Discover Your Birth Month Butterfly – And How to Attract all 12 Beautiful Winged Visitors into Your Yard
The perfect plants to attract these pollinators and create a biodiverse yard
There are a myriad of different ways you can establish a personal connection to your garden to ensure your identity is entwined throughout it. But have you heard of birth month butterflies? Neither had I until very recently, but given the decline in butterflies visiting our yards, I am here to help you attract more into your yards and reconnect with these vital pollinators.
Depending on your birth month, you might even recognize some of the characteristics associated with each butterfly, adding another layer of interest to your yard and a fantastic talking point for those who visit.
January: Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
From North America to the southern states of America to the boreal forest of Canada, Mourning Cloak butterfly, can be found in a wide range of habitats, including urban gardens, rural forests and coastal regions.
While your yard might be cloaked in a veil of silence at the start of the year, the Mourning Cloak is once of the first butterflies to emerge and is a spectacle to be seen. With deep maroon wings and edges in a creamy yellow color, it has phenomenal survival strategies and symbolizes resilience and quiet strength.
As it is one of the first butterflies to be emerge at the start of the year, to ensure you are able to attract them you need to grow nectar rich plants such as willow and birch trees . The Mourning Cloak loves tree sap and also early blooming fruit trees.
Equally as important are the host plants for the caterpillars. As well as elm an poplar trees these willow tree cuttings available from Amazon can be planted as bare roots and also provide your yard with privacy,
February: Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
Make way for nettles in your garden, as they make for the ideal host plant for butterflies.
Remarkable migrants, the Red Admiral, which can be found across southern states of America, is best known for its massive northward migrations in spring from North Africa and Southern Europe. You will also instantly recognize this beautiful butterfly with its bold and vibrant orange and red wings and white tips.
Representing courage and adaptivity, the key to ensure the Red Admiral makes your yard its home is to plant asters and daisies which are not only rich in nectar but also loved by a diverse range of pollinators ensuring your yard is a feast for a wide range of pollinators.
My favorite however which is irresistible to butterflies and is also lovingly known as the butterfly bush. It fast growing and is really easy to grow. Without fail it will attract masses of butterflies.
While nettles may be seen as a weed by many, it is in fact a really useful plant as a host. So if you are able to make room for a small, maintained patch of nettles the Red Admiral will thank you.
March: Comma (Polygonia c-album)
With ragged orange wings, dark markings and a white ‘comma’ mark the Comma butterfly, which can be detected in southern Canada as well as Texas and Florida symbolizes uniqueness and transformation, timely as March is the month when life in our yards really begins to stir and transformation is imminent.
Again planting host plants including nettles as well as hops, elms and honeysuckle are vital for attracting caterpillars. The adult Comma is drawn to sunny sheltered spots in yards so it may be worthwhile considering positioning a couple of stones to allow them to soak up the sun.
To ensure they stick around Buddleia and also Ivy, like this Fenway Park Boston Ivy available from Amazon will help attract the Comma butterfly into your yard. They also love over ripe fruit including bananas or plums if you want to guarantee that they are frequent visitors.
April: Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
To kick of spring, representing optimism and fresh beginnings as the first new shoots of growth start to gain momentum and flowers begin to bloom, the Orange Tip butterfly can be easily spotted.
With white whings and fiery orange tips it is a welcome sight in any yard and commonly found in various habitats across North America from southwest Oregon to Western Nevada.
Cuckoo flowers, garlic mustard and honesty will really help to tract these beautiful winged friends, while also being ideal for hosting caterpillars.
Honesty is a great plant to grow in your yard not only for attracting butterflies but its seed heads also provide seasonal interest in the winter months.
May: Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
The Painted Lady butterfly is undeniably one of the most recognizable butterflies, globally and known for its orange, black and white – spotted wings.
Symbolizing adventure and migration the Painted Lady will travel thousands of miles annually form Africa and Europe and has the ability to thrive in various habitats. However it's very unlikely to survive colder climates in the winter months.
If you want to guarantee the Painted Lady stops by your yard marigolds in shades of vibrant oranges and bright yellows, are again easy to grow from seed and are available from Amazon
For the caterpillars they rely on thistles and also vipers (bugloss), with seeds available from Amazon, is a beautiful wildlife friendly flower with spires of blue and purple flowers, making it an attractive magnet for butterflies and again can be grown from seed.
June: Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
Dazzling blue wings and a delicate frame the Common Blue butterfly means joy and friendship. Although not native to the US, it was accidently introduced in 2005 on a plane settling first in Canada, it has since spread widely. However an adult Common Blue can expect to live for only three weeks.
They do however have the most fascinating symbiotic relationship with ants. The Common Blue Butterfly produces a sweet sugary substance, loved by ants. In exchange for this sweet treat, the ants protect the caterpillars from predators, even carrying them to their nests!
To ensure you can provide a good home for the Common Blue Butterfly it's worth planting, clover, buttercups, as well as bird’s-foot trefoil. Each of these plants will provide a reliable source of food, allowing it to thrive for its relatively short lifespan.
Birds foot trefoil and clover, also double up as the perfect host plant . True Leaf Market sells a wide variety of different clover, but I love this bold crimson variety, which will bring color as well butterflies to your garden at the height of summer.
July: Peacock (Aglais io)
In late summer the Peacock butterfly is a frequent visitor to gardens filled with nectar rich plants.
Consider planting lavender along paths and borders or verbena bonariensis which self seed effortlessly, adding a wistful and elegant touch to your yard and is a magnet for the Peacock butterfly every year.
Imagination Verbena seeds are available from True Leaf Market and are not only a summertime favorite but are also very low maintenance
A common friend in the garden the Peacock butterfly is another strikingly beautiful species with large multi colored eyespots on its wings, which resemble the peacock bird and is believed to represent creativity and protection.
Like so many butterflies nettles make for an ideal host plant, so consider creating a patch in a shady area.
August: Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)
The Small Tortoiseshell butterfly is prevalent across north America, but can be found in large number in the Lassen Volcanic National Park, California as well as urban gardens and meadows.
A hardy type, the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly can live for as long as ten months and hibernates through the winter settling in dark cool areas.
With bright orange and black wings and blue spotted edges, it is also an expert at camouflaging itself mimicking dark leaves and bark to avoid predators. Their chrysalis also has a striking golden appearance.
Symbolizing warmth and abundance, to attract the Small Tortoiseshell, marjoram and echinacea are worth considering planting in your yard. I tend to grow echinacea from plants rather than seeds and these purple cone flowers are available from Amazon.
Not only do their centers attract butterflies but their petals dry easily to make delicious tea infusions. And of course like so many butterflies we have listed patches of nettles for the caterpillars to make their home are a necessity as well as remembering not to use pesticides.
September: Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
Heading into fall, the Speckled Wood butterfly, can be found across American gardens and also along hedgerows and in woodland areas. Identified by its autumnal brown wings and cream spots the Speckled Wood butterfly has become known to mean harmony and adaptivity.
To ensure your garden attracts some this fall brambles are an ideal source of food for this species of butterfly.
But what sets this beauty apart from other butterflies is that they really do thrive in shaded areas and will also love you even more if you keep parts of your yard a little wild and not too manicured.
Keep grasses just a little bit longer as this will provide an ideal habitat for the caterpillars as they hibernate over the winter months.
October: Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
The Small Copper butterfly, a fiery orange butterfly which are also known for being highly territorial, represents resilience and energy.
They also prefer dry habitats. Ideally you want to leave a section of your garden to take on a more natural appearance, leave leaves on the ground, keep grass a little longer, but also leave an area of the ground bare as they will bask in the sun.
Just as we leave food and grow particular plants for wildlife to thrive in our yards in the winter month, water is also vital when it comes to creating the best habitat for butterflies. Puddle stations, whether a shallow dish of water or damp soil, or sand and gravel allow them to absorb minerals from wet and muddy spots.
When it comes to the best plants to grow to attract the Small Copper butterflies consider planting yarrow, also known as achillea.
Again they can be grown from seeds like this red variety from Amazon and is a reliable perennial. For the caterpillars consider growing sorrel and dock.
November: Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)
Often referred to as the original 'Butter – fly' due to it's distinct butter colored yellow wings, the Brimstone butterfly has an exceptional lifespan and so represents endurance and hope, fitting as the year begins to draw to a close.
With leaf shaped wings, they are also known as ‘flying leaves’ and to ensure they fly to your yard buckthorn trees will attract female Brimstone butterflies, providing them with somewhere to lay their eggs.
Common buckthorn is best suited for dry chalky or limestone soils while the alder buckthorn suits damp, acidic or waterlogged soils.
To sustain the adults they need a continuous supply of nectar from early spring through to fall. In spring primrose is the perfect source of early nectar. Available to buy now as plants from Walmart, primroses also offer a burst of color when little else is in flower and thrives in cooler climes.
While buddleia a common favorite amongst so many varieties of butterflies, is a source of fuel towards the end of the year.
December: Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
Two festive seasonal favorites holly and ivy grown together is a great plan when it comes to attracting the Holly Blue butterfly, a widespread species found from Alaska to Panama, which is known to symbolize peace and renewal.
In spring the first generation lay their eggs on holly and the second generation will seek out ivy to lay their eggs on.
Unlike other blue species of butterflies, the pale blue wings of the delicate and ethereal Holly Blue prefers head height plants when searching for food. Globe Thistles and the Mexican giant hyssop summer long coral variety available to buy from Walmart are a perfect pairing to grow.
Male Holly Blue butterflies will thank you for creating mud puddles providing them with a drink from the damp mud and consider holding off cutting back your ivy until at least late October as this will ensure vital shelter is left for those butterflies overwintering as well as food for the late seasonal generation.
If you want your yard to be visited by a wide range of butterflies through the year, the key is to plant a variety of nectar rich flower plants and also provide sunny and shady spots to provide for different needs.
Always avoid using pesticides and provide shallow sources of water. Leaving some areas a little wild and natural will also support biodiversity and provide a rich diverse habitat for butterflies and allow so much more nature to thrive.
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