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Where have all the butterflies gone? Think back – remember them fluttering around the countryside on a hot summer’s day when you were a child? If you are 90 your mind’s eye will see clouds of butterflies, too many to count. If you are 19 you can probably tot them up on your fingers. How many did you see this summer? I saw hardly any at all until late in the season.

No single factor is to blame. The destruction of deciduous hedges, woodlands, scrublands and natural wildflower meadows all play their part. Changing agricultural methods, use of pesticides, weed killers and general urbanisation of the land have all led to a reduction in numbers. With all this working against them, surely what the butterflies need and deserve is a “land army” to champion their cause?

What can you do? Join British Butterfly Conservation, whose mission is to create and manage reserves, advise on how to maintain and restore habitats, carefully re-establish lost species and promote butterfly-friendly gardening. Local wildlife trusts are working towards similar ends in many parts of the country, check with your local trust.

A hidden advantage to a butterfly garden is that it can be very low-maintenance – making it an even more attractive proposition to those less horticulturally inclined!

(Right) A comma enjoys sweet nectar

Gardening for butterflies is something almost everyone can do. Choose a sunny, sheltered spot beneath a hedge, row of trees or shrubs along a north-facing boundary. Select a number of plants that will flower at different times of year to provide an ongoing source of sweet nectar for the adult butterflies. Early flowering aubrietia and primrose are good starters, perhaps followed by sweet rocket and honesty in late spring. For summer flyers try valerian, lavender, cornflower and the ever-popular buddleia (butterfly bush). Plant the flowers in clumps so butterflies on the wing can spot them easily.

Remember, pesticides must not be on the menu in your butterfly garden! Don’t forget the caterpillars, without whom there can be no butterflies. Small tortoiseshell, peacock, comma and red admiral caterpillars all feed on the common stinging nettle. If you fear a painful invasion, plant the nettles in a tub sunk into the ground to prevent root spread. Nasturtiums are an attractive food plant for many white butterflies. Skippers and most species of browns will enjoy a patch of unmown decorative grasses, which soon recover from being “nibbled”.

Don’t forget the caterpillars, without whom there can be no butterflies. Small tortoiseshell, peacock, comma and red admiral caterpillars all feed on the common stinging nettle.

Many plants enjoyed by butterflies and caterpillars are either perennial or self-seeding. Thus a hidden advantage to a butterfly garden is that it can be very low-maintenance – making it an even more attractive proposition to those less horticulturally inclined!

turning point in butterfly fortunes. Several species were lost in the 20th century. Let’s make the millennium a turning point in butterfly fortunes. Let’s make the millennium a turning point in butterfly fortunes. Give it a go so that your great great grandchildren can experience the delight of these beautiful insects colouring their childhood summer days.