Our Favorite Butterfly-Attracting Plants
Butterflies bring life and beauty to a garden. Entice them to visit your backyard by adding some of their favorite flowers in shades of orange, red, yellow, pink and purple, planted in masses to help butterflies find them more easily.
Butterflies must land in order to feed, so the best butterfly garden flowers include those that either feature flattened tops or tubular-shaped flower clusters. Successful butterfly gardens should include host plants for butterfly larvae (caterpillars) as well as nectar-producing plants for the adults.
Butterfly bushes (Buddleia davidii) are large, fast-growing shrubs whose flowers are irresistible to butterflies. Buddleias are easy-care plants, but they’re invasive in some areas. Look for sterile cultivars which don’t set seed and therefore don’t run wild.
These fast-growing deciduous shrubs are suitable for planting in perennial borders, cottage gardens, island beds or wherever their loose, somewhat messy growth habit won’t detract from a particular garden design you’re trying to achieve.
