Since the first plant that I placed in my meager garden, I've loved that breathless moment when a butterfly flits in and checks out my offering. That first plant that attracted them was a purple coneflower. Since then, I've discovered several others that never fail to bring in the floating dreams.
My biggest surprise was the Gulf Fritillary that is attracted to none other than our native growing vine, the passion flower. I learned that this beauty is exclusively dependent on the passion vine for the feeding of its caterpillar. So needless to say, I quickly set up a couple of "fritillary feeding stations" in my gardens.
One plant that I stumbled upon last season was what the seed packet called, "Mexican Sunflowers". They turned out to be four foot tall and strong enough to stay upright in the worst weather. They were a beautiful brilliant orange with a yellow center. And I never saw so many different types of butterflies on one group of flowers!! It was a mind-blowing show, day after day. Butterflies of all kinds covered this plant from sunup to sundown. Unfortunately, it is an annual, so I have to plant it again this year. But it's well worth it for the ensuing show!
