Butterfly Gardens

What better way to study the life cycle of butterflies than to have the flowers they favor right in your own garden?

While different butterflies have specific favorite host plants to lay their eggs on, most butterflies feed on flowers with large exposed landing sites, like sunflowers or zinnias, to easily obtain nectar. Butterflies are attracted to gardens with lots of color, especially bright, vibrant colors with striking contrasts.

Plants that attract butterflies during the day often attract the nocturnal moths during the evening hours. The following plants are often used in butterfly gardens:

Wildflowers
Milkweed (larval host plant)
Butterfly Weed (larval host plant)
desert aster
desert zinnia
Arizona zinnia
tithonia or Mexican sunflower
Joe-Pye weed
ox-eye daisy
gilias
verbena
Bigelow's Aster
Indian paintbrush
purple coneflower
phlox
desert globe-mallow (larval host plant)
Black-eyed Susan
any sunflower family member
coreopsis
liatris
pentas
Jupiter's beard
coral bells