In the old days, gardeners were advised to use bright reds and oranges to lure butterflies, but it turns out that pink, purple, lavender, and yellow work just as well. The key is to keep similar colors together. Butterflies are not very smart. A big jolt of color or fragrance is often necessary to get their attention. Orange or yellow contrasts nicely with purple, and many butterfly gardens use either purple and yellow or purple and orange as the basic color scheme.
Some flowers are much more eatable than others.
They need to have a lot of nectar as well as a butterfly-friendly shape. This native perennial weed is hardy through zone 3. The seeds are hard to sprout, so nursery-propagated plants are a better choice. Once planted, it likes to stay put. This hardy shrub has become so popular that nursery-grown plants are easy to find.