Gardening for the Butterflies

Butterfly Attracting
Herbs - Hosts and Larval

• Nectar Plants provide nectar for the butterfly to live on.
• Larval plants provide food for the caterpillar stage of the butterfly.
• You need both types in a butterfly garden. The larval plants are for the butterfly to lay its eggs on. The butterfly eggs will turn into a caterpillar, than form a chrysalis which will then transform into a beautiful butterfly! And the cycle continues.  

Butterfly Garden
HERBS:
• Basil (nectar)
• Chives (nectar)
• Dill (larval)
• Fennel (larval)
• Lavender (nectar)
• Mexican Mint Marigold (nectar)
• Mints (nectar)
• Oregano (nectar)
• Parsley (larval)
• Pineapple Sage (nectar)
• Rosemary (nectar)
• Thyme (larval)
• Tiny Tim (nectar)

Umbelliferous herbs provide nectar and act as larval host plants. Herbs in general are excellent nectar sources for butterflies.

Larval Plants (butterfly species noted):

• Achillea millefolium (yarrow). Painted Lady
• Anethum graveolens (dill). Black Swallowtail; Anise Swallowtail
• Foeniculum vulgare (fennel). Black Swallowtail; Anise Swallowtail
• Levisticum officinale (lovage). Black Swallowtail; Anise Swallowtail
• Mentha spp. (mint). White Peacock, Painted Lady
• Petroselinum crispum (parsley). Black Swallowtail; Anise Swallowtail
• Salvia spp. (sage). Gray Hairstreak; Painted Lady; West Coast Lady
• Tanacetum vulgare (tansy). Painted Lady
• Viola odorata (sweet violet). Fritillaries

Nectar Plants:

• Achillea millefolium (yarrow) 
• Allium schoenoprasum (chives)
• Chamaemelum nobile (chamomile)
• Coriandrum sativum (cilantro)
• Lavandula spp. (lavender)
• Mentha pulegium (English pennyroyal)
• Mentha spp. (mint)
• Nepeta spp. (catmint)
• Ocimum basilicum (basil)
• Origanum laevigatum (oregano)
• Origanum majorana (marjoram)
• Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary)
• Salvia spp. (sage)
• Thymus spp. (thyme)