In the Spring, garden seed racks are available in almost every store I shop in. It’s hard to resist taking a moment to look over their display in search of something new. I’ve noticed almost every seed company offers a packet of mixed flowers that will draw butterflies. I enjoy growing flowers for butterflies and find zinnias are a favorite of the delicate winged creatures.
An additional way of bringing butterflies into your yard is to grow the plant/plants they use as a host for their offspring. Dill is one of the best for attracting swallowtail butterflies to your yard. Dill is readily available as a plant or seed in most garden centers.
Dill is easy to grow and a good choice for a child’s garden. The yellow flowers resemble a burst a fireworks, and the seeds they develop can be collected for cooking. The fern-like foliage is a perfect addition to many recipes. I sow dill seeds directly in the garden beds, and also start it indoors for quicker blooms. Give dill a try, you won’t be disappointed.
Very nice. 🙂
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Thank you! 🙂
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Kathy, is this the dill that is used for cooking ?
Your garden is coming on great.
Susie
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Yes, you can use this dill for cooking, both the foliage and the seeds. I must admit this is last year’s garden plant. My herb garden is just now beginning to show signs of life, it will be awhile before the butterflies return.
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I have it in the back of my mind that parsley is also a host plant for swallowtails, and here is what my googling garnered me: “I grow parsley as the host plant for the Eastern Black Swallowtail. Out west, parsley is also the host plant for the Anise swallowtail. Both of these swallowtails use other plants as host plants. But since the focus of this series is plant-specific, I’m only highlighting the butterflies that use parsley as a host plant.” Thank you for letting us know about growing dill. http://gardeningwithconfidence.com/blog/2012/07/19/parsley/
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Yes, you are completely right. I have seen caterpillars on parsley too! Thanks so much!
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I’m notorious for NOT having a green thumb, but dill sounds like it might be easy enough for even a brown-thumbed gardener to try. I actually just planted some zinnias this weekend – they were half price at my local tailgate gardener’s offerings, so I picked up six of them. Beautiful yellow gold, with hearty blooms. They look so cheerful on the back patio. Might try some dill next to them now. 🙂
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Zinnias are one of my favorites…they are a no-fail flower.
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Thanks for the tip. I didn’t know dill attracted butterflies, which I love! 👍☺
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The swallowtails really thrive on the dill, and since it is sparse in foliage, it is usually easy to see the caterpillars.
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Two houses ago, I had some sort of dill in my rose garden. It was perennial and smelled lovely. Thanks for the reminder.
I planted milkweed for the Monarchs last spring, and I wouldn’t mind to offer them some dill as well.
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The dill will really attract the swallowtail butterflies. They are so beautiful, and even their caterpillars are pretty!
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