Locations

Yard Waste
Recycling Center
Navigation

Plants for a Butterfly Garden

There are two categories of plants to incorporate into a butterfly garden; host plants and nectar plants.

Host plants serve as food for the caterpillars before they form their chrysalis. Nectar plants provide food for the butterflies.

It’s important to understand host plants will be munched on.

 

Monarch butterfly on bright orange Asclepias tuberosa flowers

Host Plants

Marsh Milkweed with clusters of rose-pink flowers and a butterfly perched on top

Asclepias

Purple Centaurea flower in full bloom with a soft green background

Centaurea

Dill

Fennel

Fennel

Parsley

Prunus Americana

Centaurea

Sassafras

Spicebush

Nectar Plants

A black and yellow swallowtail butterfly perched on vibrant orange and pink lantana flowers, with a blurred garden background.

Perennials

Astilbe

Aster

Agastache flowers with vibrant coral-pink tubular blooms and green foliage

Agastache

A vibrant garden bed filled with blooming Black-eyed Susans, their bright yellow petals and dark brown centers creating a cheerful summer display.

Black-eyed Susan

Bright yellow Blanket Flower Gaillardia blooms with green foliage

Blanket Flower

Colorful Dianthus blooms in shades of pink, red, and white

Dianthus

Nepeta Calamint with dense clusters of soft lavender-blue flowers

Catmint

Heuchera

Purple and white columbine flowers with yellow stamens in bloom

Columbine

Red and white coreopsis flowers blooming in a garden

Coreopsis

Bright pink daylily flowers with yellow throats blooming in a garden

Daylily

Beebalm

Bright coral-pink Echinacea flowers with dark cone centers in full bloom

Echinacea

Close-up of blooming lavender flowers with silvery-green foliage

Lavender

Cherry Sparks Penstemon with bright red tubular blooms and green foliage

Penstemon

Close-up of Flutter Rose Pink Scabiosa flower with ruffled petals

Pincushion Flower

Sedum with rounded pink flower clusters and green foliage

Sedum

Pink and purple Salvia blooming in a garden bed

Salvia

Shrubs

Azalea

Butterfly Bush with bright magenta flower spikes and green foliage in garden

Aster

Caryopteris

Clethra

Low-growing Cotoneaster shrub with small white blooms and dense green foliage

Crotoneaster

Honeysuckle

Itea

Lilac

Flowering Quince shrub with vibrant coral-pink blossoms and glossy green leaves

Flowering Quince

Rhododendron

Korean Spice Viburnum shrub with clusters of fragrant white blooms and green foliage

Viburnum

More Articles on Gardening for Wildlife

← Return