New Years Resolution: Make your garden butterfly friendly.

According to Butterfly Conservation: In the latest State of the UK's Butterflies 2015 report, more than three-quarters of the UK’s butterfly species have declined over the last four decades. It is a new year and a good time to start planning your 2016 garden. Make it one friendly for butterflies and other beneficial insects.

There are nineteen - possibly soon to be twenty - species of butterfly in Glasgow so it is these butterflies that should be targetted. There is little point planting Alder Buckthorn and Purging Buckthorn - a food source of Brimstone larvae - when Brimstones don't visit Glasgow. Furthermore, not all species will want to visit a typical suburban garden. For example Green Hairstreaks like sheltered sites near woodland and moorland edges where caterpillars feed on blaeberry. Purple hairsteak caterpillars feed exclusively on oak trees. Similarly, small pearl-bordered fritillaries - as well as being quite rare in Glasgow - prefer a woodland and moorland setting where marsh and dog violets abound. Thus for most suburban gardens these three species of butterfly are not likely to be visitors. Leaving aside the Cabbage Whites. the butterflies we want to attract include Clouded Yellow, Green-veined White, Orange-tip, Small Copper, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Comma, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Grayling, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath.

When designing a butterfly friendly garden an important point to consider is that butterflies and their larvae feed differently. Whereas butterflies are not fussy - nectar is nectar - their larvae are much more selective, perhaps utilising a single plant species. For butterflies the key is to have nectar rich flowers throughtout the year from early witch hazel, and flowering currant on through to verbena, wallflowers, marjoram, honesty, knapweed, buddleia, ivy, michaelmas daisy and sedums, to name but a few suitable plants. When it comes to larvae specific plants usually associated with wild flower meadows and patches of rough ground are a necessary ingredient. A patch of nettles will be loved by Peacock, Red Ardmiral and Small Tortoiseshell larvae. A wild flower mix to include cuckooflower, garlic mustard. hedge mustard, winter cress, water cress, clover, lucerne, birds foot trefoil, common and sheeps sorrel, thistle, mallows, vipers bugloss, sheep's and red fescue should help cater for the rest. And why not add a holly tree for those Holly Blue making their way north.