Oregano

Want to try something a little different to attract butterflies this year?

Instead of the usual flowers, try herbs.

The following three herbs do well in containers, and all are easy to grow from seed. You can also find these herbs at your local nursery.

1. Dill

Attract several species of butterflies and provide a home for Black Swallowtail caterpillars by growing dill.

Start dill from seed or buy plants from a local nursery. Move your containers of dill to a partially shaded spot when the summer heat hits.

Use dill leaves to add zip to salads; use dill seeds to flavor a wide range of foods.

2. Anise Hyssop

Anise Hyssop 'Golden Jubilee'

Agastache foeniculum grows 2-4' tall and blooms in blue-violet spikes that attract butterflies mid-summer to early fall. You can find seeds easily.

Anise Hyssop also

• Attracts smaller species of skippers like the Long-Tailed Skipper as well as hairstreaks.
• Attracts goldfinches and other small seed-eating birds late in the season
• May attract orioles
• Self-sows readily but easily weeded
• Likes sun, warm summers, and semi-dry conditions

People use its leaves and flower spikes in salads, stir-fries and other dishes, and baked goods.

3. Oregano

Origanum rotundifolium 'Kent Beauty'

Whether culinary or ornamental, most oregano will attract butterflies. Try any of the following:

Ornamental Oregano

• Origanum rotundifolium 'Kent Beauty'
• Origanum laevigatum: 'Rosenkuppel', 'Herrenhausen', 'Hopley', or 'Rotkugel'

Culinary Oregano

Culinary oregano includes Origanum vulgare, a mid-summer bloomer and favorite of the Pearl Crescent and Hairstreak. Some cultivars and subspecies:

Origanum majorana

• Greek Oregano (subspecies hirtum)
• Cultivars ‘Aureum’ and 'Variegata' (a.k.a. 'TriColor')
• Subspecies variegatum, a.k.a. Golden Oregano

Oregano tolerates a wide range of conditions but in general isn't winter hardy.