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[quote=Anonymous]Notes from a more impatient would be butterfly gardener, also pretty novice.

My first preference is native plants, but I will use non-natives as well as long as they are not known to be invasive.

Native perennial flowers visited so far in my garden:  Purple coneflower, coreopsis. My phlox did not do well and I planted very little but I see the butterflies heading for the big clumps at my neighbors.  On my list for next year. Some visitors to verbena hastata but I wouldn't plant again if all I wanted was butterflies.  I have butterfly weed (now more commonly called butterfly flower--asclepius tuberosa), but it is just now beginning to flower so jury is still out.  Same with New York ironweed, turtlehead, and native aster.  I have seen the stray butterfly or two on hardy geraniums (good for shade)  and verbena Homestead purple, but flowering has been too weak to judge long-term attraction.

Nonnatives: Verbena bonariensis (Lollipop)--definitely in the category of butterfly magnet.  I have just two and will definitely plant more.  A small noninvsive butterfly bush (Flutterbye Tutti Frutti) also in this category.  Find quite a few butterflies on Blue Wonder catmint.

Annuals:  Zinnias, again a magnet.

Host plants: Spice bush--doing really well with little care.  Learned later they can be challenging.  This is in partial shade--perhaps more difficult in full sun.  The aforementioned butterfly weed--will plant quite a bit more in a different location and hope it does better..  Turtlehead is a host plant but rarely serves that purpose in home gardens apparently.  I will try passionflower vine next year--it is host to 4 different species.  You have to be prepared for the plant to be completely devoured and looking unsightly until it pops back from the caterpillar ravages.

I actually have had more success in luring hummingbirds to my garden.  This has been a surprise--I thought it would be harder.

Here is a site I discovered recently with a lot of information on specific plant for butterflies.  The focus is on monarchs, but is good for butterflies more generally, as well as hummingbirds.  They have plants that attract both butterflies and hummingbirds, some of which I'll try next year.

http://monarchbutterflygarden.net/

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