Plants for a habitat garden serve the dual purpose of beautifying your home and offering a sanctuary to the wildlife of your choice. By carefully selecting the blossoms and berries in your garden, you can influence the species attracted to it.
Whether you prefer butterflies or bluebirds, monarchs or magpies, these plant profiles will help you choose the perfect mix of food and sanctuary to help your local bird and butterfly population thrive.
Arrowwood
This shrub, native to North America, produces flower clusters that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, as well as berries eaten by a variety of birds.
Aster, Michaelmas Daisy
A fall-blooming perennial, Michaelmas daisy adds a touch of pink, red, or lavender to your garden.
Bergamot, Bee Balm, Oswego Tea
Lilac-purple flowers are sure to entice hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees from midsummer to autumn.
Bloodroot
Named for the red sap in the underground stem, bloodroot is a very hardy wildflower, with white blossoms and large, scalloped leaves.
Butterfly Weed, Milkweed
The bright orange flowers of the butterfly weed are known for attracting butterflies -- they are a favored food source for swallowtails and monarchs alike.
Columbine
Columbine's sun-loving red-and-yellow flowers bring hummingbirds into your garden -- as a perennial, you'll see the beautiful birds and blossoms year after year.
Coneflower, Purple
In addition to being a lovely cut flower, the purple coneflower is frequently visited by butterflies and bees.
Flowering Onion
During the summer months, the rose-colored or white blossoms of the flowering onion draw in a plenitude of butterflies.
Gaillardia, Blanket Flower
With their red, orange, and yellow petals, blanket flowers provide a lovely backdrop for the butterflies they attract.
Garden Phlox
The star-shaped flowers of garden phlox bloom in spring, and add splashes of white, pink, blue, or lavender to your garden.
Geranium, Scented
Whether pink or lilac-white in color, scented geraniums are perfect for use in a perennial border.
Golden Alexanders
The yellow flowers that give this plant its name bloom during spring, and make a wonderful addition to a wildflower garden.
Goldenrod
A summer-blooming native of North America, goldenrod is a hardy plant that will provide beautiful yellow blossoms in full sun.
Lavatera, Rose Mallow
This perennial shrub grows in pink, red, rose, white, or bicolors from midsummer until early winter, and the darker colors are known to draw hummingbirds.
Lobelia
Hummingbirds love these scarlet, lance-shaped flowers, which bloom in summer's partial sun or shade.
Mayapple
Each spring, the mayapple's leaves grow out folded like an umbrella, bloom into a lovely white flower in summer, and bear rounded fruits in autumn.
Merrybells
Long, delicate bell-shaped flowers hang suspended from arched stems, preferring a woodland environment.
Prairie Coneflower
The mauve-pink flowers of the prairie coneflower can reach higher than five feet, and are frequently visited by bees and butterflies.
Primrose
Primrose's bright red to purple blossoms bloom in early summer, and make a dazzling addition to a wildflower collection.
Salvia, Meadow Sage
Hummingbirds and butterflies love the Midwestern meadow sage. Its flowers bloom late in summer, providing a stunning blue that is rare for the season.
Virginia Bluebells
An elegant wildflower, Virginia bluebells bloom a brilliant blue every spring, then die down by midsummer.
Wild Ginger
The heart-shaped leaves of wild ginger make for attractive ground cover, and its long-tailed, brown or reddish flowers arrive in early summer.
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