, a garden was planned, planted and nurtured this summer in hopes of attracting these colorful invertebrates.
A representative from the Butterfly Pavilion visited Balfour in the spring to discuss the possibility of a garden. With several of Balfour's green thumb residents interested, several locations around the Balfour campus were staked out for butterfly-attracting plants. Two volunteers and Saranda Krishnan, Butterfly Pavilion horticultural director, then helped with the site planning and planting. "We will plant three butterfly gardens for seniors this summer and more next year," said Jill Graham, adults programs coordinator and founder of the Butterfly Pavilion program.
A true butterfly garden needs to have nectar sources for adults, host plants for larvae to feed on, and shelter, which can be provided by any number of plants. In addition, selecting a variety of plants — with different heights, colors, and tastes — that bloom throughout the year increases the likelihood of attracting a range of butterflies.
At Balfour, residents and a member of the Pavilion staff planted Leadwort, Russian Sage, Yarrow, and Red Pentas among other flowers, hoping to attract butterflies native to Colorado. After several months, the results have been positive.
If you are looking to attract butterflies to your yard, think nectar! Nectar that feeds the butterflies comes from a variety of flowers. The more nectar in the flower, the more popular the plants will be to butterflies as well as birds and bees. Some flowers that you will want to add to your flower bed to attract butterflies:
- Achillea
- Aster
- Bee Balm
- Lavendar
- Lilies
- Thistle
- Violets
- Wildflowers high in Nectar
To learn more about attracting butterflies in your garden, go to the Butterfly Pavilion's web site at http://www.butterflies.org/ and look under the "Horticulture" section. Or, for information about butterflies throughout Colorado, check out the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center at http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/co/toc.htm. If you'd like to see more photos of Balfour residents tending to their plants and flowers, go to http://www.balfourcare.com.