It's hard to stay stressed in a butterfly garden. Just listen to the calm, happy voice of LuAnn Craighton, naturalist at Callaway Gardens near Pine Mountain. Ms. Craighton developed the educational aspects of the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center. The center is an indoor conservatory where visitors can see approximately 1,000 tropical butterflies flying about on any given day.

"The last five years have seen exponential growth in butterfly gardening," Craighton says. The American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) asked Ms. Craighton to share her knowledge on this high flying trend.

If you plant it, they will come

"People make butterfly gardening too complex; you can do it if you want to," says Craighton. You'll need more than a sunny attitude however. Butterflies require bright sunshine. Nectar-producing flowers add beauty to the landscape, but don't underestimate the importance of host plants for a well-rounded butterfly environment. Host plants provide food for caterpillars and egg-laying areas for adult butterflies.

"Butterfly gardening doesn't mean having an unattractive garden," Craighton comments. With many butterfly-attracting plants, it's all in where you place them. "Plants themselves aren't positive or negative, but location is. What's considered a noxious weed one place is fine somewhere else - like in naturalized areas or in drainage ditches." Nurserymen can help you find plants your landscape will tolerate.

Adjust your pest perception

The most critical tenant of butterfly gardening is simple, yet difficult for some - don't spray pesticides! "There are different solutions to problems in the garden," Craighton notes. The trends of organic approaches and butterfly gardening go hand-in-hand. According to Craighton, pesticides can be avoided in several ways. "Handpick pests off plants or use insecticidal soaps which are nontoxic when dry." Plant selection often dictates which pests show up in your yard. Milkweeds, for instance, are "wonderful hosts for monarchs, but golden aphids like them too," Craighton explains. Nature, in her wisdom, creates controls of her own - milkweed bugs eat aphids. Remember too that "Pest problems vary tremendously from year to year depending on weather," she adds.

Eating habits know the facts

"Monarchs are the best ambassadors - they eat only milkweed," according to Craighton. Butterfly caterpillars, she explains, have such specific eating habits that they are dependent on just a few plants for only a couple of weeks at a time. If you've avoided butterfly gardening because you imagine feeding frenzies of Biblical proportions, do some research. "Life cycle is really critical to understanding eating habits," Craighton says. Again, garden centers can help you learn which caterpillar is a munching menace and which is a miracle about to happen. Many centers host seminars on butterfly gardening, sell books or offer literature on the topic.

The big picture

Patience is a virtue for everyone, especially butterfly gardeners. Craighton notes that native populations alter greatly from year to year, depending on weather and environment. Watching and wondering what's going to happen each year is part of the magic of gardening. She encourages gardeners and their children to keep butterfly journals and biographies.