I’ve always thought of butterflies as being little mobile flowers. Not only are they beautiful beings, but they are useful too. I like watching them flit around the garden and sip nectar from each tiny bloom. If you’ve recently got into butterfly watching, then you might be interested in ways to attract more to your garden. Here are 5 flowers that will attract butterflies.

5. Lilies

Day lilies, tiger lilies, calla lilies, and just about any type of lily is extremely fragrant, which tends to draw the butterflies in.

4. Freesia

Fragrant and available in many colors, freesia are perfect for creating gorgeous borders along the garden or lining the edges of a walkway. They are an excellent flower for containers on a patio as well. However, they are only hardy in zones 8 to 9, so they will have to be dug up or brought inside in colder climates.

3. Butterfly Bush

Available in purple, white, and orange, these flower-filled plants are butterfly magnets.

2. Bee Balm

Don’t let the name fool you, butterflies like this plant just as much as the bees do. 16 kinds of bee balm exist and nearly that many colors are available too. People also call this plant ‘bergamot’ or ‘horsemint’. The larvae of some butterflies use the leaves of this plant as a food source too.

1. Honeysong Purple Stokesia

This plant has a very long blooming period and butterflies flock to it. They are able to withstand drought and very hot weather, making them an excellent choice in climates with hot dry summers. Picking off dead blossoms will cause the plant to flower even more.

I hope one of these flowering plants appeals to you and helps you draw in more butterflies to your garden. What types of flowers do you currently have that the butterflies seem to enjoy most of all?

Top Photo Credit: Tafari

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Vanessa
2011-03-14T16:59:12.000Z
Here are some other ones that I know of: Butterfly Weed, Mixed Aquilegia Or Columbine, White Swan Coneflower, Liatris, Rubinzwerg False Sunflower, Goldquelle Black Eyed Susan, and Purple Coneflower