Attract Butterflies with Native Plants

Attracting butterflies can be easily be accomplished by using native plants. In my midwest location some of the best plants are Coreopsis, Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan) and Echinacae (Coneflower). Also planting parsley in the spring feeds the emerging caterpillars. I recently planted a butterfly/bee garden at a local school, that will be used as a teaching garden.

My Jr. Master Gardeners and Girl Scouts helped plant the garden. It was a wonderful experience. If you garden with children, planting a butterfly garden will give you a chance to teach the children about these marvelous little creatures, and explain how they go from caterpillars to beautiful butterflies.

By Lilly M from NW Michigan