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Neeli Reamer is The Roanoke Times' gardening columnist. Her column appears twice monthly in Extra.

Neeli Reamer

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About Neeli

Neeli Reamer is a Master Gardener who has a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication and a master's degree in counseling, where she focused heavily on horticultural therapy techniques.

She believes gardening isn't about being perfect, it's about having fun.

Perhaps no other insect throughout history has captured our imaginations like the butterfly.

And why not?

Butterflies liven up the landscape. They delight people of all ages when they flutter by and put on a show.

These kaleidoscopic creatures don't just beautify gardens; butterflies pollinate flowers, too.

This summer, invite them into your yard by creating a butterfly garden. Your garden can be any size, from a window box to a wildflower meadow.

A full-service butterfly garden accommodates butterflies during all four stages of their lives: egg, caterpillar (larva), chrysalis (pupa) and adult.

Sun required

First, locate your butterfly garden in the sunniest place possible. Butterflies are coldblooded and rely on solar power. Some cannot fly unless their body temperatures are more than 85 degrees. Place a few flat stones around your garden so butterflies can bask in the sun.

Provide nectar

Next, plant an assortment of nectar-rich flowers.

Adult butterflies are nearsighted. Instead of using single plants, arrange your flowers in bright masses of color so roving butterflies will spot them. Red, yellow, orange, pink and purple blossoms are best.

Butterflies are active from early spring through late fall. Try to plan for continuous blooms.

A butterfly sips nectar, its sugary liquid diet, with a proboscis, or long, coiled tubelike tongue. Butterfly-friendly plants have short flower tubes for easy access to nectar. Clustered or flat-topped flowers make good landing pads.

Cosmos, gomphrena, marigold, pentas, tithonia and zinnia are some annuals butterflies adore.

Perennial butterfly favorites include aster, bee balm (Monarda didyma), black-eyed Susan, coreopsis, goldenrod (Solidago spp.), ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis), lavender, liatris, sedum, swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), phlox and yarrow. Most of these are native plants.

Host plants

If you really want butterflies to stop and stay awhile, your butterfly garden should also include larval host plants.

Female butterflies lay their eggs on host plants, and emerging caterpillars eat them. Chewed up host plants are the sign of a successful butterfly garden!

Different butterfly species require specific host plants. If females lay their eggs on the wrong one, the caterpillars will not survive. Some host plants for your garden are dill, fennel, hollyhock, passion-flower (Passiflora incarnata), parsley and rue. Plants we may consider weeds, such as clover, thistles and violets, are on the list, too.

Learn about the local butterflies you want as guests in your garden. For instance, the state insect of Virginia is the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). Some of its host plants are sweetbay magnolia, wild black cherry (Prunus serotina) and tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). Visit the Butterfly Society of Virginia Web site at www.butterflysocietyofva.org to discover which host plants are needed by which butterflies.

Shelter

Butterflies dislike windy areas, so your garden should be in a calm, protected site.

Planting trees and shrubs nearby will give butterflies shelter from the elements and safe places to roost at night. A few trees and shrubs recommended for butterflies are azalea, birch, blueberry, Clethra alnifolia, lilac, oak, pawpaw, sassafras, viburnum and willow.

Some people put decorative hibernation houses in their gardens but I've never had a single butterfly take up residence in mine. Butterflies that hibernate prefer log piles, rock crevices or tree hollows.

Moisture

Butterflies need moisture. Males often group around mud puddles. Maintain puddles in your garden, or create one by sinking a container filled with damp sand in the ground.

Some gardeners leave out overripe fruit for butterflies.

Finally, put your pesticides away. Heavy pesticide use and habitat loss have landed several butterflies on the endangered species list.

Butterfly magnets

Here are a few plants, also known as "butterfly magnets," that are in my garden:

n Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii) comes in many colors. The deciduous shrub is a fast grower that can get to be 6 to 12 feet tall. Its profuse clusters of flowers are fragrant and butterflies cannot seem to resist them. Clip off spent flowers to encourage new blooms.

n Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) has a long taproot that makes it drought tolerant, but difficult to transplant. This orange-flowered native jewel is in the milkweed family. It is a host plant, as well as a nectar source, for several butterflies, including monarchs.

n Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) is a tall native perennial whose bold mauve-pink flowers entice butterflies in late summer and fall. Eupatorium maculatum 'Gateway' is great for smaller gardens.

n Lantana (Lantana camara) would be perfect in a container butterfly garden. It is a free-flowering tender perennial that is grown as an annual here. Lantana is known for its festive, day-glow colors.

n Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is an easy-growing, long-blooming perennial. There are many new coneflowers on the market but "Magnus" remains a popular choice. Plant it with black-eyed Susan for a winning butterfly combination.

Grow these butterfly magnets, along with some host plants, and you will achieve the desired butterfly effect in your garden in no time at all.

Tips from a master gardener

Jim Revell is an expert Bedford County Master Gardener. His amazing organic garden in Bedford is filled with brightly colored perennials, roses, fruit trees, berry bushes and vegetables. Here are some of Revell's gardening tips:

1. "Compost is my number one tip," Revell says. He adds compost to his soil on a regular basis. "Soil is the foundation of a garden."

2. Beehives in a garden can increase plant production up to 25 percent. After he got his five hives, "I saw a major difference with my fruit trees," Revell says.

3. Revell has several tomato-growing tips. Plant your tomatoes deeply. Mulch them well, and pinch off any leaves that touch the ground to prevent leaf fungus and diseases. Each plant needs two gallons of water per week. Grow tomatoes with companion plants like marigolds and basil. Revell's favorites include "Chocolate Cherry," "Beefmaster" and "Kellogg's Breakfast." He sells his tomatoes and other produce at the Bedford Farmers Market.