Butterfly gardens in shady areas

[Lady Mayapple]

I just started a part-shade garden in my backyard today. The area was the old compost pile, but it was against the fence and I was concerned about the bottom of the posts getting damaged so I relocated the compost and was left with a big, rich spot that I wasn't sure what to do with. I got some bee balm (monarda), lupine, lemon balm, and what I THOUGHT was regular angelica but turned out to be Korean angelica. (double check Latin names before going to the nursery LOL) Either way, it still attracts butterflies. I decided to do the butterfly garden because I notice a lot of them here anyway, so why not give them a nice place to visit? I still have a lot of room in this bed, and I was wondering what other shady plants would work here that also attract butterflies. Ideas?

[FarmerCathy]

Oh, I would love to do a butterfly garden someday. Make sure to have some parsley somewhere in your garden so they can lay their eggs or they hang there cocoons on it, can't remember which one. I am not sure of what other plants who like shade could go there for them though. Hopefully someone else with more experience with this can. Good Luck!

[JessicaS]

I would get some mona lavender

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/plectranmonlav.htm

I have some chervil that really likes to spread. It is a kitchen herb smelling like anise. Butterflies seem to like it and my mint

Butterflies like Aster, Sky Blue Aster (Aster azureus) is shade tolerant. Phlox will handle shade well.

Wild Geranium
Jewelweed
violets (violets are a weed here but I love them )
butterflies like sassafras
columbines
coneflower



A lot of it really depends on your area because different butterflies might be more common.

[Lady Mayapple]

Abimommy, some great suggestions. Most of those plants are native to my area, too. Wild Geranium, or cranesbill is blooming all over the woods here right now. The Jewelweed is starting...although I'm hesitant to put it in a "controlled" area because it spreads like crazy. We have some thistles that come up in the yard as "weeds" but let them grow and bloom, they attract a ton of butterflies. We get a lot of yellow swallowtails and monarchs later in the season. Right now I am seeing a lot of a small, very fast-flying butterfly that is brown with orange stripes and white spots. I have no idea what it is, but they are everywhere.
I love asters. We had some at another house we lived in years ago-New England and a white, bushy variety. I'd love to get some more New England aster. It smells heavenly!

[JessicaS]

Yeah, I guess it just depends on how big or wild you want that area