If you love butterflies around your flower garden, be sure that they keep coming back every year by planting butterfly loving plants. It has been said that butterflies can travel up to 100 miles during their migration so I usually plant several butterfly loving plants with a wide variety of bloom times just to make sure they get plenty of nectar when they arrive.
To me, butterflies are beautiful and I like to watch them around my garden all summer long. There are probably hundreds of different varieties of butterfly loving flowering plants you can get but here are some of my favorites. No, I don’t have all of these, but my neighbors do and I’ve become familiar with most of them.
Butterfly Bush Bicolor-Botanical name is Buddleia Bicolor Bicolor was first grown by Dr. Michael Dirr at the University of Georgia. It is very unique in that the blooms are butterscotch yellow and raspberry lavender and it has been considered one of the most exciting butterfly loving bushes to come along in years. Bicolor is the first plant to have two completely different colors on the same bloom stalk. It is sweetly fragrant and in the perennial family which comes back every year.
Bicolor blooms all summer long and the bloom trusses are about 6 inches long but the plant can grow to 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide. The bloom stalks are also lovely as cut flowers so be sure to bring this beautiful color and scent indoors as well. It tolerates drought as well as heat and humidity but it is recommended to keep the plant well watered during growth and flowering. Grows well in zones 5-9 in full sun exposure.
Butterfly Bush Adonis Blue-Botanical name is Buddleia Davidii Adonis Blue. This plant is much smaller than all other butterfly loving bushes and if you like Buddleia but you don’t have the space for another big shrub, then this Adonis Blue is for you. This compact shrub is covered with large midnight blue blooms and you can even grow it in a container. Adonis Blue is part of a new line of Buddleias called the English Butterfly series. It was developed by Elizabeth Keep of East Mailing England.
The color blue on the stalks is beautiful and it blooms from early summer and continues well into the fall season. It grows 3 to 5 feet high and it is well branched and bushy. Plant Adonis Blue in full sun and any well drained garden soil. Prune it down to about 6 inches at the end of the winter season and it will grow even bushier than the previous year. Grows well in zones 5-7.
Butterfly Bush Butterfly Heaven-Botanical name is Buddleia Butterfly Heaven. This shrub is a little more compact than the others and is great for containers and small gardens. It has rich lilac-blue blooms in foot long trusses and the flowers are sweetly scented. The interesting thing about this plant is that the new spring foliage emerges in gray color and it keeps this color until summer when it turns into soft green.
Butterfly Heaven can be planted as a hedge along a driveway or on the side of the house leading to your backyard and you will have a beautiful fragrance around your home all summer long. Like most butterfly bushes, it is easy to grow in a well drained sunny area. It is recommended that the plant be cut to the ground in late winter to encourage healthier blooms and better branching the next season. Butterfly Heaven tolerates heat, humidity and drought. The plant grows to 6 feet tall and up to 5 feet wide. The blooms are 8 to 12 inches long. Grows well in zones 5-10 from mid summer to mid fall.
Butterfly Plant Ice Ballet-Botanical name is Asclepias Incarnata Ice Ballet. Ice Ballet is one of the easiest and more adaptable butterfly loving plants you can grow in your flower garden. It is also considered to be a magnet for butterflies. The flowers somewhat resemble snowflakes because they are tiny sparkling white florets which grow in masses creating a spectacular scene in your garden.
Ice Ballet is a native Swamp Milkweed that loves the sun but grows well in moist or wet soil. It grows 4 feet high and 18 inches wide and the flower heads are 3 inches long. It tolerates heat and humidity but it is also cold hardy. Grows well in zones 3-9, loves the sun, and it blooms from mid summer to late summer.
Achillea Cerise Queen-Botanical name is Achillea Millefolium Cerise Queen. This butterfly loving plant is in the Yarrow perennial family and can be planted from seeds. Cerise Queen has rich deep pink blooms that start coming from late spring and continue all summer long and into the fall season. The flowers are great as cut fresh to place in a vase and when dried, save them as these can be used for other dry flower arrangements. Awesome!
Cerise Queen grows to 2 feet tall and it spreads quickly which you can use as a border in your garden. It is hardy in just about any part of the country and grows well in zones 3-9. Somehow, the blooms are bigger and more profuse when you water this plant regularly although it tolerates heat and humidity and loves the sun.
Agastache Black Adder-Botanical name is Agastache Adder. Here is a pretty butterfly loving plant that belongs to the Hyssops family. The unusual thing about this one is that the buds are nearly black but when it blooms the flowers are light violet color. The flowers are small and open on long racemes but jammed together to form the look of a long wand of solid color. Really beautiful!
Black Adder blooms much longer than other varieties from early summer to fall. It grows well in a wide range of climates from wet, cold, warm, humid and dry. It likes full sun and well drained soil but it will tolerate drought conditions. Black Adder reaches 3 feet high and about 3 feet wide. It is recommended to space the plants at least 2 feet apart to create a dense bushy look in your garden. Grows well in zones 6-9 and it tolerates heat and humidity.
Ageratum Leilani Blue-Botanical name is Ageratum Houstonianum Leilani Blue. Dark green foliage and azure blue blooms make this butterfly loving plant a must have for any garden. It is ideal for a container plant in your garden because it grows to only 16 inches tall and 12 inches wide. The blooms are light and fluffy and about 5 inches across. Leilani Blue quickly forms a dense rounded mound of blooms for a splendid look. You don’t have to do anything to this plant because it self-cleans itself. Leilani Blue likes full sun and well drained soil.
Aster Bluebird-Botanical name is Aster laevis Bluebird. Asters are in the daisy family and this one has eye-catching violet-blue flowers. It is also one of the few asters that does well in areas where hot, humid and rainy summers have prevented other varieties to grow. The daisy like flowers have slender long petals surrounded by a fuzzy yellow center. It is ideal for containers because these only grow to about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. Loves full sun and well drained soil and grows well in zones 4-8.
As I mentioned before, there are probably hundreds of butterfly loving plants available today. Too many to mention here so the information above is just a brief description of those butterfly loving plants that I am familiar with. If you like butterflies and welcome them in your garden, here are some tips for a butterfly friendly garden.
*Avoid using pesticides as much as possible. *If possible, provide a shallow source of water for the butterflies. *Try to place a rock in a sunny area for basking and resting. *If you have time, do create a “puddling” area for the butterflies. You can do this by digging a shallow hole filled with manure or compost. This will allow rain water to collect and release essential salts and minerals. *In addition to planting nectar rich plants, also plant some shrubs and evergreens for shelter. *If possible, try to grow a variety of host plants to provide food during the butterfly’s larval stage. You can choose from passion flower, fennel, dill, parsley, snapdragon and hollyhock.
Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!
4-H PLUS Flower Gardening
At The Chelsea Flower Show Photos - CBS News
Flower garden ideas for my front yard area? - Yahoo! Answers
Climbing hydrangea | Define Climbing hydrangea at Dictionary.com
Container Flower Gardening
Washingtonpost.com: Live Online
I didn’t realize there were so many plants that attract butterflies to your garden. This is really useful for people to bring those lovely creatures into our back yard. Great article.
Very good information on butterflies/flutterbies and gardening. Both are things that I love.
Barbara
small gardens are very cute and could be well managed easily. we have 2 small gardens at home.:;;
Thank you for the comment Abigail. I agree, small gardens are very manageable and very pretty. It also requires less work to maintain which is great.
We have several gardens, some small and bigger ones but it is a lot of work to keep up with them. I love gardening so I don’t mind the work. Must admit that it can be challenging to garden in hot weather like we are having here in Florida!
Diana recently posted..How to improve your Flower Garden by adding a Fountain
small gardens are very cute and does not cost much to setup:’-
my hubby always love small gardens and zen gardens, he always decorate it with new stuffs he buys online’~~
small gardens are cute but i still prefer to have those medium sized gardens where i can grow some veggies -’.