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Butterfly Gardening

© Diana Pederson

Butterflies are the gems of the skies! How would you like to attract some to your garden? Like all animals or insects, butterflies need water, food, and shelter to survive. The secret to attracting them to your garden is to provide these things. Since there are different species in different parts of the country, it is nearly impossible to give you a comprehensive list of plants that will bring these flying gems to your yard.

There are several key plants, however, that seem to attract butterflies in good quantities in my yard.

Gooseneck Loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides)
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) - Monarchs
Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea or Althaea rosea - name has changed)
Lavender (Lavandula augustifolia)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Zinnias (Zinnia)
Butterfly bush (Buddleia) - Tiger swallowtails seem very fond of this plant
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Since I live in a city, butterflies really have to hunt to find my yard. I've noticed that the Buddleia bushes in particular must send out a formal announcement that they are opening because as soon as these flowers open (usually mid-July), the butterflies quickly arrive too.

Stan Westfall of Nature's Flightline was gracious enough to provide the following pictures for this article.

1. Eastern Black Swallowtail on pentas

2. Monarch on butterfly bush

3. Monarch on coneflower

4. Palamedes Swallowtail on lantana.

Note: These are copyrighted pictures so please do not "borrow" them for your personal use. Thank you, Stan!

No article about butterfly gardening can name all the plants that will attract them to your yard. A booklet by Storey Publishing indicates that butterflies prefer purple, pink, yellow and white flower colors. They also suggest planting masses of flowers in these colors rather than just single specimens. This last factor may be the reason I don't see more butterflies. I am very much a "plant collector" who tries to have one of everything!

May I suggest checking out these sources for more information about butterfly gardening in various parts of the North American continent? If you are from another nation, may I suggest hunting under butterfly and your country's name for information?

North American Butterfly Association - This is your starting point for information about butterflies. The Association publishes many brochures and will answer questions for you.

The Butterfly WebSite - Good source of information and a store that sells books, etc.

Butterfly World - Spending some time in Florida? Be sure to visit Butterfly World in Fort Lauderdale to experience walking among hundreds of butterflies!