Back in 2002/2003 when my husband and I landscaped our backyard and created our raised bed garden I’d wanted to grow plants that would attract butterflies and birds to the garden. I spent the winter researching plants that would thrive in my area and that would attract butterflies. If they happened to have scent that was just a bonus!
Butterflies sip from the nectar of many flowers and their larvae eat the leaves of plants such as milkweed, so when planning a garden meant to attract butterflies you should keep all of their life stages in mind.
It’s also important that your butterfly garden be organic. You can’t use pesticides that kill a wide variety of insects as you’ll likely end up killing the butterflies that you desire.
Habitual zones and places where areas of the landscape meet with the tree lines are favorite safe places for them. They also search for areas that can shelter them from high winds, summer storms and rains. Shrubs and trees are good choices for plants that will provide them protective shelter. It is also helpful to find out what kinds of butterflies are native to your area so you can find appropriate plants for them.
Some plants that attract Anise Swallowtail and the Black swallowtail butterflies are fennel, parsley and dill.
Lupine flowers are a favorite with Fritillary butterfly and Snapdragons are a great choice of attracting butterflies that are native to your own area.
Gardens that offer a safe haven for butterflies will not only attract passing butterflies but likely encourage them to stay longer or to return frequently. Most butterflies are active in the mid to late summer, so it is important that you also have plants available to them during that time.
A home made butterfly feeding station might also be a great idea. You can make a feeder by using a small jar, a lid with a small hole drilled in the center and a piece of cotton to plug the hole in the lid. The nectar is made with 9 parts water and one part sugar. Very similar to hummingbird nectar actually. In fact if you have hummingbird feeders in your garden they might suffice as an additional area for butterflies as well.
Butterflies do not drink water from birdbaths, however they will drink water that puddles on large rocks or from areas where water has gathered on the soil after a rain storm.
As your plants mature you’ll likely see more and more butterflies visiting your garden each year. I know that’s been the case with our garden. We have quite the variety of wildlife that seek out our garden.
Here’s a list of plants that attract butterflies:
Annual Plants and Flowers
- Anethum graveolens dill
- Bidens alba shepherd’s needles
- Coreopsis tinctoria calliopsis
- Coriandrum sativum coriander
- Cosmos bipinnatus cosmos
- Cosmos sulphureus orange cosmos
- Foeniculum vulgare Florence fennel
- Gomphrena globosa globe amaranth
- Helianthus annuus common sunflower
- Petroselinum crispum parsley
- Phaseolus vulgaris common bean
- Tithonia rotundiflora Mexican sunflower
- Zinnia elegans zinnia
- Zinnia haageana Mexican zinnia
Perennial Plants
- Achillea millefolium common yarrow
- Allium tuberosum garlic chives
- Asclepias curassavica scarlet milkweed
- Asclepias tuberosa butterfly weed
- Aster tataricus Tatarian aster
- Clerodendrum indicum tubeflower
- Conoclinium coelestinum mistflower
- Coreopsis verticillata whorled coreopsis
- Coreopsis grandiflora coreopsis
- Cuphea hyssopifolia Mexican false heather
- Cuphea ignea cigar plant
- Cuphea micropetala tall cigar plant
- Echinacea purpurea purple coneflower
- Echinops ritro small globe thistle
- Erythrina herbacea coral bean
- Eupatorium fistulosum Joe Pye weed
- Gaillardia pulchella blanket flower
- Gamolepis chrysanthemoides African bush-daisy
- Glandularia puchella moss verbena
- Hedychium coronarium ginger lily
- Helianthus angustifolius narrow-leaved sunflower
- Helianthus tuberosus Jerusalem artichoke
- Heliopsis helianthoides oxeye sunflower
- Lycoris squamigera surprise lily
- Melissa officinalis lemon balm
- Monarda didyma beebalm
- Monarda punctata spotted horsemint
- Narcissus spp. daffodil
- Pentas lanceolata pentas
- Phlox paniculata garden phlox
- Pycnanthemum floridanum Florida mountainmint
- Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii orange coneflower
- Rudbeckia hirta black-eyed Susan
- Ruellia brittoniana Mexican petunia
- Russelia equisetiformis firecracker plant
- Salvia lyrata lyreleaf sage
- Salvia coccinea scarlet sage
- Salvia guaranitica blue anise sage
- Salvia ‘Indigo Spires’ Indigo Spires sage
- Salvia leucantha Mexican bush sage
- Scabiosa columbaria butterfly blue
- Sedum spectabile showy sedum
- Tagetes lemmonii mountain marigold
- Verbena bonariensis purpletop verbena
Shrubs
- Buddleja davidii butterfly bush
- Caesalpinia pulcherrima peacock flower
- Cephalanthus occidentalis buttonbush
- Cestrum nocturnum night blooming jasmine
- Choisya ternata Mexican orange
- Clethra alnifolia sweet pepperbush
- Duranta erecta golden dewdrop
- Hamelia patens firebush
- Heliotropium arborsecens common heliotrope
- Hibiscus Rosa-sinensis Chinese hibiscus
- Hypericum frondosum golden St. John’s wort
- Justicia brandegeana shrimp plant
- Lantana camara lantana
- Lantana montevidensis trailing lantana
- Leonotus leonurus lion’s ear
- Malvaviscus penduliflorus Turk’s cap
- Odontonema strictum firespike
- Pittosporum tobira Japanese mockorange
- Plumbago auriculata leadwort
- Prunus angustifolia Chickasaw plum
- Rhododendron austrinum Florida flame azalea
- Rhododendron canescens pinxter azalea
- Rosa laevigata Cherokee rose
- Salvia elegans pineapple sage
- Salvia greggii Autumn Sage
- Salvia mexicana Mexican sage
- Senna pendula Cassia bicapsularis
Trees
- Cassia roxburghii Ceylon senna
- Citrus meyeri Meyers lemon
- Citrus sinensis sweet orange
- Coccoloba uvifera sea grape
- Fortunella spp kumquat
- Jatropha integerrima peregrina
- Sassafras albidum sassafras
- Vitex agnus-castus hemp tree
- X Citrofortunella microcarpa calamondin
Vines
- Antigonon leptopus Mexican creeper
- Aristolochia elegans Calico flower
- Campsis radicans trumpet creeper
- Clerodendrum splendens flaming glorybower
- Cuscuta spp dodder
- Dolichos lablab hyacinth bean
- Helianthus debilis beach sunflower
- Ipomoea quamoclit cypress vine
- Lonicera japonica Japanese honeysuckle
- Lonicera sempervirens coral honeysuckle
- Passiflora caerulea blue passionflower
- Passiflora incarnata maypop
- Passiflora racemosa red passionflower
- Phaseolus coccineus runner bean
- Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides Mexican Flame Vine
It’s certainly not to late in most areas to start a few of these plants or perhaps buy some seedlings or potted plants from a nursery.
Get started on your butterfly garden now.
What an interesting blog. Thanks for the informative list. I’m contemplating adding some of them to my garden. I’d love to have more butterflies around.
Great tip about keeping it organic so you don’t kill off the butterflies you’re trying to attract. And thanks for the comprehensive list of flowers to plant!
A home made butterfly feeding station might also be a great idea. You can make a feeder by using a small jar, a lid with a small hole drilled in the center and a piece of cotton to plug the hole in the lid. The nectar is made with 9 parts water and one part sugar. Very similar to hummingbird nectar actually. In fact if you have hummingbird feeders in your garden they might suffice as an additional area for butterflies as well.
I have a butterfly bush in my garden – when my mother in law gave it to me 3 years ago, it was literally 2 twigs which were each about 10″ long. I planted it thinking it would never amount to much. By the end of the summer it was 8 FEET tall! That’s what started my interest in butterfly gardening as it attracted tons of different types of butterflies.
Luckily, I had planted it at the back of the garden and when fall came I cut way down to about 2 feet off the ground. The next year it sprang back and grew to about 8 feet again and has every year since!
Wow that is a really comprehensive list. I will be bookmarking this for future reference. You listed one of my favorites Blanket Flower, Gaillardia x grandiflora it flowers continuously with out the need to dead head.
Hi!
Such an in-depth post! I was actually looking for a good resource of butterfly attracting plants, and you have every one! Thank you!
I’m currently cultivating a rather boring garden. I am growing tomatoes in containers, and that’s about it. I’m also about to start growing parsley. I might add one of your flowers and at least have some butterflies to enjoy! 🙂