The Butterfly Garden is designed with plants that attract butterflies and meet their needs. The garden includes:
- Host plants on which butterflies lay eggs and where their larvae, the caterpillars, feed
- Nectar plants which provide food for adult butterflies
- Shelter plants that provide protection from wind, rain and predators
The goal of the garden is to showcase plants and educate local gardeners about plants which can be found and grown in their gardens to attract local butterflies. A field guide for butterfly identification, written by the Fort Bend Master Gardeners Entomology Group, is available as a resource to help the public identify eggs, caterpillar stages, chrysalis and adult butterflies, as well as their host and nectar plants. The garden serves as an interactive, educational exhibit for young and old alike.
The table below shows the host and nectar plants.
| Common Name | Botanical Name | NatIve, Host & Nectar | PHOTOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowpen Daisy | Verbesina enceliodes | Nectar, Native | |
| Cleome, Spider Flower | Cleome spp | Nectar | |
| Hamelia, Hummingbird Bush, Firebush | Hamelia patens | Nectar | |
| Zinnia | Zinnia spp | Nectar | |
| Cuphea, Cigar Plant | Cuphea ignea | Nectar | |
| Salvia, 'Hot Lips' | Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips' | Nectar | |
| Butterfly Bush | Buddleia davidii 'White Profusion' | Nectar | |
| White Mealy Cup Sage | Salvia farinacea , White | Nectar | |
| Country Girl Chrysanthmum | Chrysanthemum X rubellum 'Clara Curtis' | Nectar | |
| Pentas, Egyptian Starflower | Pentas lanceolata | Nectar | |
| White Mist Flower, Fragrant Mist Flower | Eupatorium havanense | Nectar, Native | |
| Dalburg Daisy (sign very faded) | Thymophylla tenuiloba | Nectar, Native | |
| *Pink Gaura | Gaura lindheimeri, Compact | Nectar | |
| *White Guara | Gaura lindheimeri Belleza series, Compact | Nectar | |
| Alyssum, Sweet Alyssum | Lobularia maritima 'Snow Crystals' | Nectar | |
| Aster, Fall Aster | Symphyotricum oblongifolium | Nectar, Host | |
| Bay tree, Red Bay | Persea borbonia | Host | |
| Bee Balm, Wild Bergamot (lavender to pink) | Monarda fistulosa cultivar | Nectar | |
| Spotted Bee Balm, Horsemint | Monarda punctata | Nectar | |
| Bottle Brush, (dwarf) | Callistemon 'Little John' | Nectar | |
| Butterfly Bush | Buddleia davidii 'White Profusion' | Nectar | |
| Buttonbush | Cephalanthus occidentalis | Nectar | |
| Buttonbush, Chinese | Adina rubella | Nectar | |
| Calamondin Orange | X Citrofortunella mitis | Nectar, Host | |
| Calendula Pacific Beauty Mix | Calendula officinalis | Nectar | |
| Cassia, Candlestick Plant (yellow) | Cassia alata | Nectar, Host | |
| Cassia, Texas Flowery Senna, Tree Senna (yellow) | Cassia corymbosa, Senna corymbosa | Nectar, Host | |
| Cestrum, Orange Cestrum, Yellow Cestrum | Cestrum aurantiacum | Nectar | |
| Chinese Silver Grass | Miscanthus sinensis | Shelter | |
| Cone Flower, Purple Cone Flower | Echinacea purpurea | Nectar, Host | |
| Copper Canyon Daisy | Tagetes lemmonii | Nectar | |
| Coral Honeysuckle | Lonicera sempervirens | Nectar | |
| Coreopsis, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Lance-leafed Tickseed | Coreopsis lanceolata | Nectar | |
| Chrysanthemum, Country Girl, Hardy Chrysanthemum | Chrysanthemum X rubellum 'Clara Curtis' | Nectar | |
| Cuphea, Cigar Plant | Cuphea ignea | Nectar | |
| Dalberg Daisy | Thymophylla tenuiloba | Nectar | |
| Dahoon Holly (small tree) | Ilex cassine | Nectar | |
| Dill | Anethum graveolens | Nectar, Host | |
| Duranta | Duranta erecta | Nectar | |
| Fennel, Bronze (hardy) | Foeniculum vulgare 'purpureum' | Nectar, Host | |
| Fennel, Green | Foeniculum vulgare | Nectar, Host | |
| Fire Spike | Odontonema cuspidatum | Nectar | |
| Frog Fruit, Texas Frogfruit | Phyla nodiflora | Nectar, Host | |
| Gaillardia, Blanket Flower | Gaillardia pulchella | Nectar | |
| Gaura, (pnk or white) | Gaura lindheimeri 'Whirling Butterflies' | Nectar | |
| Gomphrena | Gomphrena 'Fireworks' | Nectar | |
| Hamelia, Hummingbird Bush, Firebush | Hamelia patens | Nectar | |
| Kidneywood ( small tree) | Eysenhardtia texana | Nectar, Host | |
| Lantana (orange & yellow) | Lantana urticoides | Nectar | |
| Lemon Balm | Melissa officinalis | Nectar | |
| Leopard Plant | Farfugium japonicum | Shelter | |
| Mexican Bauhinia, Orchid Tree | Bauhinia mexicana | Nectar | |
| Mexican Flame Vine | Senecio confusus | Nectar | |
| Mexican Mint Marigold | Tagetes lucida | Nectar | |
| Milkweed, Antelope Horn | Asclepias asperula | Nectar, Host | |
| Milkweed, Aquatic Milkweed ( pink calyx, white corolla) | Asclepias perennis | Nectar, Host | |
| Milkweed, Green Milkweed (green corolla , corona purple) | Asclepias viridis | Nectar, Host | |
| Milkweed, Butterfly Weed | Asclepias tuberosa | Nectar, Host | |
| Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed (pink corolla, white corona) | Asclepias incarnata | Nectar, Host | |
| Milkweed, Tropical Milkweed | Asclepias curassavica (not native) | Nectar, Host | |
| Milkweed, Zizotes ( green corolla, long, white-tipped corona ) | Asclepias oenotheroides | Nectar, Host | |
| Missouri Ironweed | Vernonia missurica | Nectar, Host | |
| Mist Flower , Gregg's Blue Mist Flower | Conoclinium greggii | Nectar | |
| Oxalis, Purple Shamrock (pink) | Oxalis triangularis | Nectar | |
| Parsley, Flat Leaf | Petroselinum crispum | Host | |
| Parsley, Curly Leaf | Petroselinum crispum | Host | |
| Partridge Pea | Chamaecrista fasciculata | Nectar | |
| Passion Vine, Purple Passion Vine | Passiflora incarnata | Nectar, Host | |
| Passion Vine, Fetid Passion Vine | Passiflora foetida | Nectar, Host | |
| Pentas, Egyptian Starflower | Pentas lanceolata | Nectar, Host | |
| Pipevine, White Veined Dutchman’s Pipe | Aristolochia fimbriata | Host | |
| Pipevine, Wooly Dutchman’s Pipe | Aristolochia tomentosa | Host | |
| Powderpuff, Fairy Duster (dwarf) | Calliandra emarginata | Nectar | |
| River Fern | Thelpteris kunthii | Shelter | |
| Rockrose, Pavonia | Pavonia lasiopetala | Nectar, Host | |
| Rose Mallow (pink) | Hibiscus X 'Lady Baltimore' | Nectar, Host | |
| Rosemary | Rosemarinus officinalis, ' BarBQue longspear' | Nectar | |
| Rudbeckia, Black Eyed Susan | Rudbeckia fulgida | Nectar, Host | |
| Rudbeckia, Giant Cone Flower | Rudbeckia maxima | Nectar | |
| Rudbeckia, Brown Eyed Susan | Rudbeckia triloba | Nectar, Host | |
| Rudbeckia, Texas Coneflower | Rudbeckia texana | Nectar | |
| Salvia, Little Leaf | Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips' | Nectar | |
| Salvia, Texas Sage, Tropical Sage (red or pink flowers) | Salvia coccinea | Nectar | |
| Salvia, Mealycup Sage | Salvia farinacea | Nectar | |
| Salvia, Lyreleaf Sage (blue to violet) | Salvia lyrata | Nectar | |
| Shasta Daisy | Leucanthemum sp. | Nectar | |
| Shrimp Plant (pink to salmon color) | Justicia brandegeeana | Nectar | |
| Turk's Cap | Malvaviscus arboreus 'drummondii' | Nectar | |
| Verbena, Homestead Purple Verbena | Glandularia canadensis 'Homestead Purple' | Nectar | |
| Verbena, Prairie Verbena | Glandularia bipinnatifida, Verbena bipinnatifida | Nectar | |
| Vervain, Gulf Vervain | Verbena xutha | Nectar | |
| Vinca, Trailing Vinca | Catharanthus roseus | Nectar | |
| Vinca, Lesser Periwinkle, variegated | Vinca minor | Nectar | |
| Vitex , Chaste Tree, Abraham's Balm | Vitex agnus-castus | Nectar | |
| Winecup | Callirhoe involucrata | Nectar | |
| Yarrow, Desert Eve Yarrow (pink) | Achellea millefolium hybrid | Nectar | |
| Yarrow, Moonshine (yellow) | Achillea millefolium hybrid | Nectar | |
| Yarrow, White | Achillea millefolium var.occidentalis | Nectar | |
| Yaupon Holly (Small Tree) | Ilex vomitoria | Nectar, Shelter | |
| Zinnia | Zinnia sp. | Nectar |