Cook A true butterfly garden needs to have nectar sources for adults, host plants for larvae to feed on, and shelter, which can be provided by any number of plants. If your neighbors don't object, butterflies also love mud, fresh manure, and rotting fruit. A. foeniculum x rugosa 'Blue Fortune' is particularly easy to grow. Y Aster spp.
Many different species are good for butterflies.
Other Asters are perennials that die back to the ground every winter. Asters are also host plants for Pearl Crescent. N,Y Buddleja davidii - Butterfly Bush. Other Buddleja species are also great, but B. davidii is the best in my experience. Also enjoyed by hummingbirds.