10 Perennial Plants That Attract Hummingbirds And Butterflies
10 Perennial Plants That Attract Hummingbirds And Butterflies
A garden that just sits there, looking pretty, is only doing half its job. The best gardens have visitors. Butterflies drifting from bloom to bloom, hummingbirds pausing mid-air for a sip of nectar, that low hum of life that no amount of clever landscaping can fake.
Bee Balm
Bright, spiky blooms in red, pink and purple make bee balm hard for hummingbirds and butterflies to resist. It flowers generously all summer, so the visitors rarely stop coming.
Coneflower (Echinacea)
Tough but pretty, coneflowers keep butterflies well fed with their daisy-like blooms, if you leave the seed heads standing after flowering.
Salvia
Tall spikes packed with nectar make salvia a firm hummingbird favourite. Butterflies show up too, drawn by shades of blue, purple, red and pink.
Lavender
People are drawn by the scent, but butterflies are just as taken with those tiny purple flowers. Once settled in, lavender asks for very little and gives plenty back.
Yarrow
Flat clusters of small blooms work like a landing pad for butterflies, and their flowering season runs long.
Black-Eyed Susan
Golden petals around a dark centre are hard to miss, even for butterflies, along with expecting a steady show of colour.
Phlox
Dense, fragrant clusters make phlox nearly impossible for butterflies to pass by. Pink, white, purple or red, every shade seems to pull in a fresh set of visitors.
Catmint
Soft lavender-blue flowers bloom for weeks on end, keeping butterflies and hummingbirds well supplied.
Penstemon
Those elegant tubular flowers seem almost built for hummingbirds, whose long beaks slip in perfectly, and even butterflies stop by often, killing two birds with one stone.
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)
Fiery reds, oranges and yellows give blanket flowers a serious presence, and butterflies notice. It has a long flowering season perfect for attracting these insects and birds.