Dream Plants to Attract and Support Pollinators

Allium (Allium tuberosum) – a white-flowering perennial; also called garlic chives; attracts monarchs and other varieties of butterflies, as well as bees; an edible herb; typically blooms August to September; has fragrant leaves; is deer and drought tolerant

Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) - an easy-to-grow native perennial with fragrant leaves that smell like anise and mint; fantastic for attracting hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and other pollinators; its lavender blooms appear in late spring, summer, and fall; can be grown in garden beds or containers; makes a great addition to cut-flower arrangements, is drought tolerant and deer and rabbit resistant

Aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) - an herbaceous perennial that blooms with blue-purple flowers and has balsam-scented foliage; also known as fall aster, their August-to-September blooms attract fall butterflies (especially the checkered skipper species) and birds; is a preferred nectar source for many butterfly species; is drought and poor soil tolerant

Autumn sage (Salvia greggii) - the late Lisa Stanley’s favorite flower; also called greggii, red salvia, red Texas sage, or hummingbird mint; a hardy perennial; Lisa always said this plant’s clear blue-red flowers do not clash with any color she tried; closest to a “plant once and walk away” plant; the drier the better; smells like mint; attracts butterflies, birds, and hummingbirds; blooms in late spring and again in fall; deer resistant; a fast grower

Azalea (Rhododendron) – a perennial flowering shrub; three-season interest; pink, purple, or red flowers; non-white-colored azaleas attract swallowtails and grey comma butterflies as well as hummingbirds; keep soil moist but not wet through summer and fall

Bee balm (Monarda didyma or fistulosa) – a perennial wildflower in the mint family; pink or lavender flowers; fragrant leaves; good cut flower and dried flower; attracts butterflies, pollinating insects, insects that control garden pests, and hummingbirds; also called horsemint, Oswego tea, and wild bergamot; can be used in teas; tastes like a cross between spearmint, peppermint, and oregano

Big-sage (Lantana camara) - an annual; white, yellow, orange, red and purple blooms, often mixed in the same cluster; also known as wild-sage, red-sage, white-sage, or tickberry; low maintenance, drought and poor soil tolerant; attracts butterflies; ‘Miss Huff’ variety is favored by monarch butterflies

Black and Blue Sage (Salvia guaranitica) - an herbaceous perennial beloved for its gorgeous cobalt blue and black blooms that emerge from black whorls along its tall flower spikes; boasts lush, green, fragrant foliage; excellent for adding dark, dramatic contrast to any garden, but especially a pollinator garden attracting butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds; provides sensational season-long, heat-loving color for full-sun beds and borders; is heat and drought tolerant and deer resistant

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia subtomentosa) ‘Little Henry’ – also called sweet coneflower; a vigorous, but very manageable perennial; full to part sun; somewhat drought tolerant; attracts hummingbirds as well as butterflies

Bluebeard (Caryopteris) – a perennial with striking deep-blue flowers that blooms from late spring through fall; prefers full sun; fragrant foliage; once established, needs only occasional watering

Blue mist flower (Conoclinium coelestinum) – a native hardy ageratum; reseeds with abandon, but volunteers are easy to pull out; monarch butterflies love this wildflower

Blue porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensus) – an annual in our zone; blue flowers, monarch and gulf fritillary butterflies love it

Bog Sage (Salvia uliginosa) - also called blue spike sage; this perennial is a tough, long blooming, easy-to-grow sage that flowers for months with compact spikes of rich sky-blue flowers; recipient of the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society in Great Britain; attracts butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds

Bronze fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) – a perennial, edible herb; can be used as a substitute for green fennel in any recipe or combined with French tarragon; a popular host plant for the anise swallowtail and Eastern black swallowtail

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) – native perennial shrub; unique white flowers; attracts swallowtail and monarch butterflies, bees, and other pollinators

Cape plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) ‘Imperial Blue’ – an annual; blooms from spring to fall; low maintenance; drought tolerant and, once established, needs little watering; good for attracting butterflies both as a larval host for some species and food supply for others; deer resistant

Catmint (Nepeta) - an easy-to-grow, highly reliable, and long-living perennial; blooms in spring, summer, and fall with typically lavender flower spikes and has fragrant mint-scented foliage; attracts bees, butterflies, hummers, and other pollinators; is drought tolerant and deer, disease, and rabbit resistant

Celosia (Celosia) – an annual also called cockscomb flower; unusually striking flowers; blooms fall and summer for up to 10 weeks; full sun; excellent cut flower, low maintenance; heat and drought tolerant once roots are established

Columbine (Aquilegia) - a resilient native perennial wildflower that blooms in spring; gorgeous flowers that attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds; drought tolerant and deer resistant; in addition to being a perennial, it also spreads by reseeding

Coneflower (Echinacea) - a Tennessee and North America native perennial wildflower that readily attracts bees, butterflies, and birds; is drought tolerant; goldfinches love munching on their seed heads in winter; fertilizer not needed

Coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris) – a native perennial also called tickseed, tall tickseed, or tall coreopsis; blooms July through September; a yellow, daisy-like flower with a brown center; low maintenance; good cut flower; full sun

Cosmos (Cosmos sulphurems) – an annual; attracts monarch, painted lady, and other butterflies; try orange ‘Cosmic’ cosmos

Cuphea (Vermillionaire) – also called cigar plant or large firecracker plant; an annual that loves heat and sun; orange, red, or yellow flowers; easy maintenance; continuous bloomer; heat and drought tolerant; favored by bees and hummingbirds

False Indigo (Baptisia) - a non-invasive, native wildflower perennial with gray-green leaves and beautiful spike heads of indigo-blue flowers that typically appear in mid spring; also called wild indigo; makes a great cut flower, and its unique foliage can be used throughout the growing season in cut flower arrangements; relatively drought tolerant after its roots are established; can be toxic to humans and animals

Goldenrod or stiff goldenrod (Oligoneurm or solidago rigidium) – perennial; yellow flowers; monarch butterflies love it; thrives in inhospitable soils

Greggii’s mistflower (Conoclinium greggi) –an annual; a hard-to-find, less-hardy ageratum, but monarch butterflies adore it

Heliotrope (Heliotropium aborescens) also called common heliotrope or cherry pie plant – an annual; fragrant blue-purple or white flowers; good nectar source for butterflies later in the summer; great for containers

Jasmine (Jasminum officinale) –an annual outdoors or dwarf varieties make excellent indoor houseplants in the winter; a less well-known butterfly attractor, jasmine also attracts beneficial insects such as honeybees

Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum or purpureum) or spotted Joe Pye weed or trumpet weed – a native perennial; pale pink-purple flowers that smell like vanilla; a low-maintenance full-sun to partial-shade plant; attracts monarchs and other butterflies with its sweet nectar; maculatum has more foliage and flower heads than the wild purpureum variety; named for the American man who pioneered using it to help people suffering from typhoid fever

Lantana (Viburnum lantana) - an extremely resilient, drought and heat tolerant annual in East Tennessee; continuously blooms in a wide array of colors; attracts butterflies, but not monarchs; can be grown in garden beds, containers, and hanging baskets

Lavender (Lavandula) - a highly aromatic perennial herb beloved by bees, butterflies, and other pollinators and prized for its medicinal and floral appeal in humans; highly drought tolerant once its roots are established; widely used as a fragrance in toiletries; makes a great addition to cut-flower arrangements; can be used in cooking and tea; when inhaled, its essential oil is used to foster a sense of calm, relaxation, and as an aid against insomnia

Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha) – a low-maintenance, drought tolerant annual; blooms are purple, white, or a combination of the two; a magnet for butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds; native of Mexico

Mexican firebush (Hamelia patens) - an annual; coppery-orange, red or salmon flowers; full sun, loves heat; somewhat drought tolerant, but prefers regular moisture; attracts songbirds and hummingbirds as well as butterflies

Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) - a native perennial, also called common milkweed; over 30 varieties; a critical plant for monarch butterflies (which not surprisingly are known as milkweed butterflies); American ladies, and other butterflies also love milkweed, as well as beneficial bees and pollinating wasps; the nectar is so sweet it was once used by Native Americans as a sweetener

Moonflower vine (Ipomoea alba) - a low-maintenance, easy-to-grow, annual in East Tennessee; a prolific vine that blooms at night with huge, fragrant, white flowers; each bloom lasts one night; attracts moths such as the sphinx moth (shown in the photo above) and hummingbird moth

Passionflower vine (Passiflora incarnate) – a vigorous native perennial; also called maypop, purple passionflower, true passionflower, wild apricot, and wild passion vine; blooms with intricate lavender and white flowers from mid summer to early fall; produces edible fruit that tastes similar to guava; many butterflies use passionflower as a host plant, including: gulf fritillary, zebra longwing, crimson-patch longwing, and red-banded hairstreak; drought tolerant; can self-spread with great abandon

Pentas (Pentas lanceolata) – an annual blooming in pink, magenta, lilac, or (less commonly) red or white; one of the best butterfly attracting plants and, in the red ‘New Look Red’ version, attracts hummingbirds as well; also known as Egyptian star flower or Egyptian star cluster

Red salvia (Salvia splendens) ‘Faye Chapel’ or “Patio red’ – an annual; vigorous, fast grower; a butterfly and hummingbird magnet; prefers afternoon shade and good drainage; cut back occasionally to promote bushiness

Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinallis) - an aromatic, perennial evergreen shrub in the mint family native to the Mediterranean Sea area, Portugal, and Spain. It was brought to Britain by Roman armies, and its name Rosmarinus comes from the Latin ros maris or ‘dew of the sea’. Rosemary provides an early nectar source for emerging spring bees, such as bumblebees and masons. Going back to ancient times, it symbolizes remembrance

Rue or common rue (Ruta graveolens) also called herb-of-grace – a hardy evergreen perennial, herb, and ornamental plant; one of the oldest garden plants; a host plant for the caterpillar of the largest U.S. butterfly: the black swallowtail and also for the Old World swallowtail; has been used as a medicinal herb and as an insect repellent; most cats dislike the smell

Summer snapdragon (Angelonia angustifolia) – an annual; white, pink, blue, lavender and purple flowers; long, 4-6 week flowering season; attracts butterflies and hummingbirds; is a good bedding plant or as filler in containers; deadheading is not necessary, but cutting will encourage more growth

Verbena (Verbena bonariensis) – an outstanding annual for a pollinator garden; also called purpletop vervain; a bumblebee, monarch butterfly, and checkered skipper butterfly favorite

Wild black cherry tree (Prunus serotina) – a host plant for swallowtails, coral hairsteaks, and red-spotted purple butterflies as well as cecropia moths; can grow to 70 feet so plant accordingly; can also be grown in a container

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) - a resilient, highly drought tolerant, North American native perennial; attracts butterflies, bees, and other insects, making it a great addition to a pollinator garden; great as a beneficial companion plant for herbs, and as a soil builder for planting around food-producing trees

Zinnias (Heliantheae angustifolia or elegans hybrid) - an annual; The Chicago Botanic Garden calls zinnias the easiest to grow flower; are low-maintenance, heat-loving, and drought tolerant after their roots are established; support hummingbirds and butterflies such as swallowtails, orange sulfurs, silver-spotted skippers, Western tiger swallowtails, and painted ladies

Zinnia-Zowie! yellow flame  (Helianthaea elegans) - an annual; features gorgeous magenta-orange centers with yellow tipped petals; a heat-loving plant; blooms during the summer when many flowers are finished: can bloom June through Thanksgiving; is a long-lasting and eye-catching cut flower