Butterfly Garden

If you want to attract butterflies to your garden, you need to know which butterflies are local and what plants they like. Even more important, what do their caterpillars like to eat? Butterfly caterpillars or “cats” can be found nibbling on the leaves of Asters, Anise, Carrots, Dill, Fennel, Milkweed, Parsley, Parsnips, Snapdragons, Sunflowers, and Violets.

That’s okay, as they won’t cause any significant damage.

In my Northeast Pennsylvania garden, these are the butterflies I would expect to see Brush-footed, Swallowtails, Gossamer winged, Metalmarks, Whites and Sulfurs and Skippers. Find what's common to your area here.

To attract these butterflies:

Plant	Perennial	Flower color	Bloom	Height	Sunlight	Note
Aster	Perennial	Blue, white, pink, purple	Late summer to fall	Dwarf: 12-18” Regular: 18-24”	Dwarf: Partial Shade Regular: Full Sun	Deer resistant
Bee Balm	Perennial	Pink, purple	Summer to Fall	36-48”	Full Sun and Partial Shade	Edible
Black-eyed Susan	Perennial	yellow	Mid-summer to Fall	18-30”	Full Sun and Partial Shade	Deer resistant
Butterfly bush	Perennial	Dark purple	Mid-late summer	6-10’	Full Sun	Deer resistant Shrub
Butterfly weed	Perennial	Orange, yellow	Late Spring-Midsummer	18-24”	Full Sun and Partial Shade
Coreopsis	Perennial	Yellow, pink, red	Summer-fall	10-24”	Full Sun and Partial Shade	Some varieties are Deer Resistant
Lilac	Perennial	purple	Early Spring	Most 4-8’ up to 30’	Full Sun	Shrub
Marjoram, Wild and Sweet	Wild-Perennial Sweet-Annual	Pink- purple	Midsummer to Fall	Wild 18-40” Sweet 4-6”	Full Sun	Can be invasive, Edible
Marigolds	Annual	Yellow, orange	Midsummer to Fall	Most var. 8-12”	Full sun	Attract Japanese beetles, repels rabbits
Phlox	Perennial	Pink, purple, white	Early summer to Fall	24-40”	Partial Shade	Deer resistant
Purple Coneflower	Perennial	Purple	Mid-late summer	2-4’	Full Sun to Partial Shade	Deer resistant
Sage	Perennial	Violet-blue	Mid-summer to Fall	2-4’	Partial Shade	Deer resistant Edible
Zinnia	Annual	Multiple colors	Mid-summer to Fall	To 40”	Full sun	Good in pots and for cutting