Planning the Perfect Butterfly Garden

After a week of rain we finally had a break on Sunday to go visit Grace. Holly had picked up some fresh roses and I had my gardening bag in tow. Like many times we visit her, Holly will take the vase to a nearby table and start trimming the flowers and putting them in a vase. Meanwhile I use a little brush and water to clean all the nooks-and-crannies on her plaque. We take great pride in making sure her site is always clean and full of flowers.

When we were done we stood there admiring our work and thinking about our baby. I couldn't help but think about how beautiful the floral design is on her monument and all the flowers surrounding it. Then it dawned on me, we should start a garden in Grace's memory. But not just any garden, a butterfly garden. Holly loved the idea!

The notion of a living garden with butterflies that are so symbolic to us made perfect sense. Something we could create with a variety of flowers and whimsical garden fixtures seemed like a fitting tribute to our baby girl. Being part of something that would grow and evolve in her memory was just what we were looking for. It was also perfect timing since we had just been discussing where to put a Butterfly Bush our friends Jason and Alex had given us.

We had already planned to go to a nursery after our visit, so it was a good time to get started. We had been talking about getting a water feature for months. And we figured this would be a good start to our garden. After spending an hour at the nursery looking at different fountains and features we decided on this one. We really like the design and easy setup.

Since then I've been reading a lot about butterfly gardens and what it entails. There are dozens of local trees, shrubs, vines, perennials and annuals that attract butterflies. These types of plants are broken into two groups; nectar plants for butterflies to feed on and host plants for emerging caterpillars. And of course the types of butterflies varies by region.

So over the course of the next couple of months we're going to work on the plans for our garden. We don't want to put it in at our current house since we plan on moving soon. But as soon as we move we will probably start on it. In the meantime I will continue to work on my list of plants and design. We really hope this will be a labor of love and a place of happiness in memory of Grace.