5 Essential Steps to Creating Your First Butterfly Garden: A Beginner's Guide

Have you ever dreamed of seeing colorful butterflies fluttering in your garden, adding beauty and life to your outdoor space? Creating a butterfly garden is easier than you think—and the best part is, by doing so, you’re making a real difference for struggling pollinators and butterfly populations. In this beginner-friendly guide, we’ll walk you through the 5 simple steps to create a low-maintenance, native plant butterfly garden that will not only attract butterflies but also other beneficial wildlife.

Viseroy butterfly on mist flower — Viceroy Butterfly

Why Create a Butterfly Garden?

Creating a butterfly garden is a rewarding experience that brings nature right to your doorstep. It’s a great way to help preserve pollinators—who are vital to our ecosystem—and enjoy watching these beautiful creatures as they thrive in your backyard. Butterfly gardens also help support biodiversity, which is especially important as many butterfly species face declining populations. By choosing native plants, you’re also contributing to a more sustainable garden that requires less maintenance, water, and fertilizer. Who doesn't love low maintenance?

Vervain flowers blooming in my garden — Vervain Flowers Blooming in my butterfly garden

Step 1: Choose the Right Location

When selecting a spot for your butterfly garden, keep a few key factors in mind:

Sunlight: Butterflies love warm, sunny spots. Choose a location that gets at least 6 hours of sunlight each day.
Shelter: While butterflies like sunshine, they also need shelter from the wind. Consider planting near shrubs, trees, or a fence to offer some protection.
Visibility: Pick a spot that you can easily see from a window or seating area. After all, you want to enjoy the butterflies!

Step 2: Select Native Plants for Your Butterfly Garden

One of the best things you can do for your butterfly garden is to choose native plants. Native plants are adapted to your local climate, which means they’ll thrive with minimal care (less work for you!) They’re also more attractive to local butterflies and pollinators because they provide the right nectar and habitat. You’ll also avoid the potential harm of invasive species, which can harm the environment and wildlife.

Look for a variety of plants that will provide nectar for adult butterflies and food for their larvae (host plants). Host plants are specific plants that caterpillars need to grow and transform into butterflies. For example, milkweed is a host plant for monarch butterflies, while parsley and dill are host plants for swallowtails.

Some easy-to-grow, native plants for your butterfly garden include:

Coneflower (Echinacea)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
Milkweed (Asclepias)
Bee Balm (Monarda)
Liatris (Gayfeather)
Goldenrod (Solidago)

You can easily find native plant options that suit your region by checking with local nurseries or online plant guides.

My favorite resource

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin

Step 3: Plan Your Garden Layout

Creating a butterfly garden doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the more natural, the better! Here are some simple tips for laying it out:

Layering: Create a mix of plant heights—tall plants in the back, medium ones in the middle, and shorter plants in the front. This helps create a visually appealing garden and offers butterflies plenty of places to land.
Groupings: Plant in clusters of 3-5 plants of the same species. This makes it easier for butterflies to find and enjoy the nectar.
Avoid mono-cropping: Plant a variety of species to encourage a broader range of butterflies to visit.

Step 4: Provide Water and Shelter

While you don’t need to create a pond, providing water for butterflies is important. A shallow birdbath or a small dish with rocks for them to land on is perfect. Make sure to change the water regularly to keep it fresh and clean.

Additionally, plant some shrubs or small trees near your garden for butterflies to seek shelter when it’s too hot or windy. A small pile of leaves or rocks can also provide a resting place or habitat for caterpillars.

Step 5: Low Maintenance Care

One of the biggest perks of a butterfly garden is its low maintenance! Since you’re using native plants, you won’t need to spend much time worrying about watering, pruning, or fertilizing. Native plants are adapted to local weather conditions, so they require less attention than non-native species. Simply:

Water when there’s a dry spell
Deadhead (remove spent flowers) to encourage new growth
Keep an eye out for pests, but don’t worry too much as butterflies and bees will help with natural pest control.

Step 6: Sit Back, Relax, and Enjoy!

Now that you’ve planted your butterfly garden, all that’s left to do is enjoy it! Over time, you’ll notice more butterflies, bees, and even hummingbirds visiting your garden. Don’t be discouraged if it takes a little while for the butterflies to arrive—they’ll start showing up as soon as your plants start blooming.

Congratulations! You did it!