Native Butterfly Gardens

Native Butterfly Gardening in California

• Much of California's natural landscape has been replaced by residential development, including gardens full of non-native plant species. Unfortunately, beautiful, non-native plants do not provide suitable habitat for local butterfly species. Plant a native butterfly garden in California with several key flowering plants such as sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus), hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea), and bee sage (Salvia apiana). Known for its whitish-green foliage, bee sage is an aromatic species common throughout California, providing habitat for such butterfly species as California hairstreak (Satyrium californica) and chalcedon checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona), observed George Oxford Miller, author of "Landscaping with Native Plants of Southern California."

Native Butterfly Gardening on the Gulf Coast

• Butterflies live along the Gulf Coast year-round because of the abundant plant life and relatively warm temperatures characteristic of the region. Although many plants are appropriate for Gulf Coast butterfly gardens, some especially excel at attracting local butterfly species, including purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), mist-flower (Eupatorium coelestinum), and cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), states Marjorie Harris, author of "Botanica North America: An Illustrated Guide to Native Plants: Their Botany, Their History, and the Way They Have Shaped Our World." Among the most effective butterfly attractors is wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa). Known for its fragrant and showy lavender flowers, wild bergamot attracts butterfly species such as the black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) and silver-spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus), as noted by David Mizejewski.

Native Butterfly Gardening in the Northeast

• The northeastern United States is among the most densely populated and most developed regions in the country. Replace traditional landscaping and gardens with native plant species as an effective way of benefiting local wildlife, including butterflies. Species such as the broadleaf meadowsweet (Spiraea latifolia), slender mountain mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium), and black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia serotina) all attract butterflies, but spotted joe-pye-weed (Eupatorium maculatum) is attractive to the widest variety of butterfly species. Known for its large clusters of showy pink flowers, spotted joe-pye weed attracts tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucas), orange sulphur (Colias eurytheme), and monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterflies, according to Marjorie Harris.