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For free advice on your remodeling project contact the Housing Resource Center at 651-486-7401. It's time to begin watching for butterflies in your garden. Just about everyone loves to see them flitting from flower to flowe r, balancing delicately on each bloom to extract its nectar. The ea siest way to turn your garden into a haven for these lovely cre atures is to plant their favorite flowers... which is where the observation comes in. Take some time to see which flowers seem particular ly appealing, then plant more of them next year. In general, butterflies are attracted to daisy-like flowers wi th open, accessible centers and to masses of small flowers cluste red together on single stems. Mexican sunflowe r, cosmos, shasta daisies, coreopsis and some zinnias are good examples of blooms wit h open centers and petals to light on. Dame's rocket, gayfeather (liatris), yarrow and butterfly weed are but a few that provide clusters of small flowers. It's best to plant a wide diversity of flowers, including shrubs , vines, and native wildflowers. Incorporate shrubs such as aza leas and lilacs into your landscape to appeal to the earliest visitors, then make sure there's always something for later butterflies, r ight till frost. If you want lots of butterflies in your yard, you need to welc ome their larvae, also. This is sometimes easier said than done. Allow the caterpillars that will eventually pupate an d hatch as butterflies and moths to eat hear tily, even if it means some garden folia ge will look a bit more "lacy" than you'd like. Whatever you do, don't apply any pesticides. Even so-ca lled "environmentally friendly" or "organic" pesticides can prove lethal to caterpillars and butterflies. Another way to encourage butterflies is to create an area of re lative calm in the garden. Plant a hedge of woody plants or tall flowering perennials at the outer edges to afford some protection from strong winds. Reverse the typical planting pattern by pl acing shorter plants in the center of your ga rden, then surrounding them with taller ones to provide a sense of enclosure. Butterflies also need a source of moisture. A little dip in the garden that you can keep muddy should work well. You could also sink a shallow bowl filled with sand, and keep it moist by adding water daily. You might be tempted to buy an attractive "butterfly house" for your garden. These w ooden structures have several vertical slit s meant to accommodate butterflies, on the order of bird houses or bat houses. Butterflies don't see it that way, though, and don 't use these structures. So unless you can justify the purchase as "garden art" you may as well save your money. Create y our Dream Home Invite Butterflies to Your Garden Deborah Brown, University of Minnesota Extension Horticulturist Would you like to update your home but you’re not sure where to start? The Roseville HRA has two remodeling plan books that can provide design assistance to residents when they decide to make home improvements. These plan books offer design in sight and ideas for updating some the typical housing styles found in the city of Roseville. If you would like a plan book, please call 651- 792-7015 or send a check or money order payable to the City of Roseville ($10 resi dents / $15 non-residents, plus $3 shipping and handling). Mail to City of Roseville, Community Development Department, 2660 Civic Center Drive, Roseville, MN 55113. Please allow one week for delivery.