A butterfly garden is a space where you you grow flowers and plants that will attract these colorful and dainty creatures to your garden. Imagine sitting out in your garden surrounded by hundreds of beautiful butterflies! You’ll also be sure to delight your family and visitors with beautiful butterflies just by creating a safe habitat for them. Plus, butterflies can be great pollinators if you’re missing out on having a lot of bees.
Of course, the actual design of your butterfly garden is a matter of personal preference. All you have to do is make sure that your garden contains the plants and flowers that appeal to the butterflies you wish to attract. Typical points to consider are the size of your garden, the amount of rain you receive, and the amount of sun on that area of the garden. What is nice about butterfly gardens is that you are usually planting with perennial native species so finding things that are right for your area shouldn’t be too hard. These kinds of plants are typically very hardy and since they’re perennials you only need to pay for them once! There are plants for nearly every climate and condition that will attract butterflies.
It is important to find out which plants and flowers will attract the species of butterflies that live in your area. This information can be found in a number of locations. If you want to check your local library, you’ll be able to find many books on the topic. You can also do a simple google search or speak to your local nursery, gardeners group, or master gardener. Generally speaking, butterflies are attracted to those flowers that have nectar rather than pollen, like honeysuckle, milkweed, summer lilac, Valerian, daisies, Purple Coneflower, Yellow Sage, day lilies and lavender.
I’m in zone 7b which is a fairly mid-range growing zone since we aren’t too hot or cold and we have a decent length growing period. Some of the best plants that I have found are the following:
ASTER (Symphotrichum)
Butterfly appeal: Among the most valuable butterfly plants, this North American native is a host plant for painted crescent and pearl crescent butterflies. Prolific daisy-like blooms are an essential late-season food source for migrating monarchs. Buckeyes, skippers, admirals, and painted ladies love the flowers, too.Plant type: Perennial
Zones: 3-8
Bloom time: Summer to fall
Flower colors: Blue, pink, purple, white
Height: 1 to 6 feet tall
BEE BALM (Monarda)
Butterfly appeal: Tubular nectar-rich flowers are a food source for a wide range of pollinating insects and butterflies including checkered white, silver-spotted skipper, swallowtails, and fritillaries. A reliable long-lived perennial, bee balm grows in most regions and is virtually care-free.Plant type: Perennial
Zones: 3-9
Bloom time: Summer
Flower colors: Red, pink, lavender, purple, white
Height: 1 to 4 feet tall
BLACK-EYED SUSAN (Rudbeckia)
Butterfly appeal: Native to open woodlands, prairies, meadows, and roadsides, this common wildflower has daisy-like flowers that appeal to many butterflies including great spangled fritillary, pearl crescent, silvery checkerspot, and spring azure.Plant type: Perennial
Zones: 3-9
Bloom time: Summer
Flower colors: Bronze, gold, mahogany, orange, or yellow, with a dark center
Height: 1 to 4 feet tall
BLAZING STAR (Liatris)
Butterfly appeal: Also called gayfeather, this sturdy North American prairie native produces spiky flowers throughout summer which attract buckeyes, monarchs, swallowtails, and many other butterflies.Plant type: Perennial
Zones: 3-9
Bloom time: Summer
Flower colors: Lavender, pink, purple, white
Height: 1 to 5 feet tall
BUTTERFLY BUSH (Buddleia)
Butterfly appeal: Butterfly bush is one of the top plants for attracting an array of butterflies, including various types of fritillaries, skippers, swallowtails, and painted lady. In areas where butterfly bush is invasive, non-seeding varieties may be substituted.Plant type: Shrub
Zones: 5-9
Bloom time: Summer to early fall
Flower colors: Blue, pink, purple, white, yellow, bicolored
Height: 4 to 12 feet tall
BUTTON BUSH (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Butterfly appeal: Showy fragrant flowers are a magnet for many species of butterflies including skippers, swallowtails, and monarchs. Button bush is also a host plant for several types of beneficial moths. Native to much of the U.S., this sturdy shrub is a good substitute in areas where butterfly bush is invasive.Plant type: Shrub
Zones: 5-9
Bloom time: June to September
Flower colors: White
Height: 5 to 12 feet tall
CATMINT (Nepeta)
Butterfly appeal: This easy-care mint relative blooms over an exceptionally long time, making it a reliable season-long nectar source for many pollinators including hummingbirds, honeybees, and many types of butterflies.Plant type: Perennial
Zones: 3-9
Bloom time: Late spring to fall
Flower colors: Blue, lavender, pink, purple, white, yellow
Height: 1 to 3 feet tall
CONEFLOWER (Echinacea)
Butterfly appeal: Native to prairies, fields, and open woodlands of North America, coneflower attracts a variety of butterfly species, including monarchs and different types of swallowtails, skippers, fritillaries, and admirals.Plant type: Perennial
Zones: 3-9
Bloom time: Summer to early fall
Flower colors: Pink, purple, white, yellow, orange, red, green, and bicolored
Height: 1 to 4 feet tall
To create the kind of environment that they find attractive, you will also need water of some kind. A birdbath will look attractive and keep the butterflies up off the ground, away from stray cats or mischievous puppies. A shallow dish on a post or hung in a tree will do just as well. You can also add a water feature to your garden to attract a wider array of wildlife.
But that’s really all there is to creating a garden that attracts thousand of butterflies!