One of the most rewarding parts of designing and planting your own butterfly garden is the flourish of wildlife it attracts, a reminder of the simple beauty of nature right on your doorstep. 

To increase your chances of pollinators becoming frequent fliers in your outdoor sanctuary, it helps to know the best flowering shrubs for biodiversity, garden design ideas for pollinators and, more specifically, what flowers attract butterflies.

We answer these and other questions in this guide to butterfly plants in South Africa, and how to create a butterfly garden.

Butterfly-friendly shrubs for South African gardens

Nothing beats the satisfaction of seeing the pollinator shrubs you’ve planted and tended to in your garden not only flourishing, but attracting the flutter of butterflies and other insects. 

If you’re not sure which shrubs seasoned gardeners count on to draw these winged beauties in, pick from this list of shrubs that provide nectar for butterflies:

Plumbago

This shrub works particularly well as a vibrant border along pathways or garden beds, adding structure and colour to your landscape. It’s versatile, too, also ideal grown in a container on patios or balconies, where its cascading branches can create striking visual displays.

To get the most out of your plumbago, ensure it gets 6 – 8 hours of sunlight daily, and keep the soil consistently moist but well-drained.

Polygalas

One of the more colourful pollinator plants for summer, polygalas are easy-to-grow, low-maintenance, water-wise plants that provide a dazzling display for many months of the year. 

This shrub is ideally planted in difficult areas of the garden that change from full sun to semi-shade with the seasons, and sprouts beautiful flowers.

Wild rosemary

This shrub is particularly suited to the dry garden, making it an excellent addition to your water-wise garden. It’s an aromatic, evergreen shrub with arching branches clothed with needle-like, grey-green leaves. 

Blooming from winter to summer, a profusion of small, purple-eyed, white flowers cover the foliage. Besides attracting butterflies, wild rosemary is also known as a bee magnet.

Learn more about gardening for bees.

Lavender

A classic, this list wouldn’t be complete without one of the easiest and most iconic shrubs grown in South African gardens: lavender.

Another drought-resistant shrub, this hardy herb has slender grey-green foliage and elegant pale purple flower spikes that attract bees and butterflies.

Indigenous plants that attract butterflies

While plumbago and polygala are indigenous shrubs that attract butterflies into the garden, there is a whole host of other indigenous plants that can draw beautiful winged insects in.

Gazanias add a beautiful splash of colour as a groundcover thanks to its low growth habit and dense foliage. On the other hand, another one of the best plants to attract butterflies, wild verbena grows about 40cm high, producing small purple and pink flower clusters on tall stems that attract butterflies.

Garden design ideas for pollinators

Different regions support different species of butterfly, so choosing plants native to your specific area will attract local butterfly populations most effectively.

Get some inspiration with these garden design ideas to create a pollinator paradise:

Layout and structure

Form pollinator pathways by creating drifts or curves of the same plant species rather than single specimens. Pollinators navigate more easily when they can see large patches of colour from a distance.

Layered heights

Design in tiers with groundcovers, mid-height perennials, shrubs and small trees. This creates a diverse habitat and allows pollinators to forage at different levels.

Learn how to attract birds to your garden using indigenous shrubs.

Border gardens

Line pathways and edges with continuous ribbons of nectar-rich flowers. This creates ‘flight corridors’ that guide pollinators through your space.

Want to make your garden smell irresistible to pollinators passing through? Here’s a guide to scent-sational gardening.

Colour blocking

Group plants in bold colour blocks rather than mixing randomly. Butterflies particularly love purple, pink, yellow and orange blooms clustered together.

Seasonal succession

Plan for continuous blooms from early spring through autumn. Include early bloomers like bulbs, summer stars, and late-season flowers like sedums.

Get ready to welcome your new winged garden friends

Armed with this guide, the friendly expert assistance of our in-store Stodels staff, and a range of trees, shrubs, groundcovers and vines that butterflies will instantly gravitate towards, you’ll be marvelling at the flutter of these delicate winged insects through your garden paradise in no time.

Happy planting!