Fare for Butterfly Fancy

Attracting butterflies to your garden can be as simple as planting these easy-to-grow nectar plants. These can be grown in all Zones:


Buddelia - “butterfly bush” produces long spikes of fragrant flowers in deep butterfly-appealing hues.

Heliotrope – opens in the east in morning, turns west during the day, and back to the east during the night to meet the morning sun.

Lantana – exotic shrub featuring multicolored flowers; newer varieties bloom more continually than older varieties.

Milkweed – the common name for Asclepias, this wild-growing native plant grows randomly in fields and along roadsides.

Mint – easy-to-grow perennial herb. Butterflies prefer spearmint, peppermint and applemint. It’s perfect for limited spaces such as patios. Plant it in hanging baskets or flower boxes for attracting butterflies in urban areas.

Pentas – also called the Egyptian Star for its clusters of tiny flowers. These humidity-lovers will bloom all year if you pinch off the tips of the stems.

Porterweed – once thought of as merely a weed with flowers. It grows hardy and is a resilient bloomer of deep purple flowers when fertilized.

Verbana – rapid grower native in many regions, requiring little care. Butterflies are naturally attracted to its aromatic red and purple flowers, another “must have” for hanging baskets and flower boxes.

Zinnias – an old-fashioned favorite of blazing hues. They produce a feast of nectar that butterflies can’t resist. Even inexpensive seeds will produce robust flowers. For a shoestring gardening budget, they’re an absolute.