Plants for Butterfly Gardens

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii ‘Peacock’ ) – Zones 5-9. As the common name implies, butterfly bushes attract many butterflies throughout the middle of summer through the fall with long clusters of flowers. Many butterfly bushes grow into large, bushy shrubs and take a lot of space in the garden, however ‘Peacock’ is a compact form that only grows 4-5′ tall. The purple-pink flowers are large and attractive, providing a sweet fragrance for gardens to enjoy as well. Buddleia shrubs are usually deer resistant and don’t need a lot of watering once they are established.

Yarrow (Achillea ‘Moonshine’) – Zones 3-8. A great butterfly perennial, this yarrow has creamy gold flowers from midsummer through first frost and grows well in poor soil. Yarrows prefer full sun and are drought tolerant once established. Dead heading your yarrow will encourage increased blooms for more butterflies, and the perennial should be divided every 3 or 4 years. ‘Moonshine’ yarrow has fine-cut foliage that is also aromatic. The entire achillea is compact and only grows to about 2′ tall maximum, making it a great choice for the front of a butterfly garden border.

Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro ruthenicus) – Zones 3-8. The large purple flowers of the globe thistle are round in shape and spiky looking but butterflies love them. Globe thistles are hardy perennial plants that some gardeners think look like weeds because of the highly textured stems. E. ritro ruthenicus is a great plant for a butterfly garden because of the compact size as the plant grows 2-3′ tall. The dark purple flowers give weeks of color in the summer with very little maintenance. If you want a low-maintenance butterfly garden, consider adding this short globe thistle.

Gayfeather (Liatrus spicata ‘Kobold’) – Zones 4-8. Liatrus has unique flower spikes that provide a strong vertical accent in the butterfly garden. ‘Kobold’ grows just over 2′ tall and has soft purple flowers each summer that butterflies love. In addition to being a great butterfly garden plant, liatrus makes an excellent cut flower plant. Liatrus does well in full sun or part shade and looks best when it is planted in a mass of flowers.

Coneflower (Echinacea Big Sky ‘Sundown’) – Zones 4-9. This purple coneflower is not actually purple, but rather a beautiful orangy color that adds a lot of contrast and color to the butterfly garden. ‘Sundown’ Echinacea is actually a fragrant coneflower and like all coneflowers it is drought resistant and long-lived in the garden. In addition to adding warmth to the butterfly garden, many gardeners use Echinacea plants as cut flowers and to increase winter interest by allowing the dried seed heads to stand over winter.