Creating space in your garden to increase the butterflies you want to see is pretty easy. Butterflies love nectar, so you want to select flowers that they can feast on throughout the seasons. In addition to adding butterfly-friendly flowers to your garden, you are also going to want to consider flowers caterpillars enjoy, too.

According to the Butterfly Conservation, “Butterflies and moths are indicators of a healthy environment and healthy ecosystems.” Not only will they bring a beautiful aesthetic to your home garden, but they provide much-needed science, educational, and economic value to your home and community.

Butterfly-Friendly Flowers To Add to Your Garden

To attract butterflies to your garden, it’s best to include a range of food sources. You’ll need flowers with nectar (for adults) as well as “host” plants for caterpillars, according to Farmer’s Almanac. Also, be aware of where you place your flowers, too. Butterflies enjoy lots of sun, so you want to ensure that your flowers are front and center in the sunniest spot in your yard. Here are the flowers to consider adding to your garden for maximum butterfly attraction:

English Lavender

This plant has a range of benefits, and it’s a must-have for any garden. Not only do they smell amazing, but they are butterfly-friendly as well. Butterflies love the rich nectar that lavender produces, and they also enjoy its purple flowerheads. While there are several types of lavender plants, the English Lavender tends to be the most fragrant, which makes butterflies happy.

Sunflowers

These flowers offer so much goodness to nature. While the butterflies love the nectar from this flower, birds love the seeds! Sunflowers are also easily accessible for butterflies and are loved by caterpillars as well.

Milkweeds

This is a plant that is loved by both caterpillars and butterflies. It’s best to plant these flowers in October or November so they can be ready for the following season. Female butterflies will lay their eggs on this plant, so if you want to see more butterflies, this is a great plant to add to your garden.

Dill

Believe it or not, butterflies love dill. Not only is it a delicious herb you can plant and eat yourself, but butterflies and caterpillars flock to it. In fact, it’s considered a “host” plant for butterflies, meaning that this herb will hold the babies of the female butterfly.

The Farmer’s Almanac also suggests that you give butterflies an area to sunbathe in. Consider adding a birdbath to your yard as well for your new butterfly friends. When butterflies are in the wild, they like to gather around puddles to collect minerals. In return, as that water evaporates, they leave valuable salts that are important to your garden. Consider adding some flat rocks for butterflies to rest on, too. Your garden will be a haven for butterflies in no time.