How to Grow a Butterfly & Hummingbird Wildflower Mix

You have two good windows. Sow in spring once the danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed, or sow in fall so seeds settle in over winter and sprout early the next year. Either way, the goal is a long, overlapping bloom season so there is always something in flower for butterflies and hummingbirds to feed on. In milder zones you can even stagger a couple of small sowings to stretch the color and the nectar from early summer into fall.

Start with site prep in your sunniest spot. Clear the area down to bare soil, pulling weeds and raking off old grass and debris so the seed makes good contact with the ground. Mix the seed with a few handfuls of dry sand so you can see where it lands, then broadcast it evenly by hand across the cleared bed. Press the seed in with your foot or the back of a rake, but do not bury it, because these wildflower seeds need light to germinate. Water gently to settle everything in and keep the surface lightly moist until seedlings appear. When you plan the patch, work in a few taller plants and some red or tubular blooms toward the middle or back, since hummingbirds are especially drawn to those.

This mix is meant to be low fuss. Water regularly while the seedlings establish, then only during dry spells once they are growing well. Weed early, before weeds crowd out your young flowers, and then let the planting fill in. The most important rule is to skip pesticides entirely, because the same sprays that kill aphids also kill caterpillars, butterflies, and bees. Add a flat stone in the sun for butterflies to bask on and a shallow dish of water with a few pebbles for a safe drink. As the season goes on, leave some spent flower heads and late blooms in place to feed passing pollinators and to self-sow, then cut the whole patch back once at the end of the season.

Want to pull in even more butterflies and hummingbirds? Add these non-GMO nectar favorites alongside your mix for extra landing pads and tubular blooms:

The honest answer is that you mostly do not harvest this one, you enjoy it. It is planted for the wildlife, so leave the flowers standing to feed butterflies and hummingbirds rather than cutting them for the vase. If you want a few stems for a jar on the table, snip just a handful and let the rest keep working for the pollinators. At the end of the season, let some seed heads ripen and drop so the patch can self-sow and come back on its own next year.

This blend is first and foremost a living habitat. It offers nectar for adult butterflies and hummingbirds and some host foliage for caterpillars, turning a plain sunny spot into a moving, fluttering garden. Beyond the wildlife, it delivers bright cottage-garden color, is a lovely way to naturalize a sunny bank or corner, and makes a wonderful, hands-on project for kids who love to watch butterflies and hummingbirds up close.

• Few visitors: almost always too little sun, a nearby spray, or too few flowers. Move the patch to full sun, stop using pesticides, and plant a generous block of bloom so it is easy to find.
• Weeds and grass taking over: unprepared ground lets weeds outcompete your seedlings. Clear to bare soil before sowing and pull weeds early while the wildflowers get established.
• Poor, patchy germination: usually seed that was buried too deep. These seeds need light, so press them into the surface rather than covering them, and keep the soil lightly moist.
• Caterpillars eating the leaves: this is the point, not a pest. Those caterpillars become the butterflies you are trying to attract, so leave them be and do not spray.
• Lots of leaves but few flowers: often soil that is too rich. Skip the fertilizer, since lean soil pushes these wildflowers to bloom more and grow less foliage.