Butterfly Gardens - Open House for Butterflies


Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp,
 but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

butterfly garden by Jan Johnsen 

This is why a butterfly garden should be in everyone's life.  
In the photo above, I planted 'Lucky White' Lantana and purple Callibrachoa to attract the summer butterflies....they love lantana! Plant lantana in all its ice cream colors and you will have an open house for butterflies.



Mexican sunflower and butterfly - photo by Jan Johnsen
Also perennial coneflowers, agastache, bee balm, chrysanthemums are butterfly attractors. 
 These all have nectar, a butterfly's delight.
 So if you have a sunny open spot, some shelter from wind and fresh water (butterfly puddles) then plant some butterfly flowers and enjoy a bit of happiness.
luscious citrus blend lantana
Cherry Lantana





And a great partial shade plant- a tall shrub -  that butterflies love is Bottlebrush Buckeye!



Here is a wonderful butterfly garden plant list from the Farmer's Almanac: 

Common NameLatin Name
AlliumAllium
AsterAster
Bee balmMonarda
Butterfly bushBuddleia
CatmintNepeta
Clove PinkDianthus
CornflowerCentaurea
DaylilyHemerocallis
False indigoBaptisia
FleabaneErigeron
Floss flowerAgeratum
Globe thistleEchinops
GoldenrodSolidago
Helen's flowerHelenium
HollyhockAlcea
LavenderLavendula
LilacSyringa
LupineLupinus
LychnisLychnis
MallowMalva
MilkweedAsclepias
MintMentha
PansyViola
PhloxPhlox
PrivetLigustrum
Purple coneflowerEchinacea
Rock cressArabis
SageSalvia
Sea hollyEryngium
Shasta daisyChrysanthemum
SnapdragonAntirrhinum
StonecropSedum
Sweet alyssumLobularia
Sweet rocketHesperis
TickseedCoreopsis
ZinniaZinnia









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