If you love butterflies, you’ve probably wondered how you can attract them to your outdoor areas all year round. Having a healthy butterfly garden not only makes your home more attractive but also helps to maintain a strong and healthy ecosystem.

Pollinators such as butterflies will be attracted to your garden or backyard if you can provide them with open sunny spaces, shelter, as well as fresh water. But most importantly, your garden needs to have plant varieties that will provide food for butterflies during the different stages of their development.

Host plants are very important in any butterfly garden because they provide a place for the butterflies to lay their eggs, so you need to include different varieties of these plants in your garden. They also serve as a source of food for developing caterpillars once the larvae have hatched.

When the caterpillars develop into butterflies, you also need to provide them with food (in the form of nectar) if you want to keep them in your garden in the long run. So plants that provide nectar to these butterflies are a must-have.

Here’s a list of some of the plants you should consider growing in your outdoor space in order to attract butterflies:

Hollyhocks

Most people with cottage gardens love hollyhocks because of their carefree look as well as their large beautiful flowers. The flowers attract butterflies and bees throughout the year.

Butterfly Bushes

Butterfly bushes are large shrubs that produce irresistible flowers to butterflies. Even though they grow extremely fast, they’re very easy to take care of. There are several varieties available for you to choose from, but experts recommend that you go for varieties that can attract and keep butterflies in your outdoor space without being invasive.

Allium

You probably already know Allium as an edible herb that belongs to the onion family. However, did you also know that it’s a great pollinator plant too? Yes, that’s right. It produces bright, white, beautiful blooms that are very attractive to beneficial bees as well as butterflies.

Zinnia Flowers

If your garden landscape looks a bit dull, Zinnias are your best bet if you want to add vibrant colors to it. These annual flowers are also a favorite of many people who want to attract butterflies to their gardens.

Milkweed

Milkweed is very important for the survival of monarch butterflies. That’s because it’s the only host plant they prefer to lay their eggs on. And once the eggs hatch into larvae, the tiny caterpillars also use this plant as a source of food until they develop into adults.

Therefore, if you want to have a beautiful butterfly garden all year round, you need to grow milkweed to encourage monarchs to remain in your home. Note that there are more than 100 varieties of milkweed plants available throughout the world, so it’s very important that you choose the right variety for your local region.

Lavender

Lavender is a drought-resistant perennial plant that’s a favorite of many gardeners. Butterflies also love its scented, purple blooms.

Lantana

Lantana plants are annual shrubs that produce clusters of small, stunning flowers. They tolerate heat extremely well and come in various colors, types, sizes and growth habits. Some of the most common types are luscious grape and Miss Huff Lantana.

Lantana plants are a must-have in your garden if you want to keep your outdoor space bursting with beauty all year round and attract butterflies and other pollinators to it.

Black-Eyed Susan

This great flower was among the first wildflowers to be domesticated in North America. Its flashy golden-yellow flower head is both visually appealing and attractive to butterflies.

Goldenrod

This is another perennial plant to add to your garden if you want to attract butterflies. The bright, yellow flowers it produces add vibrant color to your home at any time of the day.

Phlox

This is a perennial plant that grows slowly and spreads forming a blanket of flowers in your garden. If you want year-round ground cover, Phlox is an excellent choice.

Sunflower

Most people love sunflowers because of their cheerful, bright yellow color. However, what you may not know is that they also attract and keep both butterflies and bees to your garden. Therefore, they’re worth planting in your outdoor areas.

 

Joe-Pye Weed

If you want your butterfly garden to remain lush and beautiful all season long, then consider planting Joe-Pye Weed. Apart from making your home visually pleasing, this amazing plant will attract numerous butterflies to your outdoors.

Aster

This perennial plant produces flowers of different colors that are very attractive both to human eyes and butterflies.

Azaleas

Azaleas can be found in several colors such as pink, red, white, yellow and purple. Spring butterflies such as swallowtails find the vibrant colors produced by this plant very attractive.

Sea Holly

This tough plant is a delight to many butterflies because of its beautiful blue flowers. It’s highly tolerant to drought, so if you live in a dry area, consider planting it in your garden.

Sedum

There are two main types of Sedum plants i.e. taller and low-growing varieties. The taller type thrives very well in perennial borders while the low-growing type makes excellent covers for rock gardens. Its succulent, thick leaves are able to withstand drought, making it suitable for those living in areas with little to no rainfall.

Chocolate Cosmos

This plant produces beautiful, dark-maroon flowers that smell like chocolate. Its pleasant scent attracts butterflies in large numbers to any garden.

Penta

Penta is a large plant that produces deep green leaves. Its stunning flowers sitting on top of the leaves are irresistible to hummingbirds and butterflies.

Heliotrope

The last plant on this list is heliotrope. It produces a very sweet scent similar to that of a cherry pie. Therefore, if you love the smell of cherry pie, you’ll definitely want to have heliotrope in your garden. It has dark-green foliage and large, purple flowers that are very attractive too.

All in all, attracting butterflies to your outdoor space is possible no matter where you live or the size of your garden. All you need to provide is fresh water, open sunny space, shelter as well as a food source (i.e. nectar-producing plants for butterflies and host plants for caterpillars). Feel free to grow any of the above plants in your garden to attract butterflies to your home all year round.