If you want butterflies, you need more than pretty flowers—you need a menu.

Butterflies feed on nectar, but their caterpillars are pickier. If you want monarchs, for example, you can’t just scatter a few blooms and hope—they need milkweed, and lots of it. Monarch caterpillars eat nothing else. No milkweed, no monarchs.

To turn your garden into a butterfly haven, plant a mix of nectar flowers for the adults and host plants for the next generation. Here’s what to grow:

Nectar Favorites (for adult butterflies):

• Milkweed (Asclepias) – Monarch magnet, great nectar source

• Zinnias – Bright, sturdy, and long-blooming

• Coneflowers (Echinacea) – Easy for butterflies to land on

• Lantana – Dense clusters of nectar-rich flowers

• Bee Balm (Monarda) – Fragrant, tubular flowers for long-tongued species

• Black-eyed Susans – Gold and easy to grow

• Joe-Pye Weed – Tall with umbrella-like purple blooms

• Verbena – Low-growing, nectar-packed purple blossoms

• Phlox – Vibrant colors and a sweet scent

• Blazing Star (Liatris) – Spiky purple blooms that butterflies love

• Ironweed – Late-season nectar source, especially for monarchs

• Goldenrod – Key fall source for migrating butterflies

 Host Plants (for caterpillars):

• Milkweed – Essential for monarchs

• Dill, fennel, and parsley – Host plants for swallowtails

• Passionflower – Loved by Gulf fritillaries

• Violets – A must for regal fritillary caterpillars

Butterflies also love warmth, shelter from wind, and safe places to rest. Avoid pesticides, even organic ones—they can harm the very pollinators you're trying to attract.

The more diverse and pesticide-free your garden is, the more butterflies will call it home.