How to Create Your Own Butterfly Garden

What could be more relaxing and peaceful than watching beautiful butterflies flit from flower to flower in your very own butterfly garden.  You may see butterflies in your garden from time to time but how do you design a garden with the express purpose of attracting these beautiful insects.  Usually there are dozens of diffrent species in the diffrent regions of the North American continent.  Today, because of urban development, the fragile habitat of many butterfly species has been destroyed.  Backyard gardens are helping to maintain the butterfly populations.  
 
Designing our gardens with butterflys in mind will bring beautiful results.  Not only will the flowers themselves be colorful and cheerful but they will attract and help nurture these insects in each stage of their life.  Your garden should be inviting to the caterpillar, as well as the adult butterfly.  Most species need certain plants to eat as food when they are in the caterpillar stage and nectar from flowers during the adult stage.  Butterflies also need shelter and water so your garden should make sure and supply these also.