Belightful Butterfly Oasis

We’ve made quite a few changes in the garden to attract more butterflies as well as bees. So when Belightful asked if I would like to try a Butterfly Oasis, I said yes!

I had a choice of three colours that are attractive to butterflies: pink, purple and yellow. I’m not a fan of anything pink and we have a few yellow plants in the garden, so that was the winner.

I’m very picky about what I agree to review on here and I’ll be honest, when I first saw the Butterfly Oasis was made from plastic I wasn’t overly keen on the idea of owning one. Plastic garden products are something we try and avoid buying in favour or natural or biodegradable materials. But after doing some research I discovered was actually made from biodegradable plastic. Woohoo!

The Belightful Butterfly Oasis is made of bio-based and biodegradable plastic which means that the product is considerably more environmentally friendly than the traditional oil based plastics. The material is very durable but if one ever should dispose the product, it can be recycled effectively.

Source: belightfuldesign.com

This foam ball sits inside the feeder and soaks up the nectar. One Butterfly Nectar sachet is enough for one refill. It looks like a lot of liquid once mixed but the foam soaks everything up — just remember to pour it in slowly so the ball has time to drink it all up.

Then all you need to do is thread string through the hole and hang it in your garden. Just be sure to hang it on a fairly chunky branch because it’s a sturdy feeder and gets quite heavy once full of nectar. A branch around the thickness of your thumb is fine.

I hung ours in the crab apple tree in the front garden but there are quite a few butterflies there already so I moved it to the back garden. The front garden has quite a few butterfly plants but the back garden only has buddleia.

Do you know how hard it is to creep up on a butterfly feeding? Very hard when you put the feeder at the back of a raised bed against a fence!

I put my Oasis up about 4 weeks ago but it took just under two weeks for them to find it. Part of me was disappointed they didn’t find it straight away but attracting nature always takes time 🙂 So far, Common Blue and Painted Lady butterflies have stopped by to feed. The Cabbage White butterflies dart around it but don’t settle for long — so I’m not sure whether they are feeding or not. Activity has also increased how Summer is coming to an end and many of the flowers they like are fading.

My verdict? A thumbs up. Minimal design, it’s easy to refill and wipe down and has attracted a few more winged visitors. I have high hopes for next Spring.

Disclaimer: Belightful sent me a Butterfly Oasis and nectar refill pack free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and photography are my own.