One of the pleasures of gardening is to take the time to stand and look around you and enjoy what you have created. You can admire the flowers and vegetables you have grown and you can also watch the birds and butterflies that visit your garden. The number of flying visitors will to a large extent depend on the plants you grow. Jill Staake who worked for several years in a butterfly garden and so knows a thing or two about which flowers attract swallowtails gives us the benefit of her wisdom in an article which I found on the Birds and Blooms website.
Every butterfly gardener delights when showy swallowtails make an appearance. These butterflies are some of the largest in the garden, and their colorful wings and soaring flight patterns make them a treat to watch. After working for several years in a butterfly garden in Florida, I?ve learned which flowers swallowtails seem to gravitate toward the most and now I?m bringing those insider tips to you. (Psst! They work for other butterflies, too.)
Monarda didyma, zones 4 to 9
Often grown for the minty citrus scent of the leaves, bee balm has striking tubular flowers that swallowtails can?t resist. Native to the eastern?U.S.?and Canada, it doesn?t often tolerate the extreme humidity of southern summers, but it thrives everywhere else.
Why we love it: Swallowtails love it, but deer typically stay away, which is always a bonus!
Vernonia sp., zones 5 to 9
Many native wildflowers are attractive to butterflies, and ironweed is no exception. A late summer bloomer, ironweed sends flower stalks up to 7 feet with fuzzy purple flower clusters at the branched ends. For best flowering, be sure to provide moist soil.
Why we love it: Ironweed is a long bloomer. It lasts well into fall, providing
nectar for the last butterflies of the season.
Go to the next page to see more plants to attract swallowtails
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Amy Hines Braddock
Beautiful!
Not 10 plants I see I only see 4 very disappointed
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