Butterfly Garden: 15 Perfectly pretty plants to try

Last Updated on: 11th April 2024, 05:43 am

Attract beautiful butterflies by planting the right flowers.

A butterfly garden is a lovely, serene space full of life and color. Imagine a lazy, warm afternoon delighting in the presence of these lovely winged friends. 

This content explains the benefits of a butterfly garden and helps you get started. We reveal fifteen of the easiest butterfly-attracting flowers to try.

Butterflies bring a sense of peacefulness and beauty to a garden while providing a source of natural pollination and pest control. 

Why Invest in Adding a Butterfly Garden to Your Landscape Plan?

Here are four compelling reasons why a gardener might want to attract butterflies to the garden:

1. Butterflies add beauty to your garden: Butterflies bring airy and delicate beauty and serenity to any garden. Their colorful wings and graceful movements provide an ever-changing display of beauty as they flutter from flower to flower. 
2. Butterflies may contribute to natural pest control: One species, the harvester butterfly, will feed on many pests that can harm your garden, such as aphids. This species helps to keep your garden healthy and pest-free. 
3. Butterflies help with natural pollination: Butterflies are essential pollinators for many plants, helping to ensure the healthy growth and reproduction of the plants in your garden. 
4. Attracting butterflies is easy: Attracting butterflies to your garden can be done with little effort. You can easily create a butterfly-friendly garden by planting various flowering plants, adding a water source such as a shallow bird bath, and providing shelter with a butterfly house. 

15 Butterfly Garden Flowers to Plant in Your Landscape

Perennials to Attract Butterflies to the Garden:

Try these pretty perennials to bring butterflies calling.

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa):

• USDA growing zones: 3-9
• Appearance: 2-3 feet tall with orange, yellow, or rarely pink flowers in clusters.
• Scent: Mild fragrance
• Planting: sow seeds in well-drained soil in full sun. Water regularly until established.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming and avoid self-seeding. Drought-tolerant once established.

Blazing Star (Liatris spicata):

• USDA growing zones: 3-8
• Appearance: 3-5 feet tall with spikes of showy purple flowers
• Scent: Mild fragrance
• Planting: Plant in well-drained soil in full sun. Space plants 18-36 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming. Drought-tolerant once established.

Bee Balm (Monarda didyma):

• USDA growing zones: 4-9
• Appearance: 2-4 feet tall with showy clusters of pink, red, purple, or white flowers.
• Scent: Strong minty fragrance
• Planting: Plant in well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. Space plants 18-24 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming and prevent self-seeding. Prune back after flowering to promote bushiness.

Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium maculatum):

• USDA growing zones: 4-9
• Appearance: 4-8 feet tall with clusters of pink to purple flowers.
• Scent: Mild fragrance
• Planting: Plant in moist soil in full sun to partial shade. Space plants 3-4 feet apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming and avoid self-seeding. Cut back after flowering to promote bushiness.

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea):

• USDA growing zones: 3-9
• Appearance: 2-4 feet tall with showy purplish-pink petals and cone-shaped centers.
• Scent: Mild fragrance
• Planting: Plant in well-drained soil in full sun. Space plants 18-36 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming and prevent self-seeding. Drought-tolerant once established.

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata):

• USDA growing zones: 3-9
• Appearance: 3-4 feet tall with clusters of fragrant pink to white flowers.
• Scent: Sweet fragrance
• Planting: Plant in moist soil in full sun to partial shade. Space plants 2-3 feet apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming and avoid self-seeding. Cut back after flowering to promote fuller growth.

Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea):

• USDA growing zones: 8-11
• Appearance: 2-3 feet tall with spikes of showy red, orange, or yellow flowers.
• Scent: Mild fragrance
• Planting: Plant in well-drained soil in full sun. Space plants 12-18 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming and prevent self-seeding. Cut back after flowering to promote fullness.

Annual Flowers to Grow in Your Butterfly Garden

These stunning annuals add so much color and enliven your outdoor space.

Zinnia (Zinnia elegans):

• USDA growing zones: 3-10
• Appearance: 1-3 feet tall with single or double flowers in numerous colors, including red, orange, yellow, pink, purple, and white.
• Scent: Mild fragrance
• Planting: Sow seeds in well-drained soil in full sun after the last frost. Space plants 12-18 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming and prevent self-seeding. Cut back leggy plants to promote growth.

Marigold (Tagetes spp.):

• USDA growing zones: 2-11
• Appearance: 6-18 inches tall with showy yellow, orange, red, or bi-colored flowers.
• Scent: Strong, spicy fragrance
• Planting: Sow seeds in well-drained soil in full sun after the last frost. Space plants 6-12 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming. Drought-tolerant once established.

Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus):

• USDA growing zones: 2-11
• Appearance: 6-30 inches tall with spikes of tubular flowers in a vast array of colors, including red, orange, yellow, pink, purple, and white.
• Scent: Mild fragrance
• Planting: Sow seeds in well-drained soil in full sun or light shade. Space plants 6-12 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming and prevent self-seeding. Cut back leggy plants to promote fullness.

Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus):

• USDA growing zones: 2-11
• Appearance: 2-6 feet tall with airy, daisy-like flowers in pink, white, red, orange, or yellow.
• Scent: Mild fragrance
• Planting: Sow seeds in well-drained soil in full sun after the last frost. Space plants 18-24 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming and prevent self-seeding. Cut back leggy plants to promote fullness.

Petunia (Petunia x hybrida):

• USDA growing zones: 9-11
• Appearance: 6-18 inches tall with showy, trumpet-shaped flowers in many breathtaking colors, including red, pink, purple, yellow, and white.
• Scent: Mild fragrance
• Planting: Plant seedlings or cuttings in well-drained soil in full sun. Space plants 12-18 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming. Pinch back leggy plants to promote bushiness.

Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus):

• USDA growing zones: 2-11
• Appearance: 6-24 inches tall with bright yellow, orange, or red flowers and round leaves.
• Scent: Mild, slightly spicy fragrance
• Planting: Sow seeds in well-drained soil in full sun after the last frost. Space plants 6-12 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming and prevent self-seeding. Cut back leggy plants to promote fullness.

Ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum):

• USDA growing zones: 9-11
• Appearance: 6-18 inches tall with small clusters of blue, pink, or white flowers.
• Scent: Mild fragrance
• Planting: Plant seedlings in well-drained soil in full sun. Space plants 6-12 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong

Dianthus (Dianthus spp.):

• USDA growing zones: 3-10
• Appearance: 6-18 inches tall with fragrant, single, or double flowers in lovely shades of pink, red, white, or yellow.
• Scent: Strong, spicy fragrance
• Planting: Sow seeds or plant seedlings in well-drained soil in full sun. Space plants 6-12 inches apart.
• Maintenance: Deadhead regularly to prolong blooming and prevent self-seeding. Cut back leggy plants after flowering to promote health. Divide the clumps about every two or three years to maintain vigorous growth.
• Depending on the precise cultivar, Dianthus can be perennial, annual, or biennial. Check your seed packet carefully.

The Takeaway: A Butterfly Garden Adds Charm and Vigor to Your Garden

If you hope to add a bit of beauty and life to your garden, planting a butterfly garden could be the perfect way to do it. With minimal effort and careful attention to your growing zone, you can create a butterfly-friendly garden that is both beautiful and beneficial to your plants.

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