Flowers/plants to attract & help the Bee & Butterfly pop

I am looking to grow flowers/plants which would attract and help increase the bee & the butterfly populations.
To create a Bee and Butterfly friendly garden.
Any suggestions?
I prefer Perennials, or Annuals that re-seed themselves fairly easily.
We live in Kitchener, Ontario Canada.

love it, these lovely little creatures sure don't last long as there season is so short BUT, the pleasure and memories last a lifetime RH.

Don't know your Zone But there are plenty plants that the butterflies love and the in fact need to feed just to survive. Almost all plants that have trumpet shaped flowers attract butterflies but so do plants that the flowers open flat or in tight clusters no mater the size of flowers. The others that DONT give off food for those insects though are mostly Double flowering types, these have the nicest flowers BUT produce the least amount of polen that the butterflies need.

Plants to check for growing in your zone would be:

All flowers that have open Daisy type flowers. annuals, perennials and Biennials.
Fox Gloves, Biennials and can self seed.
Bluebells BUT these are out very early when few of those insects are about.
Erica (heathers)
Buddleia, large shrubs to small ones, various colours of flowers, can self seed.
Dianthus, (carnations) different coloured flowers) can propagate from cuttings)
Jasmine, climbers , cream, pink, white, red flowering ones.
Roses , all colours, even un-fragrant attract butterflies, all colours, climbers, shrub, bush, take you pick.
Syringa (Lilac) white, lavender, pink coloured flowering shrub.
lavender, white , pink, Purple, all perfumed and loved by Butterflies.
Lots of your native plants too.


These are just a few of the plants to look see if they can be grown and over wintered in your climate and soil type.

I think there may be a forum on this site for attracting butterflies, but for sure, there are books in the book store in the garden section on this subject and maybe your local library too.
Hope this helps you out a bit.
best Regards. WeeNel.,

Thanks for that great reply!! Lots to consider and check into there.
I believe that SW Ontario Canada is zone 5.

Honeybees see blue better than other colors, they have some vision toward the ultraviolet. They will work other colors, though.
They have short tongues, though, so open or very short tubes such as the mint family, and many legumes work best for them. They collect a lot of pollen as well as nectar. They need to perch to eat pollen and nectar, so open flowers like daisies are good. They are not very heavy, so can actually cling to most flowers.
Other bees, including native solitary bees may have different tastes in plants.

Other beneficial insects such as insects that prey on pests like aphids are another group that you can think about feeding. They still need to eat when the prey species is at a lower population level, so very small flowers that offer some pollen and nectar can help. Many of the plants related to carrot, dill, fennel and so on are good.

Hummingbirds hover, so do not need flat flowers, they can work the long tubular flowers that may droop. They see red best, but are attracted to other flowers.

Have a good look around and see what else is in bloom and at what time of the year.
If you can provide food when the other sources have stopped or have not yet started this would probably help the most, and attract the most wildlife to your garden.
Of course insects that live a pretty controlled life cycle will really only use the flowers during a few months out of the year. The rest of the time you might want to think about plants that caterpillars eat. For that, research what species are native to your area, and when the eggs hatch, and when the eggs are laid. Match your garden cycle to the life cycle of the butterfly.

I can give you the names of a few things that butterflies ADORE
Liatris 'Kobold'
Aclepsis (butterfly weed)
And of course Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)
Verbena Bonairiensis

Bees seem to be happy with most anything that blooms. However, there are a few things that are particularly appealing to them
Most any Salvia
Caryopteris
I think it's very important for bees to get things blooming as soon as possible. They need food after a long winter. So plant the earliest blooming flowers that you can. After that they will do fine as long as there's something blooming all the time m

To get things going quicker in your garden,
don't rule out annuals.

Perennials are great, but they don't mature
or bloom as soon or as prolifically as annuals,
in particular the first few years while becoming
established.

With annuals, oftentimes within 60 days of
planting seeds, you will have blooms.

My son is in Kitchener, so I keep up with
the weather there.

By now you could have started your seeds
indoors. Just saying :)

Butterflies love orange, yellow, their favorites,
but also other colors. They also like flowers
which look like "landing pads" :
Daisies, echinaceas, buddleia, sunflowers,
scabiosas, zinnias.

Bees, as noted above prefer blue or similar
shades, such as blue violet, lavender, etc.

Bees are color-blind in regards to red and
green.

Necrar sources for both bees and butterflies
include asters, nasturtium, herbs like mints,
monarda, basil, oregano,

Don't know if you are interested in hummingbirds,
but they are also great pollinators and are
attracted to many of the same plants already
mentioned in this thread.

Agastache, penstemon, lavendar, columbine, butterfly weed, liatris, ironweed, catmint, etc.

Asters , Clovers , members of the Legume family of plants . Mint family is always popular with the Bees .
My easy annual zinnia are always a popular with Both ,,

Most have already been mentioned but may I add Sedum Spectabile for late summer, ours are always full of butterflies.
And don't forget a patch for all the wild flowers. You can buy packets of mixed seeds and I think it is a kind of candy shop for all kinds of flying insects.