Five favourites: plants for butterflies

Butterfly numbers have been declining drastically in recent years, so it’s more important than ever to do what we can to encourage them back to our gardens. Luckily, there are plenty of plants that are well known to attract butterflies.

Here are five of our favourites, that we like to include in our own and our client’s gardens. Plus a few extra bonus plants at the end! And do check out our guide on gardening for butterflies for more easy tips on how to encourage them to your garden…

Echinacea purpurea

Often known as a “cone flower” (for, you guessed it, the cone shape of its flower!) Echinacea purpurea is a really stunning plant that looks great in a mixed border, or prairie style garden. Its “cone” is made up of hundreds of tiny flowers, each with their own source of nectar, so it’s very popular with butterflies and bees. There are so many varieties to choose from, one of our favourites is ‘White Swan’.

Tortoiseshell butterfly on Verbena bonariensis

2. Verbena bonariensis

Popular with garden designers, popular with gardeners and very popular with butterflies! Verbena bonariensis is an elegant plant with extremely tall stems, topped with tiny purple flowers, that keep blooming for months at a time. Butterflies love them and their long flowering period ensures a steady nectar source for months on end.

See our Verbena plant guide for more information about growing happy, healthy plants.

3. Buddleia

Buddleia, aka the butterfly bush, is well-known as one of the most popular plants for butterflies. However, it is a plant that can spread rapidly by seed, to the point where it can cause extensive problems – you often see it growing out of cracks in the sides of buildings, taking over on disused land, and especially growing along railways. If you’re planting buddleia, then choose a variety that has been bred to be easily contained. ‘Dream in purple’ is a beautiful variety, with similar flowers to the classic Buddleia davidii but in a cascading form that is less likely to take over. Take a look at our buddleia plant guide for more information on growing buddleia and suggestions of some other manageable varieties to try…

4. Ivy

Ivy is another plant that has a reputation for taking over, but it is absolutely invaluable as a nectar source when not much else is in flower. It’s popular with butterflies and with bees – the huge flower heads providing easy places to rest and plenty of nectar in the late Autumn months. As with buddleia, choose your variety carefully to make sure the plant doesn’t outgrow its space. Though ivy is often chosen as a plant for shade, growing it in full sun will get the best flowers, and provide the best resting spots for butterflies too. See our ivy plant guide to find out more about growing ivy.

5. Sedum

A gorgeous sun loving plant, with thick, glaucous leaves, topped with flowers in late Summer. The classic pink sedum, Hylotelephium spectabile is the most appealing to butterflies. This is a great plant for a gravel garden, for the front of the border, or for any sunny spot. It’s deciduous, so will die back over the Winter months and grow again in Spring – the newly emerging Spring shoots are one of our favourite things to look out for…

Bonus plants…

There are plenty more plants that are butterfly magnets, so here are a few extras if you’re keen to include as many as possible:

Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve,’ Hebe (‘Midsummer Beauty’ and ‘Great Orme’ are varieties that have been shown to be most appealing), Honeysuckle, Lavender, Lilac, Marjoram and Salvia. Common nettles are especially good both for nectar and for habitat, so do include a wild area of these if you can…