Can I tell you how happy I am that spring is finally here and I can start getting my gardens in shape? Each year I like to add a few new plants to the various flower beds around the yard. The last few years I’ve tried to add Plants that Attract Butterflies, hummingbirds, and honey bees. These are also known as pollinators. 
Adding plants that attract polinators like butterflies, hummingbirds and honey bees is so very important. Not only are they beautiful to look at but they provide an important and necessary role in polinating local produce, trees, and flowers.
One flowering perennial that I absolutely love (and so do the butterflies) is Homestead Verbena. This gorgeous plant grows super fast, spreads and loves being neglected! The blooms stay vibrant purple all summer long and into fall. 
Another plant that attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and bees in our yard is the Chasteberry (also known as Vitex). These grow very quickly and are quite popular in southeast Virginia. They can be pruned into small ornamental trees. They are most often mistaken for butterfly bushes which butterflies love also! 
Another perennial that butterflies love is daylillies. Day lillies are a fabulous choice in the garden because many varieties will bloom all summer long and they double in size every year.
I headed off to Lowes this week in search of all the new annuals and perennials that have come in. Buying quality plants is very important, especially if you are buying perennials. Perennials are more expensive than annuals and if you are going to spend the money then you should expect quality plants. I have always been very pleased with Monrovia plants. They can be found at Lowes and garden centers across the country.
I picked up 3 new plants that attract butterflies. The first one is a perennial that loves full sun called Dianthus. 
The second plant I bought is a different type of Verbena that will go in the backyard. This one is a bit more magenta and has white centers. It is called Upright Lanai Verbena. It is an annual and loves full sun too and bloom all spring, summer and fall! 
And the third addition to the garden is a plant that butterflies adore! It is Lavender. My car smelled amazing all the way home! Lavender will bloom during the spring and summer months. 
I was hoping to pick up more Zinnias (pictured below) for our flower beds but they weren’t quite in yet. Oh my, you should see how the butterflies, humming birds and bees flock to the vibrant zinnias! 
Here is a list of 20+ plants that attract butterflies:
- Alyssum
- Aster
- Bee Balm
- Butterfly Bush
- Chasteberry
- Cosmos
- Daylily
- Delphinium
- Dianthus
- Globe Thistle
- Hollyhock
- Lavender
- Marigold
- Nasturtium
- Oregano
- Phlox
- Purple Coneflower
- Queen Anne’s Lace
- Sage
- Shasta Daisy
- Stonecrop
- Verbena
- Yarrow
- Zinnia
You will love the beauty of all your new fluttering visitors when you add these plants to your garden. And you can take pride that you will also be making a positive impact on your local ecosystem by providing food and pollen for these essential pollinators.
Happy Gardening!
KIM
this is a good post we all need to be aware of thr bees and butterflys and birds, jusy one question are you sure thats last pic is cosmos, i thought that was zinnias xx
Oh good Lord! I didn’t label it that did I? Yes they are zinnias, of course. Thanks for catching that! My mind has been mush lately!
geeze i am not drunk just having a bad day typing not worth a poop lol xx
I love daylillies! We’ve filled the bed around our mailbox with many different varieties. 🙂
I can’t wait to see flowers in my yard! And I DO need to add a few more—thanks for all the terrific suggestions!
I’ve so excited to see that we have several of these plants in our backyard already! Yay!
I am sorry you recommend people to go to Lowes to buy plants, do you know that they aren’t certified to take care of their plants? Just water them is all they can do as well as any other box store out there. So buy from Your local growers/nurseries because you not only support local business but you are buying healthy plants!