Buddleja vision

Planting a butterfly bush for pollinators is not that simple, says Bob, as he explains the needs of their caterpillars

- Bob Flowerdew

THE original name for this article was going to be ‘Bob bravely begs to bring back big beautiful British butterflies by buying bountiful blue buddleja butterfly bushes’. Apologies for the alliteration – and what’s worse, it’s not very good advice.

It all started when I found myself shouting abuse at the TV when a well-meaning but naïve presenter was promoting Buddleja davidii as “good for butterflies as they’re rich in nectar”. Which, indeed, they are. The problem is we do not really need more flowers for butterflies – what we really need is more suitable foliage for butterfly caterpillars.