Plants add beauty to your yard and can benefit birds and insects that help your garden thrive.
Butterflies and bees are important in cross pollinating many species of fruit trees and flowers.
Those insects are in search of nectar and it doesn’t take a large area to attract butterflies. Just a few plants can be attractive to beneficial insects.
Bright flower colors will attract butterflies almost year round if you plan ahead with a range of plants.
As a rule, small butterflies source nectar from small flowers and large butterflies prefer nectar from larger ones.
Start the flower show in spring with plants that flower early like Walters Viburnum trees, New Jersey Tea, and bottle brush plants.
It’s hard not to miss the vibrant pops of colors from clumps of Azaleas blooming everywhere around north Florida in early spring.. These acid loving shrubs are one of the earliest to show color and harken the warmer days ahead.
Some perennials thrive in shady areas but don’t expect much flowering beyond springtime.
Blooms from hostas, flowering gingers and firespike tend to go dormant in mid-summer compared to more of the sun soaking plants.
By summer expect to see blooms from Yellow Coneflower and Black-eyed Susan. Butterflies will hang around into fall with late bloomers that include False Foxglove,Golden Aster, and Horsemint.