Here are a few suggestions that should be easy to source and require limited maintenance, while offering habitat to bees, butterflies and other pollinators. These additions to your plant list will offer a range of bloom times, heights and colors and enhance the ecological function of your garden.

There are many other possible choices! You can find additional native plants for specific growing conditions in our Guide Native Plants for the Home Garden and for particular butterfly species in the Guide Native Plants for Common Butterflies. 

Baptisia australis (false indigo) - purple flowers in late spring/ early summer on a 3 to 4 foot plant. Plant becomes shrubby and wide in time and can be pruned after flowering to shape for the remainder of the season. USDA zones 3 to 9. Drought tolerant. Benefits bumblebees and butterflies. Deadhead to increase flowers in the next season.

Coreopsis lanceolata (lance-leaved tickseed) - gold flowers in early summer on a 3 foot tall plant. USDA zones 4 to 9. Tolerates deer, heat, and drought. Deadhead to avoid vigorous self-seeding and to keep plant flowering . Benefits bee and butterfly pollinators.

Echinacea purpurea (Eastern purple coneflower) - pinky-purple flowers with a long period of bloom in summer. USDA zone 3 to 8. Tolerant of heat, deer, drought and humidity. Benefits bee and butterfly pollinators. Leave some flowers to develop seed for birds and cut stems in the spring to create habitat for cavity-nesting bees (see below). Plant will self-seed so deadhead judiciously to manage spread and remove unwanted seedlings in spring.

Liatris spicata (blazing star) - brushy purple flower spikes in late summer on plants up to 4 feet tall. USDA zones 3 to 8. Prefers moist soil that drains well but tolerates heat. Attracts hummingbirds as well as providing habitat for bees and butterflies. Seeds are attractive to birds. Cut stems create habitat for cavity-nesting bees (see below).

Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot) - Lilac-colored flowers in summer on 4 foot plants. USDA zones 3 to 9. Deer and drought tolerant. Self-seeding. Leave space around plants for air movement to avoid powdery mildew. Attracts hummingbirds as well as providing habitat for bees and butterflies. Cut stems create habitat for cavity-nesting bees (see below).

Penstemon hirsutus (hairy beardtongue) - lavender, tubular flowers in late spring/ early summer. USDA zone 3 to 9. A small plant, about 1 to 3 feet tall. Attracts hummingbirds as well as providing habitat for bees and butterflies. Cut stems create habitat for cavity-nesting bees (see below).

Vernonia noveboracensis (New York ironweed) - purple, thistle-like blooms in late summer on a large plant, 5 feet or taller. USDA zones 5 to 9. Deer and wet soil tolerant. Do not overly enrich soil or plants may become too tall and sprawling. Deadhead to avoid self-seeding. Benefits bee and butterfly pollinators and attracts hummingbirds. Cut stems create habitat for cavity-nesting bees (see below).

To create habitat for cavity-nesting bees

Leave the dead flowering stems on the plant through the winter and cut them back at varying heights from 8 inches to 2 feet in spring. Bees will lay their eggs in them and new plant growth will camouflage the dry stems. Bees develop and remain in the stems until the following spring. You can then cut down these stems and cut other ones to create new nesting sites.

Courtesy of NYBG Plant Information Service