To those who have never done it, designing a live butterfly garden might appear a bit intimidating. But in reality, so long as you are careful to do a little planning and aren’t afraid of some elbow grease at the outset, the joy of a butterfly garden is well within your reach.

First you need a sunny spot. The sun is important because plants grown better when they get plenty of exposure to it. But it is also critical for butterflies, who are cold-blooded insects. Without sun, they can’t fly.

People wonder how large a butterfly garden should be. There is no single right answer. It really depends on how hard you want to work to create it, and what kind of result you are hoping to achieve. Really, you could put a few plants in pots and so long as they’re the right plants, you’ll have butterfly visitors. But if you want a number of species, then you need something a bit larger.

Aim for ten by ten square feet. Till the soil and then add some nutrients to give your plants a real jump start. Lime is good, as is compost – both of which are available at garden supply stores.

Once you’ve got your garden set up, it’s time to add some plants. What should you add? Well, different species like different plants. You can do a little research and try to maximize your plants for ideal butterflies.

But a simple list of relatively easy to care for plants probably includes: rose bushes (go for a few shades of red), asters, marigolds, violets, butterfly bushes, clover and zinnias. You can add milkweed if you are interested in attracting Monarch Butterflies.

Be sure that you keep your plants grouped together by color. We love butterflies because of their colorful wings, and they love plants because of the colorful blooms! If you scatter the flowers, the butterflies will have a harder time focusing on where they want to alight. Keep your yellows with your yellow and your pinks with your pinks!

After you’ve got the plants up, it’s time to kick back and watch the butterfly show begin!