New garden in Stratford will give you butterflies

The Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm is to open a stunning new butterfly garden in which visitors will be able to see an extensive range of British butterflies in their natural habitat.

With the loss of habitat and climate change having a major effect on our British butterflies, creating a butterfly-friendly garden is one of the simplest ways in which we can help halt the decline of these beautiful insects.

The butterfly garden has been specifically located in a sunny area as butterflies and most butterfly attracting plants need bright sunshine. The top 10 butterfly nectar plants have been planted so the garden will have continuous blossom throughout the season. These include Sedum spectbile, Eupatorium cannabium, Hebe 'Great Orme' and Midsummer Beauty, Aster 'Borris Pink’ and Frickartii Munch, Origanum vulgare, Phuopsis stylosa, Buddlia 'Bejing', Scabiosa saccisa, Verbena bonariensis and Centranthus rubra plus a special butterfly meadow mix of 80 different species from around the world. The plants, which should be in bloom in July, will look spectacular.

The garden has also been specifically designed with the colour of blossoms in mind. Butterflies are attracted to certain colours and tend to prefer purple, pink and yellow coloured blossoms. Clusters of short, tubular flowers or flat topped blossoms provide the ideal shapes for butterflies to easily land on and feed.

Emma Butt, Marketing Manager of the Stratford Butterfly Farm stated “Our butterfly garden will be a very special butterfly haven in which butterflies can live and visitors can enjoy. Once in bloom, the stunning gardens will resemble a vast sea of wild meadow flowers which will attract hundreds of beautiful and treasured butterflies”.

Set in a large greenhouse, landscaped with waterfalls, ponds and tropical plants, the Stratford Butterfly Farm is the UK’s largest tropical butterfly paradise. The Farm opened in 1985 and will celebrate its 25th anniversary in July 2010.

Visitors can pick up a leaflet from the Stratford Butterfly Farm about gardening for wildlife, especially with butterflies in mind. For more information on butterflies and their conservation, visit the official website at butterflyfarm.co.uk.