22 Butterfly Garden Ideas To Turn Your Yard Into a Haven

Butterfly gardens bring color and life to any outdoor space. They offer a peaceful place to watch butterflies while supporting nature at the same time.

Anyone can create a butterfly-friendly garden by choosing the right plants, thoughtful garden layouts, and beautiful decorations that welcome butterflies. These ideas can help people enjoy more butterflies and celebrate the beauty they bring to a garden.

purple coneflowers

Large and fragrant, coneflowers are a butterfly favorite. These daisy-like blooms bring nonstop butterfly action to your garden all summer long.

native Aster plants

You’ll love how these nectar-rich lavender asters draw in butterflies. Tuck them into your beds for easy late-season charm.

Pink Yarrow

Pale pink yarrow adds a soft, airy feel while providing a rich buffet for butterflies. Cluster them near walkways so you don’t miss the show.

Tall Sunflowers

What butterfly could resist a cheerful patch of sunflowers? Their open faces and rich pollen make them a fluttering favorite.

Bee Balm Flowers

Standing tall and packed with nectar, these bee balm flowers are a true monarch magnet. Add them to your mix for height and movement.

Alluring Agastache

Agastache, also called hummingbird mint, is a multitasking pollinator magnet. Its fragrant purple blooms are irresistible to butterflies and bees alike.

White Daisies

You can never go wrong with cheerful daisies—simple, sunny, and totally irresistible to butterflies. Their flat blooms make the perfect landing pad for pollinators on the move.

Shallow Water Dishes

Think beyond flowers—shallow water dishes with stones let butterflies safely drink. It’s a small touch that adds big appeal to your garden habitat.

Shasta Daisies and Sage

Pepper your garden with plants like Shasta daisies and sage to keep butterflies coming back. The mix of textures and nectar is their kind of paradise.

Coneflowers and Black-Eyed Susans

Coneflowers and black-eyed Susans team up in this lively garden corner. These nectar-packed perennials guarantee butterfly visits all season long.

Colorful snapdragons

Lush snapdragons in playful pastels not only add cottage flair—they’re a butterfly buffet. Plant them in clusters for extra visual and pollinator impact.

Lavender Blooms

Lavender’s dreamy scent draws butterflies in droves. Let this fragrant favorite fill your garden and watch the wings flutter in.

Pink verbena

Notice the clusters of pink verbena? These blooms are nectar-rich magnets for butterflies—and they’re low-maintenance too!

ornamental grasses

Want movement and pollinators? The soft pink tufts of ornamental grass add texture while nearby asters offer butterflies a landing feast.

Thyme Bushes

Neatly mounded thyme isn’t just pretty. Its tiny flowers are a butterfly buffet!

phlox clusters

Bright, bold, and butterfly-approved—these colorful phlox blossoms serve up nectar in style. Try planting in groups for extra flutter appeal.

Heliopsis helianthoides

False sunflowers, or Heliopsis helianthoides, bring cheer and pollinator power all at once. Butterflies won’t resist these sunny, easy-to-grow blooms.

Purple Aster Flowers

Light and airy purple aster flowers look light and airy in your garden and attract butterflies at the same time. Their delicate pink petals offer nectar in all the right places.

Light and airy cosmos bring a wildflower charm to your garden and attract butterflies. Their delicate pink petals offer nectar in all the right places.

Lovely Marigolds

Marigolds are bright and butterfly-approved! Their bold color acts like a neon sign for winged visitors.

Heliopsis Flowers

Sunshiny blooms light up this bed while inviting butterflies to linger. These yellow heliopsis flowers are practically irresistible to pollinators.

Butterfly Pea Vine

Give your butterflies a vertical treat with this vibrant butterfly pea vine. Its deep purple flowers are nectar-rich and beautifully unexpected.