Butterfly Garden in Dallas

Trees

• Trees play an important role in butterfly gardens, providing food, shelter and protection for caterpillars. Red-spotted purple or white admiral caterpillars (Limenitis arthemis) eat Washington hawthorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) foliage. Suitable for USDA zones 3 through 8, this deciduous tree grows 25 to 30 feet tall and wide, and bears white, fragrant, early summer flowers. Another pretty, butterfly-attracting tree is eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), which grows 30 feet tall and 25 to 35 feet wide. Hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9, it bears pretty pink spring flowers and yellow fall foliage.

Shrubs

• Flowering shrubs can feed caterpillars and butterflies. Spice bush leaves (Lindera benzoin) feed spicebush swallowtail butterflies (Papilio troilus). This low-maintenance, spring-flowering deciduous shrub grows 6 to 12 feet tall and wide, and is hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9. Its blooms are yellow and fragrant. "Elf" dwarf mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia "Elf") is another butterfly magnet. Suitable for USDA zones 5 through 9, this evergreen shrub grows 3 to 4 feet tall and wide, and bears clusters of showy white flowers from late spring to early summer.

Perennials

• Butterflies love perennials that bear clusters of small florets, though some prefer particular species. Gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) gets food from to trailing lantana (Lantana montevidensis), which bears pink, purple and yellow flowers from early summer through fall. Hardy in USDA zones 8 through 10, this sprawling shrub grows 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide. "Little Joe" Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium "Little Joe"), suitable for USDA zones 3 through 9, feeds painted lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui). Growing 3 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide, it bears purple summer flowers.

Annuals

• Providing nectar throughout their long flowering seasons, certain annuals are very useful in butterfly gardens. Two that are very attractive to butterflies are partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata), bearing yellow flowers from summer through fall, and dianthus Allwood hybrids (Dianthus × allwoodii), that bear fragrant salmon-pink flowers from early to late summer. Partridge pea prefers a full-sun site, while dianthus tolerates full sun or partial shade. Both plants grow 1 to 3 feet tall and wide. Hardiness is unimportant as annuals die in fall or winter.

Garden Design

• Butterfly gardens should attract butterflies and be pleasing to the eye. Trees and tall shrubs provide much-needed shelter from wind and, planted at the back of borders, green backgrounds for flowering plants. Plant flowering perennials and annuals toward the front of borders where butterflies feeding on nectar will be easy to see, and group plants with similar flower colors together, as this is attractive to people and butterflies. Don't forget to include a seating area for relaxing on those mid- to late-summer days, when butterflies are most active.