How to attract butterflies to your balcony?

How to contribute to the well-being of butterflies?

• Butterflies love melliferous plants that contain plenty of nectar, and they adore the sun. To attract them to your balcony, place their favourite plants in a sunny spot, sheltered from the wind, and wait!
• Butterflies are also attracted to wildflower beds, which grow in a jumble, with vibrant colours, fragrant or aromatic. So try to give a natural look to your plantings on your balcony.
• You can also plant some climbing plants in pots to protect butterflies from the wind.
• Select plants to spread the flowering period from spring to autumn.
• By foraging on the flowers, butterflies contribute to pollination and thus to the reproduction of plants. By offering them flowers, you provide them with food and shelter, as plants are also a refugium for these colourful pollinating insects, especially for their caterpillars.
• Also, remember to provide them with water in a saucer or by installing a fountain on your balcony.
• To contribute to their well-being, eliminate all use of pesticidal products and, if possible, favour organic plants.

Selection of plants to attract butterflies to your balcony

This selection highlights plants that are favourites of butterflies: melliferous and aromatic, with a long flowering period, suitable for growing on a balcony.

• Butterfly bush or buddleia

  A favourite plant of butterflies, hence its nickname butterfly bush, the buddleia produces large clusters of colourful flowers with a sweet fragrance over several months, from June to September. With its flexible habit, this bush will add a bucolic and romantic touch to your balcony. Available in violet, white, pink, and even bicolour, the buddleia offers a wide range of colours for you to choose from. There are dwarf species that adapt well to pot cultivation, making them perfect for a balcony. For a splash of blue, consider Buddleia davidii ‘Nahno blue’, or the even smaller and charming Buddleia alternifolia ‘Unique’ with its weeping habit. If you prefer to brighten your balcony with white flowers, opt for Buddleia ‘White Chip’.

• Buenos Aires verbena

  The Buenos Aires verbena (Verbena bonariensis) is a perennial plant that is highly melliferous, fragrant, and much loved by butterflies. It blooms from June to October and can reach a height of 1 metre, adding an airy and rustic touch with its mauve inflorescences made up of numerous small flowers. You might also prefer the dwarf variety ‘Lollipop’, which reaches 60 cm at maturity.

• Scabious

  The scabious is another perennial plant prized by butterflies. It has the advantage of a very long flowering period that extends from April to October. Hardy, it is easy to grow and requires plenty of sun. With a palette of soft tones ranging from mauve to pink, white, and even red, the scabious brings a cheerful and light rustic touch to the balcony.

Buddleia alternifolia ‘Unique’, Verbena bonariensis ‘Lollipop’ and Scabiosa atropurpurea ‘Chile Black’

• Lavender

  Butterflies also delight in the nectar of aromatic plants, such as lavender. This plant, which smells of Provence, requires plenty of sun and well-drained soil. It produces lovely spikes of tiny, highly fragrant flowers, most often blue. It blooms depending on the species from April to September. There are also pink and white varieties. In addition to perfuming your balcony, it brightens it up in winter with its evergreen silver-green foliage.

• Passionflower

  To shelter butterflies from the wind and provide them with a charming refuge, choose some climbing plants for your balcony. The passionflower is ideal with its spectacular flowers and edible orange fruits. It blooms from June to October. Install it on a trellis where it will naturally cling with its tendrils. Offering a wide variety of colours and shapes, it adds a unique exotic flair to your balcony.

Lavandula intermedia Phenomenal ‘Niko’ and Passiflora caerulea ‘Constance Elliott’

• Wallflower

  A fragrant and low-maintenance plant, the wallflower is appealing to butterflies. It produces lovely colourful flowers in orange, yellow, pink, purple, white, and even multicoloured, from March to September, depending on the species. The most common is the ravenelle wallflower, with reddish-orange tones that contrast with its dark green leaves. This rock garden plant loves the sun and well-drained substrates.

• Stonecrop

  A very resilient plant, particularly to drought, the stonecrop comes in many species, including extremely nectariferous hybrids. It is therefore made to please butterflies. It belongs to the category of succulent plants and has fleshy leaves. It comes in many colours: red, pink, white, yellow. Its small flowers grouped in little bouquets attract nectar-loving insects from August to October. For your balcony, consider adopting Sedum spectabile ‘Meteor’ or ‘Carl’, which is highly melliferous and boasts vibrant colours.

Erysimum ‘Constant Cheer’ and Sedum spectabile ‘Carl’

Many other flowers are appreciated by butterflies, such as red valerian, delphinium, rudbeckia, monarda, aster, or sweet pea. All that’s left is for you to make your choice!