Butterflies are more than beautiful. They’re also important pollinators and a food source for birds. Unfortunately, many species are in decline. The good news: you can help them while enjoying their presence in your garden or even on a balcony.
Certain flowers and herbs attract both adult butterflies (for nectar) and provide food for caterpillars. This guide covers the best plants for attracting butterflies, tips for making your space butterfly-friendly, and which species you might see depending on where you live.
Quick Summary: Attract butterflies by planting nectar flowers (milkweed, aster, coneflower, black-eyed Susan) and host plants for caterpillars (milkweed for monarchs, fennel for swallowtails). Herbs like lavender, basil, and mint also attract butterflies when allowed to flower. Avoid pesticides, install a butterfly watering station, and leave some overripe fruit out for species like red admirals. Read time: 10 min | Experience level: Beginner
Jump to: How to Attract Butterflies to Home | Best Flowers to Use | Best Herbs to Use | Butterfly Types | FAQ
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Why Attract Butterflies to Your Garden?
The visual beauty aside, there are a few very good reasons to want to plant flowers, herbs or veggies that attract butterflies to your home and garden.
Here are a few of the main benefits that convinced me to make my back yard vegetable garden a bit more hospitable for them (*note it works with container gardens also if you don’t have a garden plot):
- Many butterfly species are endangered or vulnerable and could use a little help.
- Butterflies are an important part of the food chain. For example, numerous bird species use caterpillars as food for their young, so pre-butterflies will also attract birds to your garden.
- Butterflies are important pollinators.
- They’re just fascinating! I love watching their behavior in the garden. If you have young kids, showing them the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly in your own back yard is a great opportunity to teach them about nature.
What Herbs Attract Butterflies?
Don’t think that just because you don’t have a large garden, you won’t have space for edible plants that attract butterflies.
You can grow an edible garden in pots, which will attract loads of butterflies, making it the perfect option if you only have a balcony or deck to work with.
In fact, you can even attract butterflies if all you have is a few window boxes. The secret? Herbs.
This guide to Growing your own herb garden isn’t just a way to elevate your cooking, but many of the species we like to use in our kitchen are also huge favorites among insects.
Herbs will attract different species of butterflies, but also bees, bumblebees and even hummingbirds, if those are native to your area.
You can find 8 examples of fantastic herbs to try, all of which flower, in the post on growing a herbal tea garden.
For the purpose of attracting butterflies, my own personal choices would be:
- Lavender (Lavandula sp.)
- Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
- Pretty much everything in the mint family: Mint (Mentha sp.), bee balm (Monarda sp.), catnip (Nepeta cataria) and more
- Coneflower (Echinacea sp.)
** Tip: The trick to sharing your herb garden with butterflies and other beneficial bugs is to harvest the majority for yourself, but allow some to go to bloom for the butterflies.
What Flowers Attract Butterflies?
When choosing flowers to attract butterflies to your garden, keep in mind that these winged insects don’t just come for the nectar. They also need tasty foliage for their young to feed on!
Some plants don’t produce flowers that butterflies like, but offer leaves that are ideal for caterpillars to consume in order to grow into healthy adults.
For example, European peacock caterpillars actually munch exclusively on nettle leaves. Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars adore carrot and fennel leaves.
Here are 9 popular flowers that attract these beautiful winged creatures:
- Milkweed (Asclepias sp.): Butterflies + caterpillars. Milkweeds are the host species for monarch butterflies. This is probably America’s favorite butterfly species of all, but also one in decline. A 2018 study showed female monarchs prefer the purple-blooming swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), which occurs in all but the westernmost states, Arizona and Mississipi. If you are from these states, you could always consider a milkweed variety native to your area
- Aster (Aster sp.): Butterflies + caterpillars. This is a great flower to grow in your garden because it blooms quite late, giving you a last boost of color to enjoy and butterflies some important autumn nutrients. There are plenty of species out there native to the USA, so have a look which works best for your area.
- Queen Anne’s lace or wild carrot (Daucus carota): Butterflies + caterpillars. As mentioned, swallowtail caterpillars love carrots, but letting your edible carrots go to flower is not ideal. It means the roots have bolted and won’t taste nice anymore. Wild carrots are the solution! You won’t be eating their roots anyway, so both you and your local butterflies can enjoy the lacey white flowers. Caterpillars can munch away on the leaves.
- Sunflower (Helianthus sp.): Butterflies + caterpillars. A big favorite among thistle butterfly caterpillars (painted lady), though unfortunately also the host plant for sunflower moths. The flowers are full of juicy nectar. And remember, there is more out there than just the common sunflower! Why not try the dark red ‘Chocolate’ cultivar, or go for a dwarf variety for small spaces like balconies?
- Daisy (Leucanthemum sp.): Butterflies. Try oxeye daisies, Shasta daisies, or any of your other favorites. Many are perfect to grow in pots, and they’ll attract a range of different butterfly species depending on where you live.
- Goldenrod (Solidago sp.): Butterflies (though also many small moth caterpillars). A huge champion among flowers that attract butterflies, most species are North American natives. The lovely yellow flowers will bring monarch butterflies, among many others, to your garden. (Bumble)bees and many, many other insects will also flock to it. A real powerhouse!
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta): Butterflies. If you think this species looks similar to Asters, sunflowers and daisies, you’re right. They’re all members of the large Asteraceae family, which features heavily on this list because butterflies just adore them!
- Stonecrop (Sedum sp.): Butterflies + caterpillars. A perfect option for dryer regions where you can’t water your garden as much and need to go xeric, this succulent flowers beautifully. It hosts Parnassius butterfly caterpillars and feeds a nice variety of adult butterfly species.
- Thistle (Cirsium sp.): Butterflies + caterpillars. Although they’re not very commonly grown as ornamental flowers, thistles are actually very important host and nectar plants for some butterfly species, like the common painted lady. And they do actually have beautiful flowers that would do great in a little wildflower section in your garden! Many species are native and bloom purple, pink or cream.
I’d also like to mention that it’s always a great idea to look up endangered butterflies and see if any are native to your area. Who knows, if you find out and plant their specific host plants, you may be able to make a small difference!
Did you know? Your first thought when it comes to flowers that attract butterflies may be to go for a butterfly bush. The common name kind of says it all: the genus Buddleja is extremely popular among our winged friends. Its purple flowers are very decorative and smell nice, but there’s one problem. The plant is extremely invasive and actually illegal in some states now. Grow with care!
How Do You Make Your Garden Butterfly-Friendly?
It’s not just flowers and edible host plants for their caterpillars that will attract butterflies to your garden!
Some key ways to make your home a comfy place for these bugs to stop by include:
- Avoid pesticides! That includes making sure any new plants you buy haven’t been treated.
- Install or DIY a butterfly house. Rachel Hoskins offers a step-by-step on making your own butterfly house if you want to go the DIY route. Otherwise, check out this cool insect hotel from Amazon...I’m going to try one of these this year!
- Make a butterfly watering station using a shallow pan (an old frying pan works great) filled with sand that you keep moist. You could even include a mineral block for them.
- If you have fruit trees, leave some of the overripe fruit on there if it doesn’t attract too many wasps. Cut and place anything from the fruit bowl that is too far gone in a sunny spot. Species like the red admiral love it.
What Butterflies Might You See in Your Garden?
Obviously, the types of buttterflies you’ll end up attracting to your garden vary by location. Assuming you live in the USA, though, some of the common ones you may spot include the following.
The list is by no means limited to the below, however, as there are loads of different species that may pop up, especially in more rural areas.
- Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta): Occurs everywhere in the USA and many other parts of the world!
- Eastern & western tiger swallowtail (Papilio sp.): Such a joy to see, their colors and patterns are amazing.
- Cabbage white (Pieris rapae): This invasive species is more of a pest, but it’s still quite pretty.
- Painted lady (Vanessa cardui): One of the most widespread butterflies in the world.
- Mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa): One of the earliest to wake up in spring. They like various tree species.
- Spring azure (Celastrina ladon): Very small, but they’re difficult to overlook due to their bright blue wings.
FAQ
Milkweed. Monarchs lay eggs exclusively on milkweed, and caterpillars feed only on milkweed leaves. Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is particularly preferred by female monarchs.
Yes. Herbs like lavender, basil, and mint attract butterflies when allowed to flower. Use window boxes or containers. You don’t need a large garden.
Harvest most for yourself, but allow some plants to bloom. The flowers provide nectar for butterflies and other pollinators.
Nectar plants feed adult butterflies. Host plants feed caterpillars. Some plants (milkweed, aster, sunflower) serve both purposes.
It attracts butterflies effectively, but it’s invasive and illegal in some states. Consider native alternatives like milkweed, coneflower, or goldenrod.
Fill a shallow pan (an old frying pan works) with sand and keep it moist. Butterflies drink from muddy areas to get minerals and salts. If a butterfly lands on you, it’s probably attracted to the salts in your sweat!
Not very long: some live as little as 2 weeks, though others can make it to just under a year. This is why it’s important to also provide host plants for caterpillars. That way your garden butterflies can reproduce and you can enjoy them throughout the season.
For detailed information on growing specific fruits and vegetables, check out this category of over 40 growing guides.
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I had a butterfly land on me out in Az last year it was so cool . i believe when butterflies are near so is a deased love one