NZ butterfly plants: Early summer

December 2025

There are some flowers in the garden that the butterflies are loving.

Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' / Catmint

Whilst all the catmints I have in the butterfly garden have been a hit with the bees, its the giant catmint Nepeta gigantea variety 'Six Hills Giant' that is the go-to flowers for the cabbage white butterflies. Once this started flowering, they stayed around the butterfly garden for hours. Apparently this variety has some tolerance of damp conditions and is drought-tolerant once established. It is a lovely, soft plant and also flowers the longest of all catmints. If you've got the space, a winner on all fronts.

Verbena Vanity

In Auckland Verbena bonariensis is somewhat weedy and Verbena incompta definitely is, but, given they are not banned, their ecological impact is probably on par with dandelions. Verbena Vanity is a shorter version of Verbena bonariensis, and it is STUNNING. My rubbish seed raising skills has meant I only have the one plant, but seeds are readily available from Egmont Seeds and other suppliers, as well as some nurseries. This has been another go-to for the cabbage whites and the monarchs have been enjoying this daily too. Highly recommended.

Pink Escallonia

There are several varieties of this plant in the garden that were here when we came - Escallonia laevis 'Gold Brian' by the house, enjoyed by honeybees in particular; a white version, which gets some bee attention; and a towering pink version, which is pollinator heaven. Hoverflies, butterflies, moths, honeybees and, in particular, bumblebees love it, and it is loud with humming on warm days. These plants are still primarily hedging and too bulky for the average mixed border, but definitely worth noting.

A monarch butterfly on escallonia

Weeds!

I created a rod for my own back when I let the weeds grow to cover the border topsoil for the winter. I still have not managed to tame them in the butterfly garden and due to a very special visitor, I now will not get to.

This female long-tailed blue Lampides boeticus came laying eggs earlier this week primarily on the greater bird's-foot-trefoil Lotus pedunculatus that is flowering in the border. The honeybees and bumblebees are also really enjoying the bounty of nectar that the weed flowers are giving them. The recent rain has meant that the white clovers in the lawn have flowered, but I have not had much luck in persuading hubby not to mow regularly, so perhaps the borders are the best place for the weeds to remain undisturbed for the lifecycle of the blues to complete.

Now I am weeding out the grasses and non-legume weeds between the sprays of white clover and trefoil in the border, which is not easy, I can tell you. The beautiful North Shore sweetpeas that I grew for the blue butterflies to lay eggs on seem untouched, but I guess if something is going to get munched, might as well be a weed!