Creating An Inviting Butterfly Garden: 15 Recommended Plants

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Painted Lady Butterflies with Nectar Flowers

Creating a butterfly garden can be fun and rewarding.  For starters, fragrance and color are the two factors that attract butterflies and basically two types of plants are needed; host plants, those that caterpillars feed on, and nectar plants, those that are a food source for adult butterflies.  For example, the host plants for the of the eastern black swallowtail caterpillar are members of the parsley family; especially dill, fennel and carrots while the Monarch caterpillar thrives on Milkweed.  Nectar plants on the other hand include a variety of plants for your garden that will supply a food source and inviting habitat for once the mature butterflies develop.   I have comprised a list of fifteen recommended nectar plants hardy in zones 3-9 with descriptions to guide you in building your own butterfly habitat!

Echinacea purpurea 'Kim's Knee High'(Purple Coneflower)

Hardiness: Zones 3-9 

Height & Width: 18-24"

Growing Conditions: Full Sun in Moist, Well-Drained Soil 

Bloom Time: June-September

Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldstrum' (Black-eyed Susan)

Hardiness: Zones 4-9 

Height & Width: 24" Tall & Wide 

Growing Conditions: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Moist Well-Drained Soil 

Bloom Time: July-September

Buddleia Lo & Behold 'Blue Chip' (Dwarf Butterfly Bush)

 Hardiness: Zones 5-9 

Height & Width: 3' Tall and Wide 

Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Moist Well-Drained Soil 

Bloom Time: Late Summer - Fall (July-September) 

Gaillardia Goblin (Blanket Flower)

Hardiness: Zones 3-9

Height & Width: 12-18"

Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Medium-Dry Soil

Bloom Time: June-Frost 

 Aster 'Woods Purple' (Michaelmas Daisy)

Hardiness:  Zones 3-8

Height & Width:  12" Tall & Wide

Growing Conditions:  Full Sun & Moist Well-Drained soil 

Bloom Time:  Fall (August -September)

Monarda 'Marshall's Delight' (Bee Balm)

 Hardiness: Zones 4-8 

Height & Width: 1-2' High By Wide 

Growing Conditions: Full Sun-Partial Shade, Medium-Moist Soil 

Bloom Time: July-August

Hyssopus officinalis (Hyssop)

Hardiness: Zones 4-10 

Height & Width: 5' Tall and 2' Wide 

Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Moist Well-Drained Soil 

Bloom Time: Late Summer (August-September)

Phlox paniculata (Tall Garden Phlox)

Hardiness: Zones 4-8 

Height & Width: 4' Tall,1' Wide

Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Well-Drained Soil 

Bloom Time: Mid-Summer (June-July)

Nepeta faassenii 'Walkers Low' (Catmint)

 Hardiness: Zones 4-8 

Height & Width: 2' High by 3' Wide

Growing Conditions: Full Sun-Part Shade, Medium Moist, Well-Drained Soil 

Bloom Time: April-September

Coreopsis 'Zagreb'

Hardiness: Zones 3-8 

Height & Width: 18-24 " 

Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Well-Drained Soil 

Bloom Time: All Summer (June-September)

Salvia nemorosa 'May Night' (Meadow Sage)

Hardiness: 4-9

Height & Width: 18-24"

Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Well-Drained Soil 

Bloom Time: End of May-July

Achillea 'Moonshine' (Yarrow)

Hardiness: Zones 3-9

Height & Width: 2-3' High by Wide 

Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Medium-Dry Soil 

Bloom Time: June-September

Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage)

Hardiness: Zones 5-9 

Height & Width: 3-5' High, 2-4 ' Wide 

Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Medium-Dry Soil 

Bloom Time: July-October

Liatris spicata (Gay Feather)

Hardiness: Zones 3-8 

Height & Width: 2-4' High, 1-2' Wide

Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Well-Drained Soil 

Bloom Time: July-August

Solidago (Goldenrod)

Hardiness: Zones 3-9 

Height & Width: 3' Tall by 3' Wide 

Growing Conditions: Full Sun, Sand/Loam Well-Drained Soil 

Bloom Time: Late Summer-Fall (August-October)

Monarch Butterfly on Buddleia (Photo: Richard Dressner)

All these plants have proven to be effective in luring butterflies to the garden and once your garden is established you will find that you have the same butterfly visitors on a daily basis. If you are looking to develop a full butterfly, wildflower or cottage style garden I would recommend choosing five to seven plants depending on the size of your space and combine both warm hues (reds, oranges, yellows, pinks) with cool hues (blues, purples, lavenders) as companion plants.  Group each of the same plant in masses for impact.  Another option is to choose a few varieties of nectar plants and place them in different locations throughout the garden.

Personally I have a combination of each.  In one section of the property I have several butterfly friendly plants in a cottage style perennial garden.  In other sections I have single focal point and mass groupings of dwarf butterfly bushes along with coreopsis, nepeta and salvia.  Depending on your location you may enjoy many species of beautiful butterfly visitors to your garden such as Swallowtail, Monarch and Painted Lady among others.   Your butterfly habitat can fit into any garden style you choose.  Simply select your favorite combination of host and nectar plants and the butterflies will be sure to come!

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Author: Lee@A Guide To Northeastern Gardening, Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.

Best Long-Blooming Perennials: What are your favorites?

Top (Left to Right) Gaillardia, Liriope, Heuchera
Bottom (Left to Right) Coreopsis, Salvia May Night, Astilbe 'Sprite'

Perennials play such an important role in adding lasting beauty to the landscape and there are so many wonderful long-blooming perennials for the zone 7 northeastern garden. In this article I will discuss some of my all time favorite perennials for overall performance, hardiness, excellent foliage and long lasting blooms. 

Gaillardia 'Goblin'

     First there is Gaillardia 'Goblin', or Blanket Flower, which produces red to yellow bi-color blooms throughout June to August on 12" stems. It is hardy in zones 4-8 and repeats its performance year after year if grown in full sunlight. Gaillardia prefers well-drained soil, is considered drought tolerant and does not require abundant watering once established.

Liriope muscari 'Variegata'

Liriope muscari 'Variegata' is popular for its grass-like, cream or yellow-margined leaves. Liriope can be grown in sun or shade and produces small purple blooms in August to September followed by round, dark purple berries. Liriope is very versatile as it can be planted just about anywhere in the garden as a complement to other plantings and is hardy in USDA zones 4-10.  

Heuchera 'Palace Purple' 

One of my favorite perennials for shade is Heuchera.  From experience I find Heuchera 'Palace Purple' to be the most hardy with beautiful burgundy foliage. The delicate white flowers produced on 12 inch stems in August to September that resemble baby's breath are just an added bonus. Heuchera can be grown in partial sun to shade and prefers a moderately moist organic soil. It is hardy in zones 4-8.     

Coreopsis 'Zagreb'

Coreopsis 'Zagreb' is a popular favorite for areas of full sun and produces yellow daisy-like blooms from June to July that last throughout August on 12-18 inch fern-like stalks.  Coreopsis is deer resistant, prefers a well-drained soil and can withstand drought-like conditions once established.  I find this perennial to be highly reliable and very hardy in zone 7. Coreopsis will spread so plant it in a place where you have plenty of room and enjoy its beauty.  Coreopsis is complemented nicely by either salvia or nepeta.

Salvia 'May Night'

     Salvia 'May Night' displays beautiful deep purple flowers on 12-18 inch stalks from the end of May through July.  To extend the bloom time of your salvia all the way into fall simply prune off spent flower stalks as new ones arise and the plant will continue to produce more blooms! Salvia prefers to be grown in full sun in zones 4-8 and can tolerate some drought. It is also deer resistant.

Astilbe 'Sprite'

The next selection for shady areas is Astilbe 'Sprite'. This perennial displays bronze foliage with pale pink flowers in late July to August on dwarf 12 -14 inch plants.  There are several other wonderful varieties of astilbe but in my opinion this variety has the nicest foliage and the most delicate blooms. Astilbe 'Sprite' prefers to be grown in partial sun to shade in an organic, moderately moist soil and is hardy in USDA zones 4-9.

Daylily 'Stella D'Oro'

There are two more of my of my all time personal favorites that cannot go by without being mentioned. The first is Daylily 'Stella D'Oro'. There are many varieties of daylily but this semi-fragrant, golden yellow repeat bloomer will continue to produce blooms on 12-18 inch stalks from June until fall with some pruning. This perennial prefers to be grown in full sun and complements many other perennials such as heuchera, liriope, salvia and nepeta and is hardy in USDA zones 3-9.

Nepeta 'Walkers Low'

The second is Nepeta 'Walkers Low', a dwarf form of nepeta with gray-green aromatic foliage and large violet-blue flowers that bloom all summer long. Nepeta 'Walkers Low' is drought tolerant and deer resistant.  It can be grown in full sun to partial shade  and forms round compact mounds.  This perennial goes well with coreopsis, daylily and heuchera and is hardy in zones 3-8.

It is almost impossible to narrow down the best of the best perennials for your garden and there are thousands to choose from but I am hoping that this article will give you a brief idea of the possibilities that are available. The perennials mentioned in this article are my favorites based on experience. They have proven to be winners over the years with excellent foliage, repeat colorful blooms and all around summer interest in the landscape.

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