How a Supermarket Shrub Border Could Be A Butterfly Garden

My idea for a butterfly garden at the local supermarket

The shrub border and ground overlooking the supermarket

Every time I go to my nearest Continente supermarket branch here in Quinta do Conde, Portugal, I spend some time looking at the wildlife and plants growing in on a bank that overlooks the store and is planted in parts as a shrub border. Clumps of Lantana when in bloom attract butterflies, bees and Hummingbird Hawk-moths. In my mind it could be transformed easily into a butterfly garden. 

Lantana

But let’s take a look at it as it is now. A lot of the ground gets very dry in hot weather but in wet weather it is covered in weeds. Wall Lizards have formed colonies and can often be seen basking on the concrete around fence posts by the pavement and along poles of wood used to terrace the ground. There is a Weeping Willow that is just about managing to hold its own and is a favourite place for flocks of House Sparrows to perch. Saplings of what looks like some type of Maple have been planted but out of four only one has survived the drought.

Sapling dying from lack of water

It remains to be seen whether the others will sprout now the rains have returned. Millions of ants live in nests in the ground and can often be seen making long trails from one part to another. But it is the butterflies that visit that have got me thinking that with a little bit of work this area could be made into a place where caterpillars could live and complete their transformations into chrysalis and then adult butterflies.The other day I was thinking about this and how all you would need would be a lot of clumps of Rue for the Swallowtails and Milkweed for Monarchs and that both these butterflies would do as well there as they do in the garden where I live. Amazingly, with these thoughts in my head, I was delighted to see a male Monarch and a Swallowtail feeding on nectar from the Lantana bushes. There was also a Small White and Painted Lady doing likewise. Sadly I had no camera with me at the time so couldn’t get photos of any of the butterflies.The Monarch had presumably flown all the way from the house where I live, which is about 15 minutes walk away. When I release butterflies I always wonder where they go. I know a few females always return to lay their eggs on plants I am growing for them but have no way of knowing what happens to the others. I also have no way of knowing if there are any more gardens in this town where Milkweed is grown, though I know there is plenty of Rue because it can be seen in many front gardens.

Swallowtails

I have noted that the local Swallowtails are using the Rue in the gardens in preference to Fennel growing wild in the area. It is obvious why this is. Fennel, although an alternative food-plant for Swallowtail caterpillars, does not do well in the long periods of drought we have been having and it is often without any leaves. As I said earlier, Hummingbird Hawk-moths also feed at times from the Lantanas, though I haven’t seen many this year. It seems clear to me that butterflies and moths do a lot of flying about looking for mates and for food, for themselves and, if they are females, for their caterpillars. If a female Swallowtail had spied the Lantana flowers she might well have stopped to feed, and if she had seen a clump of Rue, she would probably have laid some eggs there. Monarch, Painted Lady, Small White and any other species females would do likewise if the plants their larvae need were growing on the supermarket's land. 

Two female Monarchs on Zinnias in my front garden

There is plenty of ground where other plants could be grown. The Rue would look after itself and is very drought resistant. Just a few clumps of this aromatic herb would result in more Swallowtails there. I could more or less guarantee it. I think it would be good for the public image of the supermarket, if it became known as a store that was helping the butterflies. And this could be done quite easily even though the ground I am talking about is next to a road and carpark. I have recently seen the news that the city of Hull in the UK has become a “Butterfly City,” because it has made the effort to plant many Buckthorns to feed the caterpillars of Brimstone butterflies. This pretty yellow butterfly is limited in its distribution by the availability of its food-plants, which are the Buckthorn and Alder Buckthorn. If Hull can do this so could any other city or town. I hope the idea catches on! Likewise my proposal for a butterfly garden alongside a supermarket could be extended much further. Any businesses or public buildings with land attached to them could have butterfly gardens. Parks and gardens could be improved by simply planting more plants and shrubs that butterflies and moths need. Tragically, the numbers of butterflies and moths worldwide are declining fast. I think this could be reversed if more plants were grown that these winged wonders need. I realise most people would just see some waste ground next to the supermarket and might well think my idea is crazy but that doesn't stop me believing what I have outlined here could work. If can turn out generation after generation of butterflies from a small patch of front garden just think what I could do with all that land! Imagine that: a supermarket with its own butterfly garden! Now how can I make my dream a reality?

Full view of the land overlooking the Continente supermarket