Plant These 15 Herbs to Attract Bees and Butterflies

If you are looking for a way to attract more bees and butterflies, then look no further than your local garden center. Herb gardens are easy to maintain and grow. In fact, there is a wide range of herbs that attract both bees and butterflies.

Basil, chives, oregano, sage, parsley, and dill just to name a few. Below you will find a list of 15 herbs you should think of planting in your garden, if your goal is to attract these insects.

Oregano

Oregano is a plant that offers many medicinal qualities and has been used for hundreds of years to treat a variety of disorders and conditions. One of the things that makes oregano so useful as a food or medicine is that it attracts bees, a very important part of beekeeping.

Bees are drawn to plants such as oregano that have a number of essential chemicals that help them produce honey. Therefore, if you are looking to attract them to your garden you should include oregano.

Sage

Sage, therefore, is a wonderful addition to any garden that is bee friendly and offers shelter from the sun. It offers a scent from the flowers that they love, without the need to harvest the plant, which keeps it fresh for as long as possible.

As a result, the bees will still come to the plant, but they will come in smaller numbers so as not to overpopulate. This is a win-win situation for everyone.

Parsley

If you love the smell of parsley in your garden, it’s probably because you want bees to visit. The green leaves and blossoms of this herb can attract bees from all over, making it a popular choice for bee lovers. 

Parsley is a lovely addition to any garden that wants to attract some attention from nature, and with the many ways that it can be used to attract bees, you can’t go wrong when you include it in your landscaping design.

Dill

Dill, or wintergreen as it is also known, is a flowering perennial plant with beautiful flowers. This attractive perennial blooms in various color varieties between orange and blue, and as a biennial, it spans about four feet tall. When it comes to bees,

Dill has been proven to attract friendly bees who pollinate the flowers. Honey bees are especially drawn to the flowers of this plant, and will visit gardens on a regular basis. 

Milkweed

Milkweed, a perennial flowering plant, is one of North America’s favorite natural pollinators. This attractive plant attracts many types of bees and butterfly species. Ladybugs are especially drawn to this plant because of the nectar it provides them. 

Other beneficial species such as wasps, bumblebees, and cicada killers, are attracted to the plant as well, because it provides a safe place for them to live. Butterflies are attracted to the flowers because they are made up of water. And of course, the plant draws more flies to your yard because of all those sweet, fragrant flowers.

Catnip

Catnip attracts both Bees and Butterflies. In fact, if you grow it you will also see many kinds of butterflies and flowers. Flowers and insects can all live and thrive in a garden filled with catnip. And it’s fun to watch butterflies and hummingbirds eating what you planted, especially if you’ve let them get into the plant.

It’s also a good idea to plant catnip near other bee and butterfly-friendly plants such as chickweed. And of course, don’t forget to put your garden in a sunny spot for a fresh start each year.

Fennel

Fennel is an attractive perennial flowering plant that attracts bees and butterflies. The flower bud opens up in early spring and stays open through late summer. The beautiful flowers, attract a wide range of species of butterflies.  This plant is highly ornamental, and blooms for a number of weeks in every garden. 

The best season to grow fennel is from late summer to early fall. It does attract bees, but mainly in the early summer months when worker bees fly from south to north for the winter. This means that the nectar does not last long before it has to be collected, and brought back to the hive.

Chives

Do chives really attract butterflies and bees to your garden? That’s a question I get asked quite often, as one of my favorite flowers are also one of the most bee-friendly flowers. Many people also wonder how chives will do in their garden, and if they will be able to take advantage of the natural ways that “chives” and other native flowers attract bees and butterflies in the area.

My personal experience has been that chives do attract bees and butterflies, however, I have found that there are other types of flowers that work well for the same effect.

Bergamot

One of the reasons this type of flowers are so popular is that they attract bees and butterflies. This is due to the scent glands located at the bottom of the flower that produces a sweet and strong scent. When the scent gland gets stimulated, it produces an odor that has been compared to a fresh cut lemon.

The bees then land on the flower and feed on the nectar, which in turn produces honey. Of course, if you get it right, then it’s a delicious treat for them! 

Borage

You won’t have to worry about bees or butterflies at all when you plant a Borage flower garden. The reason for this is that the birds  also like to eat the butterflies that pollinate the flowers in the area. This is why a Borage flower garden is such a wise gardening choice for the beginner gardener.

The beauty of the Borage flowers and plants, their scent attracting butterflies, is also a delight to everyone who enters your yard. If you wish to have a garden that attracts butterflies then you should try planting Borage flowers and plants.

Hyssop

Gardeners often overlook this little plant and think it’ll do nothing for them, but the truth is that anise hyssop attracts bees and butterflies like no other plant on earth. It’s a slow growing perennial, so you’ll notice its presence over time, and over the years you’ll start to see how easily it grows.

Bees and butterflies are drawn to it because of its bitter taste, and also because of the large numbers it will attract. Once you’ve found a source of this perennial, keep it nearby, and try to plant it as a border or in the center of your flowerbeds. This will give you many years of a steady supply of a tasty treat for your butterfly garden.

Lemon Balm

Did you know that Lemon Balm attracts bees and butterflies? It’s true! I remember years ago watching butterflies in my yard as they fed on the flowers and nectar that I had, and I thought to myself that it must be good for the bees. In a sense, bees and butterflies are one and the same.

The only difference is that a butterfly garden cannot sustain a huge colony of bees like a flower garden can. My personal favorite is to plant Lemon Balm and to do that, I must have a full-fledged bloom. The cool weather of late fall through early winter will allow this type of bloom to grow.

Thyme

For years, many beekeepers have been using Thyme to attract Bees and butterflies into their hives. Some even say that the smell alone is often enough to keep the bees in their hives, thus bringing them to each year. If you love the idea of Bees and Butterflies buzzing around in your garden, then you should try using Thyme to attract them.

This is a simple process that you can easily accomplish without any special equipment. You can also use this herb on your plants, especially if you are trying to repel insects away from them. This will give your plants a boost, making them more attractive to butterflies and bees.

Basil

There are many ways to use Basil to attract bees and butterflies to your yard. You can have the whole garden in bloom by simply growing and harvesting basil from it throughout the year. This means you get to enjoy fresh basil all year long, even when it is not in season.

If you live in a colder climate, however, you may want to be careful about how much you harvest from your garden. It may be best to harvest just a little at a time so that you do not over saturate your area with the smell of basil.

Lavender

Bees and butterflies are attracted to lavender because of its fragrant scent. Lavender, is a common attractant to many insects and animals, including bees.  Another possibility is that lavender is effective at mimicking the pheromones that a female bee uses to travel from one flower to another in her pollinating process.

A pheromone is a chemical signal that allows the bee to locate the ovule of an ideal mating partner. This is one of the reasons why I have always preferred lavender for my butterfly and bee hives! Your yard is a great way to not only give yourself and bees a treat, but also a wonderful aroma that will spread across the neighborhood!