Is your garden boring and empty? Do you have ZERO visitors stopping by, and do you want that to change? Are YOU the problem, or is it your plants?
If this were us, we'd blame our personalities for the lack of creatures coming into our yard.
However, we'll assume you're kinda-normal, and this is your plants' fault.
So many plant species can make your garden the talk of the town (or whatever sound butterflies and other tiny cute animals make).
If your backyard feels too sterile, the first thing you need to do is get creative. Wildlife, whether it's birds, bees, butterflies, squirrels, ladybugs, or WHATEVER ELSE YOU LIKE: these creatures love greenery.
Planting one tree and a flowering bush will get you nothing.
If you don't give nature enough invitations into your space, it will ignore you. We have plenty of ideas for this and personally spoke to a neighborhood butterfly for their opinion on this matter.
*Giggles with a butterfly in a VERY public space*
Okay. Let's get serious (not really)
@gardenary Flowers for the butterflies #gardentok #butterflies #butterfly #savethebutterflies #learnontiktok #tiktokpartner #fyp #foryoupage ♬ Heat Waves - Glass Animals
Attracting All The Butterflies In Your ZIP Code
We don't know about you, but butterflies are our favorite. If you also love butterflies and need them in your garden ASAP, try and go for colorful flowering plants.
Some colors that will 100% bring an entire colony of butterflies into your property are red, yellow, orange, pink, and purple.
THE MORE COLOR, THE BETTER.
If you need some specific plants that will attract butterflies, here are our favorites:
- Phlox
- Coneflower
- Lantana
- Bluestar
- Marigolds
- Black-Eyed Susan
- Blazing Star Flowers
- Butterfly Bush (DUH)
- Lavender
- Swamp Milkweed
- Flossflower
- Sunflowers
- Hollyhocks
So, there are endless flower species/varieties you can go with. Just add a ton and the butterflies will show up (and maybe bring all their friends).
Here's someone from TikTok that turned her boring yard into a butterfly/nature "sanctuary."
@backyard_geographic Our #backyard used to just be dried dirt. With some #wildflowers it looks a bit unorganized, but beautiful on the inside. #foryou #fyp #diy #nature ♬ Blackbird - Acoustic Guitar Revival
All she did was sprinkle a TON of wildflower seeds, watch them grow, and let nature take its course.
Your Backyard Will Be The BUZZ Of The Town With These Plants
Now that you have the butterfly community on your side let's move on to bees.
First, you need to find plants that are these three colors: blue, purple, and yellow. Like butterflies, bees also love brightly colored flowers, so go big here. GET CRAZY!
Here are some flower species we think the bees will love (we tried asking them and got stung):
- Daises
- Zinnias
- Asters
- Bee Balm
- Queen Anne's Lace
- Black-Eyed Susan
- Marsh Blazing Star
- White Wild Indigo
- Purple Coneflower
Try planting a few of these to start, or buy thousands of seeds and throw them EVERYWHERE. Either will do, although the second option seems more fun to us.
Here's a video detailing a few ways to get bees, butterflies, and pollinators in general to your yard:
It's all about your flowers' color, smell, and shape. Find ones that have a little spot for critters to sit on and relax!
Birds Will Go Crazy If You Have THESE Plants
Now for birds, you can approach this at a similar angle. Birds, generally, are pretty easy to please.
If you give them a place to bathe, flowers and grasses to play in (so cute), and seeds: birds will go crazy. Think of your garden like a new business.
If you want everyone to come over, you've got to offer A LOT.
One way to open this theoretical bird restaurant/theme park/community is to plant the following items throughout your property:
- Flowering Dogwood
- Mapleleaf Viburnum
- Purple Coneflower
- Serviceberry
- Native Grasses
- Sunflowers
- Coral Honeysuckle
- American Elderberry
Try to offer a variety of food sources for the birds: seeds, berries, and many places to relax. Like us, birds also love to chill out and talk: so why not have them do this in your garden?
One thing we can say all of these critters have in common is their love for flowers and bright colors. Whether you want bees, butterflies, or birds, throw plenty of seeds and let your yard go wild!
Do you have any interesting stories or ideas for getting critters into your garden? Tell us!
We also have these cool articles that should also help you:
Do Marigolds Attract Bees & Butterflies [Yes! Tips For Planting In Your Yard]