Plant List for Marta’s Butterfly Garden

Plants were selected for the butterfly garden with priority given to those with the following characteristics and criteria.  

• Perennial.  These plants have proven to be excellent performing and reliably hardy in our region.

• Prefers full sun - At least 6 hours of direct sunlight.

• A source of nectar for pollinators.

• A host plant for butterfly larvae.

• Native to the midatlantic region.

• Aesthetic beauty.

The following list are the plants we selected with the common name listed first and the botanical or latin name in parenthesis.

• Moss Phlox - (Phlox Subulata) - A low growing, mat forming evergreen perennial that comes in numerous different colors.

• False Sunflower or Oxeye - (Heliopsis Helianthoides)  - A clump forming perennial that grows to three feet tall and wide and  in vibrant colors of yellow, orange, and red.

• Butterfly Weed - (Asclepias Tuberosa) - A tough, drought tolerant, clump forming perennial that grows to two feet tall and wide and blooms in shades of orange or yellow.  In the milkweed family so it is a host plant for the monarch butterfly caterpillar.

• Swamp Milkweed - (Asclepias Incarnata) - A clump forming perennial that grows to three feet tall and wide with pink flowers.  This plant is extremely attractive to monarch butterfly caterpillars.

• Spotted Beebalm - (Monarda Punctata) - A drought tolerant, clump forming perennial that grows to two feet tall and wide with unusual yellow and spotted purple flowers.

• Scarlet Beebalm - (Monarda Didyma) - A narrow growing aromatic perennial to three feet tall that is slowly spreading to form colonies with scarlet red flowers.  It is extremely attractive to the ruby throated hummingbird.  

• Lantana - The common name is also the botanical name. - A small shrub with multicolored blooms.   It is native to the tropical regions of the Americas so it is not winter hardy in the midatlantic region.  Grown as an annual or as a potted plant in our case. 

• Dark Towers Penstemon or Beardtongue - A clump forming hybrid  perennial that grows to two feet tall and wide with light pink flowers and reddish foliage.  Although Dark Towers is a hybrid plant the parentage is native to North America.

• Hoary Skullcap - (Scutellaria Incana) - A clump forming perennial that grows to two feet tall and wide with violet blue flowers.

• Blazing Star/Gayfeather - (Liatris Spicata) - A clump forming perennial that  grows to three feet tall and two feet wide with purple or white flowers. 

• Anise Hyssop - (Agastache Foeniculum) - A clump forming perennial that grows to three feet tall and two feet wide with lavender or purple flowers and .  It has fragrant licorice scented leaves.  There are numerous hybrid varieties. 

• Georgia Aster - (Symphyotrichum georgianum) - A clump forming and slowly spreading perennial that grows to three feet tall and wide with purple flowers.   Like most asters it blooms in fall.  Although native to the southeastern US it is winter hardy in our region.  There are many other varieties of aster native to the midatlantic region. 

• Blackeyed Susan - (Rudbeckia Fulgida) - A clump forming and slowly spreading perennial that grows to two feet tall and wide with yellow orange flowers with a black center.  The very similar Rudbeckia Hirta is the state flower of Maryland.  We selected the hybrid variety American Goldrush. 

• Threadleaf Tickseed/Zagreb Coreopsis - (Coreopsis Verticillata) - A slowly spreading perennial to one and a half feet tall with bright yellow flowers.

• Purple Cone Flower - (Echinacea purpurea) - A clump forming perennial that grows to three feet tall and wide with purple flowers.  There are numerous hybrid varieties with a wide range of colors.  

• Common Sneezeweed - (Helenium Autumnale) - A clump forming perennial that grows to two feet tall and wide with orange/yellow flowers. 

• Mountain Mint - (Pyncanthemum) - A spreading perennial that grows to three feet tall with silvery green flowers.  It is consistently rated as one of the top pollinator attractor plants for the eastern US.

• Yarrow - (Achillea Millefolium)  - A clump forming and slowly spreading perennial that grows to two feet tall with numerous flower colors.  There are many hybrid varieties.

• Garden Peony - Paeonia Lactiflora) - A clump forming perennial to three feet tall and wide with a wide variety of colors.  Garden peonies are not native to the United States but are widely grown for there numerous beautiful flowers.