Butterfly Weed Asclepias tuberoso and Buddleja Butterfly Bush

If you like to see butterflies in your garden, two of my two favorite butterfly plants are featured in this column. The first photo is this beautiful colorful red orange plant. Its common name is the butterfly weed. It is a species of milkweed and native to eastern North America. It is a perennial plant growing from 1-3 feet. The plant requiries full sun and prefers a dry, sand or gravel soil. I purchased two plants from a native plant retail store. I planted one in the butterfly/humming bird garden and the other plant in the native plant garden. In my experiences this plant is the most frequent plant that butterflies visit.

The second most favored plant is the butterfly bush, Buddleja. This shrub can grow up to 15 or more feet. The two photos shown above are taken at Weldon Spring Park, near Clinton, IL. The shrub in my garden grows to about 6 feet tall. The flowers are rich in nectar and often strongly scented. This plant as shown below grows in my garden on the shelf of the rain garden.