"The Four Features - The Cultivated Area"

Assuming that you are going to start from scratch and that all the vegetation, including the weeds, have been removed; add bought in topsoil if necessary; add liberal amounts of (peatless) compost. If you're feeling adventurous, hire an open truck and go round to your local city farm where you'll find mountains of muck. Put this into your compost bins to allow the muck to decompose and gradually form into a humus-rich 'soil'. Spread this over the area with a layer of sharp (horticulture) sand or grit to aid drainage, then start to dig. There is a once-and-for-all process called double digging *. It involves digging the first trench then taking the soil to the other end where it is used to fill in the last trench.

During the process the subsoil must be disturbed with a garden fork; this is also to facilitate the drainage. Spread the sand into the trench as you dig. This will help to break up the clay that can cause waterlogging. Let the soil settle down, wait for the weeds to reappear, then deal with the little blighters!

Under certain circumstances, that is when you are cleansing the soil of an area that hasn’t been cultivated for a long time, the use of a herbicide (Glyphosate/Round-up) is generally accepted. This may seem contrary to the green gardening philosophy, but as a one-off cleansing process, it will save you a great deal of time and trouble later. However, once the area has been planted, you should go back to removing the weeds by hand.

For the identification and attributes of your chosen plants, please look up www.plantpress.com (gardening with wildlife in mind). Get to know their Latin names plus the variety. This is most important because most of the modern cultivars are not beneficial to wildlife. They have had these qualities bred out of them to produce larger flower heads that have little, if any, nectar. Choose the old-fashioned single flowered cottage style varieties. They may be smaller and less showy but they will attract butterflies (and many other species of insects) to your conservation garden.

* Just type 'double digging' into a search engine such as Google or Yahoo to find more information on this technique.

Planting the Cultivated Area

Having decided what flowers and plants to put in this area, common sense will tell you that taller plants should be at the back with smaller plants to the fore. Try not to allow any bare ground between plants as this will encourage weeds to grow. Nature abhors a vacuum. 'Mulch' with black plastic, cardboard or carpet the space that the plants will grow into; the rest of the space can be seeded with ground covering plants. Space will determine how many plants you can grow but do try to have as many different species as possible. Plant in groups of 3-5-7 etc. for a better effect and, most importantly, try to have a succession in flower throughout the season. Alyssum, aubretia and campanula give good ground cover but try moss and creeping phlox. For more information search for 'Flowering ground cover plants' on the internet.

The following charts have most of the plants that would be appropriate for a butterfly garden. The heights and spacing are guides only. Those marked with an asterisk * should be considered first when planning your butterfly conservation garden. They are the butterflies' favoured nectar plants.

For larger gardens, try to include Bramble (Rubus fruticosus). Please see the Hedgerow feature. Bugle (Ajuga reptans) likes moist ground in the woodland edge or wildflower meadow. Excellent for bees and the green-veined white butterfly. Holly: please see the Hedgerow feature. Ivy (Hedera helix), the native English ivy is usually underrated as a valuable wildlife plant. The holly blue butterfly lays her eggs on the flower buds of ivy in the summer; holly in the spring. Ivy needs the sun in order to flower and provides shelter for a whole range of insects.

	Common Name	Latin Name	Annual/Perennial	Flowers	Colour	Position *	Height	Spacing
1	Alyssum	Lobularia Maritime	Annual	June/Sept	Various	P/S	3-6"	8-12"
2	Aubretia	A.Deltoidea	Perennial	March/May	Purple	F/S	7"	12"
3	Buddleia	Buddleia	Perennial	July/Aug	Various	F/S	8'	4'
4	Campanula	Campanula	S/S Annual	July/Sept	Blue	P/S	6"	6"
5	Candytuft	Ibiris	Annual	June/July	White or Lilac	F/S	15"	9"
6	Clematis	Clematis	Shrub	July/Sept	White	P/S	4'	3'
7	Forget-me-Not	Myosotis	S/S Annual	April/June	Blue	P/S	1'	6"
8	Foxglove	Digitalis	S/S Annual	June/July	Red-Purple	P/S	5'	6"
9	French Marigold	Tagetes Patula	Annual	June/Sept	Yellow	F/S	1'	1'
10	Hebe	Hebe	Shrub	May/Aug	Blue	F/S	4'-6'	4'-6'
11	Honesty	Lunaria Annua	Annual	April/June	Purple	Sh	18"	1'
12	Honeysuckle	Lonicera	Climber	June/Oct	Yellow	P/S	20'	15'
13	Ice Plant	Sedum	Perennial	Aug/Oct	Pink	F/S	1'-18"	1'
14	Ivy	Hedera Helix	Climber	Sept/Nov	White	Sh	30'	10'
15	Jasmin	Jasmin	Climber	Jun/Oct	White	P/S	10'	5'
16	Lavender	Lavendula	Shrub	July/Sept	Blue	F/S	1-2'	1'
17	Lilac	Syringa	Shrub	April/May	Blue	F/S	5'	4'
18	Lobelia	Lobelia	Annual/Perennial	May/Oct	Various	P/S	4-9"	4-9"
19	Marjoram	Origanum	Perennial	June/Sept	Pale Pink	P/S	1'-18"	1'
20	Aster	Aster	Perennial	Aug/Sept	Various	P/S	3-4-5'	2-3-4'
21	Night-scented Stock	Mattiola Bicornis	Annual	June/July	Pink	P/S	15"	1'
22	Phlox	Phlox	Perennial	April-Sept	Various	P/S	2-4'	1-2'
23	Primrose	Primula	Perennial	March/April	Various	P/S	6"	4"
24	Red Valerian	Centranthus Ruber	Perennial	June/Aug	Red	F/S	3'	1'
25	Salvia	Salvia	Perennial	July/Sept	Blue-Purple	F/S	1"-3"	1"
26	Sweet Scabious	Scabious	Annual	July/Sept	Crimson	F/S	1'-4'	1'
27	Schizanthus	Schizanthus	Annual	June/Aug	Various	F/S	1'-4'	1'
28	Sweet William	Dianthus Barbatus	S/L Perennial	June/July	Crimson	F/S	5'	2'
29	Tobacco Plant	Nicotiana	S/L Perennial	Aug/Sept	White	F/S	5'	2'
30	Verbena	Verbena	Perennial	June/Sept	Purple	F/S	5'	1'
31	Violet (Pansy)	Viola	Annual	Feb/April	Purple	F/S	4"-6"	1'
32	Wallflower	Erysimum	Annual	Feb/July	Deep Mauve	F/S	1"-6"	18"
33	White Campion	Silene Latifolia	S/S Annual	May/Oct	White	F/S	3'	1'
* Position — F/S: Full Sun, P/S: Part Shade, Sh: Shade, S/S: Self-seeding

	Common Name	Latin Name	Variety
1	Alyssum	Lobularia Maritime	‘Snow Cloth’, ‘Golf Bright Mix’, ‘Easter Bonnet’, ‘Oriental Nights’
2	* Aubretia	A. Deltoidea	‘Doctor Mules’
3	* Buddleia	Buddleia	Davidii, the dark purples and blues, esp. ‘Black Knight’
4	Campanula	Campanula	Campanula Garganica ‘W.H Paine’
5	* Candytuft	Ibiris	Iberis Amara - Wild Candytuft
6	Clematis	Clematis	‘Purpurea’, the only Clematis to attract Butterflies
7	Forget-me-Not	Myosotis	Mysotis Arvensis (field), Mysotis Sylvatica (wood)
8	Foxglove	Digitalis	Digitalis Purpuria ‘Excelsior’
9	French Marigold	Tagetes Patula	Tagetes Patula ‘Cinnabar’
10	* Hebe	Hebe	Hebe x Franciscana ‘Blue Gem’ (4’ x 4’), H.Salicifolia, ‘Midsummer Beauty’ (6’ x 6’)
11	* Honesty	Lunaria Annua	Pale Lavender, Rich Purple
12	Honeysuckle	Lonicera	Lonicera Periclymenum Serotina ‘Graham Thomas’
13	* Ice Plant	Sedum	Sedum Spectible (not 'Autumn Joy')
14	Ivy	Hedera Helix	Common English Ivy
15	Jasmin	Jasmin	Officinale. Common white Jasmin
16	* Lavender	Lavendula	Lavendula Angustifolia ‘Hidcote’
17	Lilac	Syringa	Syringa Vulgaris ‘Microphylla Superba’, the only Lilac to attract Butterflies
18	Lobelia	Lobelia	L.Erinus ‘Blue Cascade’,‘Cambridge Blue’,‘Sapphire’, L.Cardinalis ‘Queen Victoria’
19	* Marjoram	Origanum	Origanum Vulgare
20	* Aster	Aster	A.Novi-Belgii ‘Purple Dome’', A.Novae-Angliae ‘Violetta’, A.Frikarti Monch ‘Barr’s Pink’
21	Night-scented Stock	Mattiola Bicornis	Malcomia Maritima. ‘Dwarft Mixed’. Bushy plant very good for moths. (Grow with Virginia Stock because Night-scented Stock can look rather tatty after flowering)
22	Phlox	Phlox	Phlox Divaricata ‘Blue Perfume’, Phlox Paniculata ‘David’, ‘Amethyst’, ‘Franz Shubert’
23	Primrose	Primula	Evening Primrose Primula Vulgaris (Clump forming)
24	* Red Valerian	Centranthus Ruber	(Cornflower). Centranthus Cyanus ‘Blue Diadem’
25	Salvia	Salvia	‘Caradonna’, ‘Amethyst’, ‘Bluehills’
26	* Sweet Scabious	Scabious	Scabious ‘Butterfly Blue’, Scabious Atropurpurea ‘Cockade Mixed’, ‘Tom Thumb’
27	Schizanthus	Schizanthus	Schizanthus Pinnatus,‘Giant Hybrids’. Known as the ‘butterfly flower’
28	Sweet William	Dianthus	Dianthus Barbatus
29	Tobacco Plant	Nicotiana	Nicotiana Alata (not N. Sylvestris)
30	* Verbena	Verbena	Verbena ‘Bonariensis’
31	Violet (Pansy)	Viola	Viola Odorata ‘Czar’
32	Wallflower	Erysimum	‘Bowles Mauve’
33	White Campion	Silene Latifolia	Night-scented, very good for moths

* These 12 plants and flowers should be the core of your butterfly conservation garden

Other than gifts from friends and neighbours, there are three ways to acquire your plants:

From seed; this is the cheapest way – but you'll need a greenhouse, cold frames, nursery beds etc. www.chilternseeds.co.uk have an extensive selection of seeds; but avoid the double-headed and F1 varieties. Go for the True Wild Forms where possible.
Buying plants in pots: this will give you instant results – but it could be expensive. www.crocus.co.uk have a good selection. Remember though, the variety is as important as the species.
Planting plug plants; these can be grown to order from www.englishplants.co.uk. This is my preferred way of getting a garden started. Plug plants are between the seedling and the fully-grown plant. Get them in as soon as they arrive.

All these plants will need individual aftercare attention. The buddleia for instance, will need to be pruned severely either in the autumn or the following spring. Use your computer's ‘search’ facility for this information.

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