As well as thinking about the best plants for a butterfly garden, you might want to give some thought to how you can encourage night-time visitors to your plot. Moths are just as pretty and interesting as butterflies, and there are a lot more of them. There could be hundreds in an average garden but only a handful are day-flying, so we rarely notice them. Still, they make for fascinating garden guests, so make sure your wildlife garden ideas include some incentives for them.
Not surprisingly, they are drawn to night-scented plants such as honeysuckle, sweet rocket (Hesperis matronalis), evening primrose and old-fashioned white tobacco plants (Nicotiana alata). Like most butterfly caterpillars, those of moths do little damage and are themselves food for birds and the adults for bats.