DWARF BLUE BUTTERFLY BUSH, LICORICE MINT, COLUMBINE,
KNIPHOFIA, GRAPPENHALL LAVENDER  and YARROW 

Gardens brimming with birds, butterflies and other wildlife provide a healthy environment for plants and people. Diversity is the watchword for wildlife gardening.  Plants of different heights, colors, and different bloom times provide habitats needed for resting, reproduction, hibernating and feeding, which will attract the maximum number of different kinds of visitors.

While the plants are an important aspect of a wildlife garden, there are other ways to make these beautiful creatures part of our garden. For instance,  butterflies tend to like it warm and planting a diverse habitat will help to give them places to, not only, spend the night and find moisture, but also to bask. In Rick Mikula's excellent book Garden Butterflies of North America, he writes of the need Butterflies have for basking in the sun. Since their internal muscles must warm to 80 degrees for flight, providing light colored basking areas lets them rev up their engines faster. He suggests a butterfly waterless pond. He makes his in the shape of a butterfly, but any shape will do. You make an indentation in the soil, line it with plastic, add a few similar in size light colored stones or sand and stand back. He adds that if morning dew collects the butterflies will find this moisture when they come to bask.  Of course, the sidewalk will work too, but it is not as much fun.

Please don’t spray the garden with chemical pesticides or systemics.  Even natural controls can harm birds and butterflies. The goal is to create a balance where nature takes control. Oh, and, watch the Bug Zappers. They kill night flying moths, but don't do any damage to daytime flies and mosquitoes.

The following six plants are a start for making your garden, not only a successful wildlife habitat, but also a successful garden. These six plant are rated zone 5 through 11.

DWARF BLUE BUTTERFLY BUSH (Buddleia davidii):

These bushes, sometimes called summer lilacs, are really butterfly airports. Their sweet, honey fragrance attracts butterflies of all kinds. Dwarf Blue is one of the tidier butterfly bushes. However, the title dwarf is misleading because it is the leaves and the flowers that are small and not the overall size of the bush.

Because the leaves are smaller the bush tends to grow a little slower and this slow growth creates a better formed shrub. While the other davidii's need yearly or bi-yearly pruning, this bush only needs occasional pruning of dead branches or for a little shape. If you garden in zones 5 or 6 they will probably die back in the winter and you will prune them off to the ground like other butterfly bushes. Dwarf Blue Butterfly Bush is hardy to zone 5, tolerant of blazing hot sun, and able to grow in heavy soil with adequate drainage. Dwarf Blue Butterfly Bush is not really blue either. But, it must have a touch of blue in it because it goes well with pinks. Planted with Magic Carrousel Miniature Pink Roses, it makes a great haven for all of us. A great way to involve kids in the garden is to introduce them to butterfly gardening. Like all endeavors, the more you or your kids know about the different kinds of butterflies and their habits, the more interesting their world will become. 

Butterfly bushes are also a favorite of hummingbirds, which contrary to popular belief, actually do visit flowers that are not red. Other birds are also attracted to the protective branches for nesting and for perching on while surveying for insects.

Licorice Mint: (Agastache foeniculm)

Not a mint and not true licorice, this plant, also known as Anise Hyssop, adds the aroma of licorice candy to the garden. Tall spikes of sweetly scented Agastache foeniculum provide perfect perches for birds on the look out for insects. If the flowers are allowed to go to seed, the finches will have a feast and new seedlings will sprout the next spring.

Butterflies, including Swallowtails, Monarchs and Skippers, have also been sighted enjoying these nectar rich flowers.

COLUMBINE (Aquilegia caerulea):

If the flowers stalks are allowed to make seeds, the plants will self-sow and new little columbines will sprout.  Columbines like afternoon shade in hot summer areas (those that see many dry 100 degree days) and plenty of water.

KNIPHOFIA UVARIA (Red Hot Poker):

Not to be outdone by the Orioles the hummingbirds get pretty possessive of the nectar rich flowers, but no matter how much the little hummers buzz around they cannot run off the Orioles. 

Kniphofias bloom in early spring and it takes a few blooms before the Orioles show up. If the flower stalks are allowed to make seeds, the finches will come and feed on the seeds which are encased in a sticky wrap that helps them stay on the stalks well into fall.

GRAPPENHALL LAVENDER (Lavandula x intermedia):

At about 3 feet in bloom, Grappenhall is on one of the largest zone 5 lavenders. Its sturdy branches provide perches for small birds on the look out for insects. Grappenhall blooms in late spring for about four weeks.  In that time, the bees and butterflies will have a field day and the air will be sweetly scented.

When it is through blooming, remove the spent flower stalks. If buds are still left on the stems, these can be stripped and used for any number of craft projects.

For lavender care and tips, please visit this page.

COLORADO YARROW (Achillea millefolium):

No wonder butterflies like yarrow. It blooms all the time. It is hardy from zone 3 and is fairly drought tolerant. With its blooms it grows to a lanky 18 to 24 inches. Shearing it back to the ground a couple of times a year keeps it producing fresh blossom heads. Colorado Yarrow is a seeded mix that usually provides mostly deep pink flowers but it can also have some creams, golds and lighter pinks. It stands up to intense summer sun better than some pastel varieties. The intensity of color is important in a yarrow because it helps to attract the butterfly from a distance.

Additional Butterfly Nectar Plants: Hollyhock, Licorice Mint, Hyssop, Mint, Gaillardia, Rudbeckia, Bee Balm, Lavender, and Rue

Additional Butterfly Larval Food Plants: Fennel, Dill, Caraway, Parsley, and Hops.

Books to read: 
Attracting Butterflies and Hummingbirds to Your Backyard

Garden Butterflies of North America

The Butterfly Garden
How to Spot a Butterfly

Butterfly Gardening:
Creating Summer Magic

Hummingbirds: Their Life and Behavior

The Wildlife Herb Garden Six Pack contains the six plants in this article.
The Wildlife Herb Garden Kit contains these same six plants and Attracting Butterflies and Hummingbirds to Your Backyard.
And, for large spaces, try our value priced  36 Pack Butterfly Attractor Assortment.

Substitutions in Herb Garden Six Packs
are made with appropriate plants when necessary.

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