Product Review

Having a butterfly house in your yard or garden is a great way to give these colorful joys of nature a safe place to stay when the weather gets bad, but you have to know where to place them or your butterfly houses could remain empty nests.

Here are some suggestions about where to hang your butterfly house:

Hang the House Well above the Ground

Install your butterfly house on a sturdy tree limb or hanging from a slim pole 4 to 6 feet above the ground.

Hang the Butterfly House Near Flowers

Hang your butterfly house in close proximity to the butterfly's favorite food: flower nectar. Place the butterfly house over your garden, which needs such flowers as asters, black-eyed susans, coneflowers, zinnias and hollyhocks.

Hang the House in Sunlight

If you hang the house in an area of bright sunlight, its walls and slotted panels will provide adequate shade for the butterflies when they fly in for a rest. The butterflies will also find the house more attractive if it is richly colored, in blues, yellows and pinks.

Make the Butterfly House Welcoming

Place a cheesecloth bag of crushed, dried leaves from birch, willow and nettle on the floor inside the house. The scent of these leaves is attractive to butterflies. Stand up some pieces of bark inside the house so the butterflies think they are resting on a tree trunk.