Native bees and butterflies prefer the garden beds of classic coral, which supports their presence near the ground. Its double flowers have a sweet fragrance, and it can be pruned to produce more blossoms in the early fall. Butterflies feed on Classic Coral, but you should beware of rabbits because they love to eat it. You can use a repellent to keep them away. These plants are not only attractive, but they also support important ecosystem functions.
Sedums
If you want your garden to attract bees and butterflies, consider growing sedums in your garden. The sedum family contains several species with a wide range of flower and foliage colors. For example, Iceplant, also known as Butterfly Stonecrop Sedum spectabile, has pinkish mauve flowers and grey-green leaves. Iceplant is a parent of the renowned hybrid S. Herbstfreude ‘Autumn Joy’, but it is much more attractive to bees.
In the middle of summer, honey bee colonies start to diminish, and they must concentrate on gathering food for the winter. Sedum spectabile, which flowers in late summer, is a great plant for this. Sedums are easy to grow and look great as groups in borders. Sedum flowers are accessible to honey bees, and their pollen attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Autumn Joy sedum, for example, is a garden perennial that is very attractive to bees and butterflies. These flower heads contain a high concentration of nectar, and are borne on large flat flower heads. These flowers attract hundreds of bees and butterflies to a garden. Afterward, the flower heads become dry and catch the snow on top. If you don’t have a sedum plant in your garden, you can buy a few at a time to increase their numbers.
Hollyhocks
In addition to being attractive and useful to hummingbirds and butterflies, hollyhocks are also a favorite for botanical dyers, as their double blooms make it difficult for pollinators to reach their nectar. Because they self-seed, you can save some flower stalks to grow more hollyhocks in the next season. In addition to being attractive, hollyhocks offer crafty opportunities, too. If you’re an artist or a crafty gardener, you’ll love making fairy dolls with the flowers or dying your own natural botanical dyes.
Another reason that hollyhocks are a great plant for bees and butterflies is that they are a favorite of pests, including slugs and other garden pests. Hollyhocks can be easily damaged by pests, but these are usually cosmetic in nature and can be treated with diatomaceous earth or organic slug and snail bait. Hollyhocks can be susceptible to hollyhock rust or powdery mildew if they are infested. To prevent reinfestation, use neem oil on the plant’s leaves and stems.
If you live in a zone with a hard freeze, you can grow hollyhocks as annuals. Otherwise, you can plant seeds in containers and overwinter them indoors. Hollyhocks are very hardy once they have become established, but you should be sure to water them from below to avoid damaging the delicate taproot. Once established, hollyhocks will tolerate drought conditions, but don’t water the foliage too much. The hollyhocks will self-seed if left unpruned.
Blazing star
Meadow blazing star is a superb plant for attracting Monarch butterflies and a variety of other pollinators. Its nectar and seeds are also attractive to Goldfinches and hummingbirds. Suitable for perennial borders, Meadow blazing star grows to heights of five feet in rich soil. Blazing stars tolerate summer heat but do not do well in wet soils.
The purple spikes that form the flowerheads of blazing stars are covered with tiny fuzzy flowers that are bursting with nectar. Blazing stars are native to North America and come in many species. The taller varieties tend to be less attractive to humans and may cause lodging, which is the bending over of a plant. However, all species of Blazing star are excellent plants for butterflies and bees.
Whether you’re looking for a low-maintenance perennial or a dazzling display of flowers, Blazing Star is a great choice. Blooms are beautiful and last well into the fall. Blazing star plants attract both butterflies and bees, and their slender flower spikes are especially interesting. This plant also attracts monarch butterflies. These beautiful insects visit the plant during their migration south.
Lavender
If you’re looking for a plant that attracts bees and butterflies, lavender is a great choice. The flowers contain a small amount of nectar. Honeybees are able to hold 50 microlitres of nectar in their stomachs, which means they’d have to visit 2,500 lavender flowers and spend around 3.5 seconds per flower. The difference is minute, but it adds up over thousands of flower visits.
Lavender is a classic bee plant that’s suitable for any garden. The scent of the flowers is attractive to both bees and butterflies. Lavender plants are semi-evergreen and attractive in city gardens. They’re also useful for medicinal purposes and aromatically as a flavor. Plant lavender in a sunny spot in your garden to attract bees and butterflies.
English Lavender is an excellent choice for those who want a plant that blooms early in the season. Its small, toothed leaves and fragrant flowers attract bees and butterflies. It can survive in zones 5 and up and produces blue flowers. Borage also makes a beautiful plant in pots and can be planted on decks. However, you should ensure adequate water supply for this plant.
Phacelia
If you want to attract bees and butterflies, you should plant a wide variety of flowers. The best choice is a native plant, such as monarch milkweed. Other popular native plants include catmint, viper’s bugloss, and milkweed. These plants are popular with bees and butterflies, and they thrive in zones three to eight. The flowers are attractive to both bees and butterflies, and they require little water once established.
The best plants for bees and butterflies include perennials that produce a large supply of pollen and nectar. You can plant single varieties, like cleome, which are particularly good for attracting bumblebees. Dahlias have flowers that attract both butterflies and bees. Dahlias like a sunny location and a dry soil, so be sure to store any tubers you may have in the winter.
Bumblebees love the blue thistle. It grows on stems up to one meter tall and has dense green leaves. During the high summer, it produces purple flower heads. These flowers are attractive to bees, and they can even attract butterflies and hummingbirds. In addition, bumblebees prefer plants that bloom on tall stems. The Pardon My series of bee balms are deer resistant.
Allium nutans
The true species of Allium is Allium nutans, which grows in China and Russia. It has large flower stems that are up to 45 centimeters across. The plant has many uses, and its leaves are edible. Allium nutans has a rhizome and grows well in a wide range of soil conditions. It forms clumps very quickly and likes free-draining soil.
This perennial is a great choice if you are looking for an attractive plant for bees and butterflies. Its blooms are two inches long and are surrounded by glossy green leaves. The foliage also acts as a deterrent to rabbits and hungry deer, and the plant forms a neat clump that catches pollinators. It also attracts bees of all kinds and is completely critter proof.
Blue wild indigo
The bright blue flowers of Blue wild indigo make it a great choice for butterflies and bees. Its foliage is pea-like and bluish-green. This butterfly plant is an important nectar source. This plant also attracts numerous bee species, including the Eastern Tailed Blue. It grows in a wide range of soil conditions and is not fussy about watering.
Baptisia australis, or false blue indigo, is a hardy perennial native to the prairies of North America. Its flower buds resemble those of lupines and last about three weeks. Its blue-green trifoliate leaves create a wonderful backdrop for other perennials. Baptisia’s seeds remain viable into winter.
Wild blue indigo is a perennial plant that grows up to two feet tall. Its flowers are fragrant and attract many species of bees and butterflies. Blue wild indigo flowers have pea-shaped, straight-up races. Their flowers are approximately one-half inch in diameter, and can range anywhere from 12 to 24 inches tall. Blue wild indigo flowers will bloom a year after transplanting to a larger container.