10 Perfect Plants for Attracting Butterflies

This ornamental member of the onion family is a favorite among pollinators due to the abundance of flowers on each flower head. You’ll also love these perennials for their tall stems and beautiful blooms, which are generally purple, pink, or white. Adding these to your garden will not only enhance its beauty but also support the local pollinator population. Just plant the bulbs in the fall and get ready for a stunning spring bounty.

Aster, native to North America, is another perennial known for attracting pollinators. This sun-loving plant, which typically has a yellow center, features daisy-like flowers that may come in purple, pink, blue, or white and bloom during the late summer and autumn. This plant is perfect for bringing bursts of color to your garden while also supporting pollinator activity.

Another native plant to North America is the crowd-pleaser, black-eyed Susan. This colorful golden-orange wildflower will be a hearty addition to your butterfly garden. It enjoys full sun and can adapt to a variety of soil types. Black-eyed Susans bloom in mid-summer, adding a bright splash of color to your space.

A member of the milkweed family, known for their ability to attract pollinators, the butterfly weed comes by its name honestly. This drought-tolerant, sun-loving perennial begins showing off its bright orange flowers in the summer. However, don’t expect to see any signs of the plant until late spring—it’s a late bloomer. Adding butterfly weed to your garden is a great way to enhance its beauty and provide essential support to local pollinators.

Plant coneflower in your garden and watch as butterflies and bees arrive in late summer. This is another plant native to North America and known for its drought tolerance. Another bonus? Coneflower, which typically blooms in shades of lavender, will maintain its blooms for a long-lasting garden show throughout the fall, ensuring a vibrant display of color well into the cooler months.

You’re likely fully aware of the irresistible scent of lavender, so it probably comes as no surprise that butterflies are attracted to this perennial as well. With its tall, spiky purple blooms, lavender emits a fragrance that lends to its well-deserved reputation as a favorite bloom. This drought-resistant herb will be a welcome addition to your butterfly garden, generally blooming from late spring through the summer.

A long-time favorite for year-round ground cover, the phlox plant is also a favorite among pollinators. Known for its low-maintenance nature, this perennial ushers in a bounty of colorful, fragrant blooms starting in mid-summer. This is another plant that adapts to various soils with ease. The blooms come in a variety of colors, including white, red, salmon, purple, and lavender.

Salvia, considered one of the main saviors of the monarch butterfly, generally blooms in the spring—a critical time for beloved pollinators. Choose from different types—including Mexican salvia, Indigo Spires, and Mystic Spires—to produce a tall show of flowers, typically in purple or white. Adding salvia to your garden will provide essential support to monarch butterflies during their crucial springtime period.

Milkweed varieties are an important food source for monarch caterpillars as well as many other butterfly species. Therefore, they’re considered a vital addition to butterfly gardens. One of the hardiest varieties is swamp milkweed, which blooms in shades of pink and purple from June to September. This perennial can be counted on to attract a host of butterflies and bees alike.

Big and bold, the sunflower is a showy destination for butterflies. These annuals, with their traditional golden blooms, will stick around well into the fall and early winter, providing nectar for butterflies as they migrate south for the winter. You can also find these flowers in shades of red, orange, and brown, with varieties such as American Giant, Mexican, Baby Bear, Earthwalker, Strawberry Blonde, and Moulin Rouge, to mix things up a bit.