Flowers, Beautiful Flowers

Butterflies love cluster flowers and hummingbirds frequent them as well. I think the easiest cluster flower to grow is Lantana...so easy and so pretty. There are many varieties available  in different colors, sizes and habitat forms. In my area north of Atlanta, there are several hybrids that can come back year after year if properly covered in the winter. Mulch heavily in winter and DON'T cut back the woody stems from summer growth until after frost the next spring. If you want them to return year after year, you will have the best luck with Mrs. Huff, Chapel Hill, New Gold, and Mozelle. Still try to protect other varieties and you may get lucky. If you get any snow pile on them in winter, move it. I learned the hard way this last winter about that. :(
Another easy grower is Black Eyed Susan. It even does fine in the clay, but really thrives in good soil. Dead head for more flowers. Or, you could leave the seed heads for the finches, they love them. You will get more flowers for the butterflies if you deadhead the spent blooms. I have heard great things about Aster for butterflies. I tried to grow them from seed this year with no success. I do plan to put some Aster out next summer. Zinnias are another easy flower that Butterflies love. The are easy to grow from seed. Taller varieties may need to be staked and try not to water them at night because they are susceptible to mildew. Mildew can be a real problem in the Southern U.S. If you water them at night, try to just water the soil around the Zinnia. Zinnia come an many colors and sizes. Purple Cone Flower is another great choice as well as Verbena. I am a big believer in Homestead Purple verbena. When the heat sets in, it still does well. Other varieties and colors are pretty, but not as dependable in the heat. Verbena likes rich, well drained soil. Also, there is a native plant in Georgia called Joe Pye Weed. It gets big, with large leaves and large flowers. The butterflies flock to it. You do need the room for it. You can buy seeds through online retailers. The commonly seen Butterfly Bush is not native to my area. If you grow it, just control it. It is also a host to the Common Buckeye butterfly - which could wipe out your bush. It will grow back.

I am growing host plants alongside my flowers in my large pots as well and my butterfly garden. I am growing, Dill, Parsley, and Milkweed. I started the Milkweed early so that it could be large enough to feed the Monarch Cats assuming we will have eggs again later this summer. For a weed, it sure can be finicky. It does not like too much water, too dry... blah. It needs to be fertilized and the aphids love it. It is hanging in there, but I wish it was doing better. I bought more plants today to put in a separate location. I buy what is labeled Butterfly Weed. I believe it is tropical milkweed. I don't have a Pipevine plant, but I want one so I can raise the Pipevine Swallowtail.  I would also love to raise the Zebra Swallowtail whose host plant is the Paw Paw tree. I think they can grow in my area, but I have never seen one. Butterflies also love Pentas and they love the flowers on the Milkweed/Butterfly Weed. I am also growing Veronica and Salvia.