Plants for Butterflies and Bees in Ottawa
The David Suzuki Foundation website offers information on planting for pollinators. Here is a list of butterflies and flowering native plants that they recommend for those of us who live in Eastern Canada and want to attract pollinators to our gardens.
Butterfly species native to Eastern Canada:
Eastern tiger swallowtail
Mourning cloak
Red admiral
Painted lady
Monarch
Cabbage white
Milbert’s tortoiseshell
Silver-spotted skipper
Black swallowtail
American copper
Clouded sulphur
Pollinator-friendly plants native to Eastern Canada:
Nectar plants:
New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Wild strawberry Fragaria virginiana
Wild strawberry Fragaria vesca
Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea
Yarrow Achillea millefolium
Wild columbine Aquilegia canadensis
Wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa
Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta
Anise hyssop Agastache foeniculum
Virginia mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum
Lance leaf coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata
Wild nodding onion Allium cernuum
Woodland Sunflower Helianthus divaricatus
Evening primrose Oenothera biennis
Host plants:
Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea — American lady
Chokecherry Prunus virginiana — swallowtail, hairstreak
Pacific ninebark Physocarpus capitatus — tiger swallowtail
Nettles Anthocharis sara ssp. gracilis — red admiral, Milbert’s Tortoiseshell
Thistles Cirsium — painted ladies
Common milkweed Asclepias syriaca — monarch
Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata — monarch
Butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa — monarch
Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides — mourning cloak, viceroy, swallowtail
Willow Salix sp. — white admiral, viceroy, swallowtail
Herbs for bees and butterflies:
Dill
Fennel
Parsley
Oregano
Chives
Rosemary
Lavender
Sage
Thyme
Lemon Balm