Select flowers to attract birds, butterflies

Q. I want to plant some flowers that will attract birds and butterflies this summer. Do you have any suggestions?

A. Yes, there are many summer-blooming plants that are magnets for birds and butterflies. Keep in mind that birds favor habitats that include insects of various types, a source for water, and places for shelter and nesting. Butterflies require plants for reproduction (larval hosts), food and shelter. Here are seven suggestions, with some plants doing "double-duty" by attracting a range of beneficial wildlife including bees, butterflies and birds:

• Monarda, a perennial commonly known as "bee balm," is a food source for bees and butterflies. It blooms from July to September and appears in shades of red, lilac and purple and stands 2 to 4 feet tall. Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), a native variety, also attracts hummingbirds.

• Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) with its vivid orange flowers provides nectar for many types of adult butterflies while the pink-flowered Asclepias incarnate (prairie milkweed) is the larval host for the striped caterpillars of the monarch butterfly. Both perennials bloom July through August, and range from 2 to 4 feet in height.

• Liatris (blazing star), a perennial, is a 3 to 5 feet tall spike with fluffy, lilac-purple blooms along its central stem, and it attracts bees, birds and butterflies from July to October. The native "meadow blazing star" is an important food source for the monarch butterfly.

• Coneflowers, a category that includes Rudbeckia (hirta, laciniata, trilobal, submentosa and fulgida), and Echinacea (purpurea, paradoxa and pallida) are varieties of daisylike flowers with a raised cone-like central disk and encircling petals of pink, orange or yellow that bloom July to September. These attract bees and butterflies during the summer and birds in the fall, which devour the protein-rich seeds.

• Flowering annuals are important sources of nectar during their summer bloom and include zinnias, lantana, pentas and phlox.

• Flowering shrubs: Hypericum (St. John's wort), a 5 foot tall plant with a July to September bloom of bright yellow flowers, provides nectar for pollinators and serves as a larval host for a variety of caterpillars. Eupatorium maculatum (joe-pye weed), a 5 to 7 foot tall July to August bloomer with fuzzy rose-colored flowers, has many pollinator followers.

• Trees: The Illinois state tree, Quercus alba (white oak), can support thousands of caterpillars while birds are afforded shade, shelter and nesting privileges on its branches.

For more information on attracting pollinators, check out this useful and authoritative source: "The Xerces Society Guide: Attracting Native Pollinators."

- Arlene Swartzman

• Provided by Master Gardeners through the Master Gardener Answer Desk, Friendship Park Conservatory, Des Plaines, and University of Illinois Extension, North Cook Branch Office, Arlington Heights. Call (847) 298-3502 Monday, Wednesday and Saturday or (847) 201-4176, ext. 14, on Fridays.