Need A Butterfly Magnet...?

I had an old farmer tell me one time that having a lot of butterflies around your yard or garden meant that it was healthy!

In keeping with that thought, I found a list over at the Farmer's Almanac that supposedly contains a number of plants that attract butterflies. If you have some of these plants, you should be in good shape. If you don't...but want to attract some, then maybe this list could help!

It's obvious: Butterflies and flowers were made for each other. As the poet pointed out, butterflies are flying flowers, and flowers are tethered butterflies.

In attracting butterflies to your garden, it's important to understand what they want most out of life: nectar. The ancients, who believed that nectar fell directly from heaven, named it after the wines of the gods. A butterfly's wish list also includes sunny open spaces, shelter from the wind, and fresh water.

For a nectar-rich flower border designed to satisfy these requirements, consider the plants listed below. Then invite a few butterflies over for a drink.

Beard tongue
(Penstemon)

Bee balm
(Monarda)

Butterfly bush
(Buddleia)

Catmint
(Nepeta)

Clove pink
(Dianthus)

Columbine
(Aquilegia)

Coral bells
(Heuchera)

Daylily
(Hemerocallis)

Larkspur
(Delphinium)

Desert candle
(Yucca)

Flag
(Iris)

Flowering tobacco
(Nicotiana alata)

Foxglove
(Digitalis)

Lily
(Lilium)

Lupine
(Lupinus)

Petunia
(Petunia)

Pincushion flower
(Scabiosa)

Red-hot poker
(Kniphofia)

Scarlet sage
(Salvia splendens)

Scarlet trumpet honeysuckle
(Lonicera sempervirens)

Soapwort
(Saponaria)

Summer phlox
(Phlox paniculata)

Verbena
(Verbena)

Weigela
(Weigela)

Here around my own garden, I've only seen a couple of butterflies...but I have to admit that I don't have any of these plants on the list! Guess I need to get some, huh?

What say we get some fresh coffee and sit outside before it gets too hot? The weather guy says the cooler weather is gone and HOT is on the way!