Butterfly Lifecycle Garden Kit: This new kit has been curated for the butterflies! It's chock full of larval host plants—including two kinds of milkweed for our beloved Monarchs—and a mix of plants that will provide nectar throughout the summer and into fall. Bloom times range from late April through October for beauty throughout the growing season. While these plants are busy supporting beautiful butterflies, the native bees, hummingbirds, and songbirds will also crash the party for a pollinator extravaganza that lasts all summer long!
Design Tips:
- Prepare your garden site (follow the link for details as well as information about plant spacing)
- A location with full sun or part shade and a moderate moisture level is ideal for this grouping.
- Group plants of the same species together
- Consider the height of each plant—position taller plants at the back and shorter plants at the front.
- Plant 1 feet apart
Kit Contents:
12 varieties, 24 plants in all. Details for each are listed below. Each is pictured to the left on your screen in the order in which they are listed (just after the photo of the Black Swallowtail caterpillar munching on Golden Alexanders)
Approximate Garden Size: 4' wide x 9' long or 36 sq feet
2- Black-Eyed Susan
2- Butterfly Milkweed
2- Columbine
2- Golden Alexanders
2- Hairy Beardtongue
2- Little Bluestem
2- New England Aster
2- Rose Milkweed
2- Switchgrass
2- Smooth Aster
2- Turtlehead
2- Wild Strawberry
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Medium-Wet, Medium, Medium-Dry
Height: Up to 3'
Bloom Time: June through October
Bloom Color: Yellow to orange
Deer Resistance: High
Attracts: Beneficial native bees, butterflies, and birds; seeds for birds in fall/winter
Pollinator Benefit: Larval host to Gorgone Checkerspot, Bordered Patch butterfly; good nectar source, valuable to native bees
Butterfly Milk Weed (Asclepias tuberosa )
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Medium, Medium-Dry, Dry
Height: 2'
Bloom Time: June-August
Bloom Color: Orange
Attracts: Butterflies and native bees
Resistance: Deer
Pollinator benefit: Larval host for Monarch butterfly, Grey hairstreak, Queens; good nectar plant
Help save the Monarch butterfly!
Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial, Shade
Soil Moisture: Medium, Medium-Dry, Dry
Height: 2 ft
Bloom Time: April through June
Bloom Color: Red
Attracts: Butterflies, bees, hummingbirds
Pollinator Benefit: Larval Host for Columbine Duskywing Butterfly
Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea)
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Sun, Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist
Height: up to 3'
Bloom Time: May-August
Bloom Color: Yellow
Deer: Moderate resistance
Attracts: Butterflies
Pollinator benefits: Nectar source; Larval Host for Black Swallowtail butterfly; Xerces Society ratings: Special Value to Native Bees (Recognized by pollination ecologists as attracting large numbers of native bees); Supports Conservation Biological Control (A plant that attracts predatory or parasitoid insects that prey upon pest insects.)
Lavender (Hairy) Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil: Well drained
Height: 1' to 3'
Bloom Time: June, July
Bloom Color: Pink, purple
Attracts: Hummingbirds, butterflies
Larval Host: Chalcedon Checkerspot, the Baltimore Checkerspot, and Edith's Checkerspot butterflies
Pollinator benefits: Excellent nectar source for butterflies, native bees, and hummingbirds; Xerces Society rates this as having Special Value for Native Bees and Bumble Bees
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Perennial Grass
Sun Exposure: Sun, Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil Type: Well-drained soil. Sandy, Sandy Loam, Medium Loam, Clay Loam, Clay, Limestone-based
Height: 2'-4'
Leaf color: green
Fruiting Time: May-August
Fruit: white, greenish-yellow seed heads
Attracts: Butterflies (a large variety of skippers); Birds with seeds and nesting material
Pollinator Benefits: Larval Host for Ottoe Skipper, Indian Skipper, Crossline Skipper, Dusted Skipper, Cobweb butterfly, Dixie skipper; nesting materials for native bees
New England Aster (Symphiotrichum novae-angliae)
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Wet, Medium-Wet, Medium, Medium-Dry
Height: 5ft
Bloom Time: August - October
Bloom Color: Purple
Resistant to Deer, Drought
Attracts: Bees, butterflies, birds
Pollinator benefit: Larval Host Plant for Checkerspot butterfly and various moths, late season nectar producer for all nectaring insects
Supports 105 Native Species
Rose Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Wet, Medium-Wet, Medium
Height: 4'
Bloom Time: June, July, August
Bloom Color: Pink
Resistance: Deer
Attracts: Butterflies, bees, hummingbirds
Pollinator Benefit: Larval Host for Monarch and Queen butterflies; excellent nectar source for other pollinators; Xerces Society identifies as Special Value to Native Bees and Bumble Bees
Smooth Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)
Native Perennial
Sun: Full, Partial
Height: 2–4'
Moisture: Medium-Wet, Medium, Medium-Dry
Soil: Sandy loam, clay loam
Attracts: Pollinators, butterflies, birds
Resistant: Drought
Larval Host Plant: Checkerspot & Pearl Crescent
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
Perennial Grass
Sun Exposure: Sun, Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry, Moist
Soil Type: Dry to moist soils. Sandy, Sandy Loam, Medium Loam Clay Loam, Clay, Limestone-based.
Height: 3'-6'
Leaf Color: Green
Bloom Color: Green, Brown
Fruiting Time: August-November
Fruit: White, greenish-yellow seed heads
Resistance: Deer
Attracts: Butterflies, Birds; Seeds eaten by ground-feeding songbirds and game birds; Provides cover and nesting material.
Pollinator Benefits: Larval Host for Delaware Skipper and Dotted Skipper; nesting materials for non-aggressive native bees
Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, Part Shade, Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist, Wet
Height: 1-4'
Bloom Time: July, August, September
Bloom Color: White, pink
Attracts: Butterflies, Hummingbirds
Pollinator Benefit: Larval Host for Baltimore Checkerboard Butterfly
Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Sun, Part shade
Soil Moisture: Dry to Medium-Wet
Soil Type: Thrives in a wide range of soils: acid to lime, rich to poor, sand to clay
Height: low, ground cover
Bloom Time: May-June
Bloom Color: White
Attracts: Butterflies & bees; berries attract birds and other wildlife
Pollinator benefit: Larval Host for Grey Hairstreak and Grizzled Skipper butterflies; early nectar source; good for native bees