Gardeners urged to 'deadhead' their flowers to attract 1 beautiful animal

As the weather warms up and the sun shines brightly, we're all hard at work in our gardens, preparing them for the hottest days of the year. Those with a knack for gardening will be busy creating inviting spaces for all visitors, particularly insects.

Butterflies are a favourite for many, their vibrant colours brightening any space they visit. They're not just beautiful; they're also delicate pollinators.

The simple hack is this: deadheading your flowers. The logic is simple - deadheading your blooms prolongs the flowering of your plants, and keeping them healthy, meaning more butterflies are attractedto your garden for longer, according to Butterfly Conservation.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) says deadheading plants is done because regular deadheading directs energy into stronger growth and more flowers. Equally, Once the flowers are pollinated; seed heads, pods or capsules form at the expense of further growth and flower development.

The RHS explains deadheading can also stop plants with numerous petals, such as peonies, some camellias and many roses, scattering debris widely.

You don't have to deadhead your flowers, however, doing so will encourage new flowering stems to emerge, meaning your plants flower for longer and attract butterflies.

Some plants don't need deadheading. For example, fuchsias, bedding lobelia and salvias either don't set much seed or neatly deadhead themselves.

When it comes to deadheading your flowers, you don't necessarily need equipment like shears or garden scissors. Instead, often you can just use your finger and thumb to pinch off any dead flowers or stems. You should do this just above the first set of green and healthy leaves - not pluck the whole stem.

But there is more than just deadheading in terms of creating a garden of thriving butterflies. Here is everything you need to know about how butterflies work to keep them flying to your flowers. To attract more butterflies to your garden, it is important to understand their life cycle. Butterflies lay eggs on the leaves, which eventually hatch into caterpillars. The caterpillar then spends most of its time eating leaves before turning into a chrysalis, where it transforms into a butterfly ready to emerge, according to The Academy of Natural Sciences.

Butterflies depend on plants for more than just nectar, and caterpillars only eat certain plants. That means that butterflies will only lay their eggs on plants called host plants. Some ideal host plants for your garden include dill and fennel, spice bushes, milkweed, and asters, claimsUK Butterflies. Planting these varieties gives you a better chance of seeing butterflies and caterpillars during spring and summer.

Butterflies are sensitive creatures, and any harsh chemicals, such as pesticides, will severely affect them. To welcome these beautiful pollinators into your garden, ensure that your plants are safe to land on and drink from.

An organic garden is best as it doesn't use any harsh or artificial chemicals. You can purchase organic garden fertilisers from stores or make your own using household items such as coffee grounds, eggshells, grass clippings, and banana peels, as per Butterfly Conservation.

Butterflies don't get all the moisture that they need from nectar alone, so it is a good idea to provide them with an additional source of hydration. It is important to know that butterflies cannot land on water and, if they do so, risk drowning, so mud puddles are a much better alternative to ponds or deeper bird baths.

When they flutter above a puddle and land to drink, it is called "puddling", according to The Wildlife Blog. The soil in the puddle gives them a surface to land on so they can safely drink. Partially fill a shallow dish with a couple of inches of soil or sand to create a firm landing pad, and pour water over until the surface is shining with water. For best results, place the dish in sunlight as the reflection will attract butterflies' attention and keep them warm as they drink

Butterflies get many nutrients from nectar, but this doesn't include sodium, so they need a salty supplement within their diet. Usually, butterflies will get salt from the above-described 'pudding', but if this isn't available, they will start to seek out other alternatives.

A salt lick is an appealing and accessible option and is a simple addition to your mud puddles. Before adding water to your sand-filled container, mix in one to two tablespoons of salt. Over time, you are sure to see butterflies stop to get some much-needed sodium from your salt lick, claimsThe Butterfly Lady.

The diet of a butterfly is purely liquid-based and needs to contain a good degree of sugar in order for them to survive. Whilst they will get some of this from nectar, you can enrich their diet with a solution of three teaspoons of sugar per cup of water. Boil the mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved, and once cooled, pour it into your butterfly feeder.

Butterflies may need some assistance to find this source of nutrition. They have evolved to be aware that bright and colourful flowers mean access to delicious nectar, so cutting up pieces of brightly coloured fruits like watermelon, apples, and oranges to place in the feeder will be a sure sign to them that sweet liquid is near!

The colourful insects love sunlight and can get cold quickly if deprived of it. Sunlight provides them with the warmth they need to become active and mobile, and when the sun shines, they bask in its rays, absorbing heat and raising their body temperature. When you are planting to attract butterflies, the sunnier the area, the better.

You can also add sun-basking stones for them to rest on. Ideally, these stones should be wide, flat, and grey - avoid black stones as they can get too hot. Place the stones among your flowers where sunlight can reach them, and you should start to see butterflies landing on them to warm up, suggests the Woodland Trust.

Butterflies are in danger of being hunted by birds, reptiles, and other insects, so they require plenty of shelter in order to survive. Providing this vital shelter will give them another reason to land in your stunning butterfly-friendly garden.

One way to provide shelter is by purchasing or making butterfly houses from pieces of cut wood carefully crafted together. Many butterflies, however, prefer simpler structures, so it is good to place plenty of natural objects such as logs, rock piles, and tall grass, claims the Woodland Trust.