Butterflies Can’t Resist These Flowering Plants
Watching butterflies around your garden is a great way to relax and unwind. Encouraging these beautiful insects to come into your yard is as simple as growing plants they're attracted to. While nearly any flowering plant will bring butterflies into your garden, the plants in this list are tried-and-true butterfly favorites.
Butterfly Bush
Starting with what may seem obvious, Buddleja davidii, also known as Butterfly Bush, is a great option for attracting these winged creatures into your garden. It sends off long clusters of flowers that are incredibly attractive to many varieties of butterflies, including Monarchs.
Milkweed
Asclepias, or Milkweed, is one of the most commonly known plants that acts as a magnet for butterflies. In fact, it's essential for the survival of Monarch butterflies as it serves as a food source for their larva. You can plant many different varieties of Milkweed, such as Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) or Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), to help attract Monarch butterflies to your garden.
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea, or Coneflower, is a perennial that produces daisy-like flowers with a large cone-shaped center. You'll find that butterflies flock to this plant as will bees and other pollinators. These flowers last a long time on the plant, but you can also cut them to use in a floral arrangement.
Zinnia
Zinnias are easy to grow annual flowers that come in a wide variety of bright colors. They have long-lasting blossoms with lots of nectar so they're very attractive to butterflies and bees. If you want something low maintenance that adds a lot of color to your garden, Zinnias are a great option.
Lantana
Throughout neighborhoods in the southwest, you can't go far without seeing Lantana camara. This heat and sun-loving plant produces clusters of small, colorful flowers. You'll frequently see red, orange, yellow and purple blossoms on these water-wise bushes. Of course, their nectar attracts many different types of butterflies including Swallowtails and Skippers.
Verbena
Purple is a popular color for flowers that attract butterflies, which is one of the reasons Verbena bonariensis is a great option for your garden. It's also common to find Verbena flowers in white, pink, and red. Similar to Lantana, it produces small clusters of flowers that allow butterflies to easily access the nectar while having a sturdy place to rest.
Marigold
Marigolds are a classic plant that are known for their vibrant orange and yellow flowers. They effortlessly attract Monarch butterflies as well as other helper insects such as ladybugs. Growing Marigolds in your garden can help repel unwanted pets so your plants stay lush and healthy.
Salvia
With their tall spikes of flowers, Salvia attracts many different butterfly species as well as hummingbirds. Salvia is quite fragrant and is actually part of the mint family. It's often confused with Lavender as both tend to have gray-green leaves and bright purple flowers. Though it is considered a perennial, if you grow Salvia in a cold climate it won't survive the winter.
Aster
If you want to attract butterflies late in the season, Asters are a great option. They tend to bloom toward the end of the summer into early fall and are a valuable source of nectar for butterflies as they prepare for migration. Asters are easy to grow, so they're a great way to feed the butterflies without too much effort on your part.
Phlox
Phlox paniculata produces fragrant flowers in a variety of colors including white, a wide range of pinks, purples and blues. Butterflies love this plant, especially Easter Tiger Swallowtails. With this planted in your garden you're sure to attract these winged creatures and enjoy watching them float from flower to flower.
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This article originally appeared on Succulents and Sunshine.