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The Butterfly Garden
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 Enlarge photo
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The centerpiece of the Butterfly Garden is this whimsical bronze Butterfly Girl by sculptor James Hall, set amidst colorful beds of plants highly attractive to butterflies--and visitors.
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 | Blue Perennial Salvia
Blue Perennial Salvia (Salvia x superba 'Blue Queen') features rich deep-blue-purple flower spikes so dense that they can create a literal wall of garden color. The plants are compact, grow 12-15 inches tall and 15 inches wide, and bloom in early summer and then again before frost. Considered one of the best of the garden sages, it's terrifically attractive to butterflies.
|  | 'Superbells Red' Calibrachoa
Closely related to petunias but having smaller flowers and a much neater habit, varieties of the Calibrachoa species are often erroneously called "Trailing Petunias." They are extremely vigorous annuals that are filled with blooms from spring through summer. They like fertile, well-drained soil and grow 7 inches high with a 6-20-inch spread. Varieties come in blue, pink, coral pink, and white.This plant is superb either in the garden or in containers.
|  | 'Lanai Blue' Verbena
Butterflies love verbenas, and verbenas are especially easy to grow in the Ozarks. This variety is 'Lanai Blue'. It grows 8-12 inches tall, spreads to 3 feet wide, likes full sun and well drained soil, and blooms from May until frost. It's said to be an excellent container plant, too.
|  | White Trailing Lantana
An abundance of pristine white flowers and a trailing habit make White Trailing Lantana extremely popular as a ground cover, in hanging baskets, and as a cascading plant in raised beds and over retaining walls. It grows 8-12 inches tall and 3-6 feet wide, loves full sun, and is heat tolerant. An annual in cold climates, it may carry over in milder winters.
|  | Lantana
The common Lantana (Lantana camara) is a flowering shrub that grows beautifully in the Ozarks. The flower clusters of the Lantana shown here, which may be a cultivar or hybrid, are a colorful mix of red, yellow, orange, and white florets that change color even during a day. Native to the tropical Americas, Lantanas are related to verbena and sometimes called Shrub Verbena. Many colorful hybrids and cultivars are available. All are attractive to butterflies and bees, and birds love to eat the berries. This common Lantana grows as wide as four feet and as tall as 4-6 feet. The shrubs can be pruned to keep them under control. They are not hardy in the Ozarks.
|  | 'Autumn Joy' Sedum
'Autumn Joy' Sedum (Sedum 'Autumn Joy' or Hylotelephium 'Autumn Joy') is wildly attractive to butterflies, bees, pollinating wasps, and birds. A superb perennial for borders or rock gardens, it grows to 18-24 inches tall and as wide and is dense with salmon pink blooms in September. Also drought-tolerant and deer-resistant, it's a winner all the way.
|  | Escapade Red Verbena
It's only beginning here, but the recently introduced Escapade Red Verbena (Verbena sp.) is a winner for its exceptional profusion of brilliant red flowers. It grows into a mound 6-10 inches tall and 12-18 inches wide. It prefers full sun but also does well in partial shade, and will take dry soil. As you might guess, it's also perfect for hanging baskets.
|  | Dwarf Phlox
Dwarf Phlox make it possible for gardeners to have a touch of the old-fashioned feel of beautiful phlox flowers where limited space would rule out planting larger varieties. We suspect this one is the variety 'Light Pink Flame' (Phlox condensata 'Light Pink Flame'), shown here with chicken-wire protection against rabbits, Ii grows to 16 inches tall with a 12-14 inch spread. Dwarf Phlox bloom earlier earlier and for a longer time than most garden phlox and if deadheaded often will rebloom.
|  | Melampodium
Many gardeners call it Medallion Plant, Butter Daisy, or Star Daisy, but most know it as Melampodium from the species name Melampodium paludosum. No annual we know blooms more profusely, its small star-shaped flowers covering the plant thickly from early spring to fall. It grows to 24 inches high in an attractive, neat, compact mound.
|  | Butterfly Weed
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is an colorful perennial shrub native to several states in the U.S., including Missouri. It thrives best in well-drained soil with lots of sun and grows 1-3 feet tall and a foot or so wide. Among its other charms, it's the host plant for the caterpillar of the Monarch butterfly. Its bright orange blossoms bright our highways and are finding increasing favor in home gardens, where it can be transplanted or grown from seed.
|  | Joe Pye Weed
Joe Pye Weed is a summer-flowering perennial valued for its towering presence in the garden, its large clusters of pinkish blossoms, and its almost singular attractiveness to butterflies. Given full sun and moist soil, it can grow as tall as 12 feet. The stems are hollow, so large plants may require staking. The plant gets its name from Native American herbalist Joe Pye, who's said to have used it to cure fevers. The name is applied to several members of the Eupatorium species; this specimen happens to be Eupatorium purpureum.
|  | Ninebark
Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) is a striking shrub with long, graceful, arching canes and pink-white flowers in early summer that attract birds and butterflies. It grows 5-8 feet tall and 4-6 feet wide and does well in full sun to half-shade. An excellent accent plant that tolerates drought well. This plant is labeled 'Diabolo' Ninebark but probably is not, as 'Diabolo' has deep reddish-purple leaves.
|  | 'Red Cardinal' Weigela
'Red Cardinal' Weigela (Weigela florida 'Red Cardinal') bears an enormous profusion of vivid crimson, trumpet-like flowers in early spring, making it a real eyecatcher in the garden. Thriving in full to partial shade, It grows to 6 feet or more in height with a similar spread and gracefully arching branches. Bonus: Like all weigelas, it's terrifically attractive to hummingbirds.
|  | Threadleaf Blue Star
Threadleaf Blue Star (Amsonia hubrichtii) is a standout in any garden by virtue of its very fine, delicate foliage and a great profusion of tiny, light blue flowers. A native plant, it grows to 3 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide, blooming in May and June. It likes sun or part shade and is drought tolerant. A Big Bonus: The foliage turns a spectacular golden yellow in the fall.
|  | Blue Fortune Agastache
|  | Butterfly Weed
|  | Pentas
|  | Purple Butterfly Bush
|  | White Butterfly Bush
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