Small-space gardens: Blooming containers coax butterflies to feast

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on March 09, 2012 at 5:44 PM, updated March 09, 2012 at 6:48 PM
BUTTERFLY.jpgThese plants will grow well in containers, and butterflies will love them.
Like self-propelled flowers drifting on the breeze, butterflies enliven a garden with colorful motion. While a large garden filled with a diversity of flowering plants will certainly invite butterflies to come explore, you can still entice these jewel-like creatures to the smallest of spaces by growing the right selection of flowers in containers.

Container gardens filled with nectar-rich blooms can transform any balcony, patio, porch, deck or small yard into a culinary haven for butterflies. But not just any nectar flower will do. The nectar must be easily accessible.

A butterfly feeds by sipping nectar through its uncoiled, tubelike tongue, known as a proboscis. Some butterfly species have long tongues, while others have short ones. The length of the tongue will ultimately determine the type of flower a butterfly visits. As such, you'll attract more butterfly species by growing a smorgasbord of nectar-rich flowers of different floral shapes. Best choices are plants with daisylike blossoms -- such as cosmos, chrysanthemum, rudbeckia and zinnia -- as well as penstemon, salvia and other blooms with bell-shaped or tubular flowers.

Keep in mind that the amount of nectar a flower produces can vary within the plant species. Sometimes more fanciful double-flowered varieties are bred to impress the eye and not so much the appetite. For best success, go with simple, single-flowered versions instead. Likewise, go with species plants whenever possible, rather than cultivars.


Just about any nectar-rich flowering plant, shrub, vine or small tree will grow in a container as long as the container has holes in the bottom to provide adequate drainage. Options include plastic, wood, metal, stone, glazed pottery or clay, as well as lightweight planters made of polyethylene, fiberglass resin or other materials.

Pots as small as 10 inches in diameter are fine for single-plant displays, but 18 inches or larger is best when growing shrubs, trees or multiple plants. Larger containers are also less subject to temperature changes, and because they hold more soil, plant roots stay moist longer.

Whatever container you use, be sure it drains well. If a pot lacks adequate drainage, add holes to the bottom. Elevating containers on pottery feet, bricks, stones or even an upside-down pot also helps improve drainage.


alyssum.JPGSweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
The same design elements that create visually appealing plant displays for people are also essential for attracting butterflies. The key is to balance unity with variety -- having some of the same colors and plant types in a container while still varying the heights, hues and bloom times. This will create multilayered and multi-season container gardens that appeal to many types of butterflies.

Plants arranged at varying heights also draw a diverse crowd of butterflies because they offer nectar flowers at different levels. One way to do this is by staggering your containers of butterfly plants by using bricks or concrete blocks as well as plant stands, pedestals, wood stools, chairs or even pots turned upside down.

This can also be achieved by mixing plants with trailing, bushy and upright growth habits -- either by grouping pots, each containing a single species, or by planting several species in one container.

For instance, grow a butterfly buffet featuring a chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus) with catmint (Nepeta) and trailing verbena (such as 'Homestead Purple') underneath. Feature spring-blooming snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus), dianthus, wallflower (Erysimum cheiri; E. x allionii) and sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima). Plant a perennial display with nectar favorites such as coreopsis, a dwarf scabiosa and liatris, fronted by a trailing sedum or creeping thyme. A container filled with summer phlox (Phlox paniculata), evergreen candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) and trailing geraniums (Pelargonium) also makes for an attractive combination.

Remember that a butterfly container garden isn't limited to patios, decks and entrance areas. Use potted plants to fill in bare spaces in a newly planted perennial bed or garden border. Use them along the edges of steps, to encircle a tree or to line a walkway or path.

However you decide to display your butterfly container gardens, one thing is certain: A group of containers in a bright, sunny area can go a long way to providing habitat for butterflies -- and a beautiful oasis for you.


There's a certain charm about window box butterfly gardens that sets them apart from other types of container plantings. They heighten a home's beauty by placing an enticingly gorgeous display of colorful nectar flowers right up on the house, and can also be attached to the inside railing of a patio or porch.

Plants that are appropriate in hanging baskets and smaller containers generally work well in window box gardens. Yet the options don't end there. Taller and larger specimens that might overpower a hanging basket become dazzling performers in a window box display.

Annuals work especially well as you can leave them in their original pots and simply pop them right in the box. As each annual ends its performance, take out the pot and replace it with another for a display that lasts through the seasons.


Background (large plants and vertical growers)

columbine.JPGColumbine (Aquilegia)
Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Astilbe (Astilbe)
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Columbine (Aquilegia)
Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum)
Crocosmia (Crocosmia)
Delphinium (Delphinium)
Dwarf sunflower (Helianthus)
Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana)
Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens)
Gayfeather (Liatris spicata)
Penstemon (Penstemon)
Sky lupine (Lupinus nanus)
Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)

Foreground (low-growing or bushy plants used as fillers)

dianthus.JPGDianthus (Dianthus)
African daisy (Osteospermum)
Amethyst flower (Browallia
Candytuft (Iberis)
Dianthus (Dianthus)
Dwarf aster (Aster)
Dwarf zinnia (Zinnia)
Floss flower (Ageratum houstonianum)
Gazania (Gazania)
Geranium (Pelargonium)
Impatiens (Impatiens walleriana)
Marigold (Tagetes)
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus
Salvia (Salvia)
Sea pink (Armeria)
Speedwell (Veronica)
Wallflower (Erysimum cheiri; E. x allionii)

Trailing (species that spill over the sides and front)

rosemossJPG.JPGRose moss (Portulaca grandiflora)
Caraway thyme (Thymus herba-barona)
Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia)
Creeping zinnia (Sanvitalia procumbens)
Dwarf periwinkle (Vinca minor)
Ivy geranium (Pelargonium peltatum)
Parrot's beak (Lotus berthelotii)
Petunia (Petunia)
Prostrate or trailing rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Rose moss (Portulaca grandiflora)
Scaevola (Scaevola)
Sedum (Sedum)
Verbena (Verbena)

-- Garden writer Kris Wetherbee is the author of "Attracting Birds, Butterflies & Other Winged Wonders to Your Backyard"