My garden is a very busy place these days! Butterflies, bumble bees, hummingbirds — all bustling around pollinating their little butts off. I’ve really enjoyed watching all of the activity and wanted to share a little research I did on the Top 10 Butterfly Garden Plants. I plan on expanding my garden next year and want to be informed on what I should be on the lookout for. This is the perfect time of year to pick up some clearance perennials at the garden center, save a little money and help foster a healthy ecosystem.
10. Snapdragon (Antirrhinum)
A common perennial used in flower pots and garden borders, this flower is great for butterflies, humming birds and honey bees.
(Nectar & Host) : Cabbage White, Common Buckeye, Grey Hairstreak, Pearl Crescent, Swallowtail
9. Daisies (Leucanthemum)
This classic summer flower attract butterflies as well as serving as a host plant.
(Nectar & Host) : American Painted Lady, Cabbage White, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak, Painted Lady, Queen, Red Admiral, Pearl Crescent, Sachem
8. Goldenrod (Solidago)
Goldenrod, a fall bloomer, attracts native pollinators and beneficial insects to your garden. It’s beautiful golden color adds a needed pop of color to a late Summer/Fall garden.
(Nectar) : American Painted Lady, American Snout, Clouded Sulphur, Common Sulphur, Great Swallowtail, Gorgone Checkerspot, Monarch, Painted Lady, Pearl Crescent, Red Admiral, Red-Banded Hairstreak, Sachem, Viceroy
7. Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
Another long-blooming summer perennial that butterflies love! Fun fact!: The black-eyed susan have an invisible (to humans) pattern on their petals that only butterflies (with ultraviolet vision) can see. How cool is that?
(Nectar) : American Snout, Great Spangled Fritillary, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Orange Sulphur, Pearl Crescent, Sachem, Silvery Checkerspot, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Spring and Summer Azure, Variegated Fritillary
6. Verbena
Verbena is also drought tolerant, make a great choice for rock gardens or planting in cracks between stones. Verbena are the ideal plant to cascade over retaining walls, containers, baskets, and window boxes. This versatile flower is perfect for any butterfly garden and it’s clusters bloom all season long.
(Nectar) : American Lady, Black Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Common Buckeye, Clouded Skipper, Clouded Sulphur, Crossline Skipper, Dun Skipper, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Fiery Skipper, Gray Hairstreak, Great Southern White, Great Spangled Fritillary, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Horace’s Duskywing, Least Skipper, Little Glassywing, Monarch, Ocola Skipper, Orange Sulphur, Painted Lady, Pecks Skipper, Pearl Crescent, Pipevine Swallowtail, Red-Banded Hairstreak, Red Spotted Admiral, Sachem, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Silvery Checkerspot, Swallowtail, Tawny-edged Skipper, Variegated Fritillary, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Zabulon, Zebra Longwing, Zebra Swallowtail
5. Lantana
Lantana are full of color — bright and cheery. Their blooms last all season long and they attract both butterflies and humming birds to your garden.
(Nectar) : Cabbage White, Fiery Skipper, Great Swallowtail, Gray Hairstreak, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Little Glassywing, Monarch, Red Admiral, Sachem, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Skipper, Spicebush Swallowtail, Swallowtail, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Zebra Longwing
4. Salvia
Salvias come in a wide range of colors, are drought tolerant and their bloom life is exceptionally long. They not only attract butterflies but hummingbirds as well!
(Nectar) : American Lady, Cabbage White, Clouded Skipper, Cloudless Sulphur, Dun Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Giant Swallowtail, Gray Hairstreak, Gulf Fritillary, Monarch, Orange Sulphur, Orange-barred Sulphur, Peck’s Skipper, Sachem, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Spicebush Swallowtail, Zebra Longwing, Zabulon
3. Aster
Asters are a late summer and fall blooming perennial and not only attract butterflies for the nectar but also as a host plant. They are a daisy-like perennial with star-shaped flower head and come in a wide range of varieties, colors and sizes.
(Nectar & Host) : American Lady, American Snout, Anise Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Buckeye Butterfly, Cabbage White, Clouded Skipper, Clouded Sulphur, Common Buckeye, Common Checkered-Skipper, Common Sulphur, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Fiery Skipper, Gray Hairstreak, Horace’s Duskywing, Lorquin Admiral, Monarch, Orange Sulphur, Painted Lady, Pearl Crescent, Peck’s Skipper, Question Mark, Red Admiral, Red-Banded Hairstreak, Sachem, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sleepy Orange, Swallowtail, Variegated Fritillary, Viceroy, West Coast Lady
2. Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)
This widely versatile perennial can be planted almost everywhere in the US and attracts a ton of butterflies. Purple coneflowers, also known as Echinacea, are attractive and hearty flowers that not only draw butterflies to your garden but songbirds too!
(Nectar) : American Lady, Banded Hairstreak, Black Swallowtail, Clouded Sulphur, Common Checkered Skipper, Common Wood-nymph, Eastern Tailed Blue, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Fiery Skipper, Giant Swallowtail, Gray Hairstreak, Great Spangled Fritillary, Gulf Fritillary, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Horace’s Duskywing, Little Glassywing, Monarch, Orange Sulphur, Painted Lady, Pearl Crescent, Peck’s Skipper, Red Admiral, Red-Banded Hairstreak, Red-Spotted Admiral, Sachem, Silvery Checkerspot, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Spicebush Swallowtail, Swallowtail, Tawny-edge Skipper, Variegated Fritillary, Viceroy, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Zabulon
1. Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)
The name says it all, Butterfly Bush is hands down the best plant for attracting butterflies to your yard. Each plant can support hundreds of butterflies feeding on it at one time. Beautiful, fast-growing, deciduous shrub with masses of blossoms that bloom from summer to autumn.
(Nectar) : American Lady, Anise Swallowtail, Banded Hairstreak, Black Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Cloudless Sulphur, Crossline Skipper, Eastern Comma, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Fiery Skipper, Giant Swallowtail, Great Spangled Fritillary, Gulf Fritillary, Horace’s Duskywing, Little Glassywing, Monarch, Mourning Cloak, Ocola Skipper, Orange Sulphur, Painted Lady, Pipevine Swallowtail, Polydamus Swallowtail, Queen, Question Mark, Red Admiral, Red-Banded Hairstreak, Red-Spotted Purple, Peck’s Skipper, Sachem, Silver Spotted Skipper, Southern Broken-Dash, Spicebush Swallowtail, Spring and Summer Azure, Variegated Fritillary, Viceroy, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Zabulon, Zebra Longwing, Zebra Swallowtail
Do you have a green thumb or know someone who does?
I put together a guide of “Must-Haves” for Plant Lovers to keep that thumb extra green!
