In my area they promote the planting of milkweed to facilitate the Monarch butterfly migration to Mexico. Looks like the milkweed drive is having some success too. Evidently it’s more or less essential.
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I’m very lucky to live on an extremely diverse property with 60 acres of timber, a few acres of pasture, a few of alfalfa and a few of vege and perennial flower gardens (my MIL sold organic veges and bouquets at market some years ago). All this the middle of a corn and bean desert makes the place a real oasis. I have a special fondness for the Lamiaceae family (as do my bees) so am always adding to the list. Mints, Catmint, Lemon Balm, Salvias, Russian Sage, Rosemary, Hyssop, Bee Balm, Lavender, Savory, Lions Ear, Thymes and my personal favorite Agastache (Anise Hyssop or Hummingbird Mint). I’m growing a half dozen different varieties of Agastache and love their presence, long bloom time (3 mos) and the native species makes my and my daughters’ favorite herbal tea.
I like to bring that diversity right on into the orchard. It is not fully planted out yet, but my goal is to promote diversity and ecosystem function (to minimize pest and disease issues). In addition to about 50 semi-dwarf trees, I interplanted a variety of fruiting shrubs, herbs and flowers (including currants, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries, honeyberries, aronia, sage, oregano, thymes, rosemary, dill, lovage, fennel, chives, garlic chives, garlic, bunching onion, agastaches, daylilies, rhubarb, milkweed, echinaceas, yarrow, comfrey, calendula, lots more). I also planted a small windbreak on 3 sides consisting of mostly edible shrubs (including hazelnuts, juneberries, wild plum, cornelian cherries, nanking cherries, elderberry, aronia, seaberry, rugosa rose, lilac, siberian pea shrub, etc). Its not much to look at yet but I’m excited to see it evolve and come to fruition!
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I really like the picture on the background of your profile. This is the real butterfly garden.
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Female flowers on a fruiting banana 
Today I installed BG3 
Biden’s Beedance “Red stripe”
Yarrow Achillea millefolium “Paprika”
Egyptian star-cluster Pentas lanceolata “Deep Rose”
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Today I installed BG2 around the buried stump where I’d previously planned to put a Eureka Lemon tree 
. Here’s what went in the ground:
Leonotis ocymifolia
Canary Island Sage (Salvia canariensis)
Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii)
Sage “Holt’s Mammoth” (Salvia officinalis)
Sweet Lavender (Lavandula x heterophylla)
Silky Yellow Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica)
You should include a Lavender (Intermedia) the best!
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Is there a reason you dont mulch your plants to preserve water?
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My understanding is that the hybrid Lavandula x intermedia is widely grown as a floral and extract crop. However, it is not so much of a bloomer here as in latitudes to the north. I have better luck with Sweet Lavender (Lavandula x heterophylla) and French Lavender (Lavandula dentata).
I buy mulch by the truckload . I’ll be replenishing with about 30 cu.yds. in July.
Sweet Woodruff loves shade.
Yes. This one has been been in a 2 gallon pot with partial shade of about the same percentage it will receive here. We’ll see what happens!
To the left of it is Self Heal (Prunella vulgaris).
Ooh - i love woodruff syrup.
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A common ingredient for Mead in colonial times.
How do you make woodruff syrup? Cooking Flowers,? leafs?
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While my wife is off playing on a ‘Fall Color’ cruise ship this coming week, the boys and I are adding irrigation to the six butterfly gardens we recently planted. Here you can sort of make out a Lion’s Ear and Penstemon plant between Simeon (left) and Littlefoot, receiving water from some new stream-bubbler heads. Also in front of Littlefoot you can see water from the system I tapped into going to a Citrus tree.
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From my own observations of hummingbirds in my yard, the most frequented plants are Southwest Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis subsp.) and Cigar Plant (Cuphea ignea) – second only to fruit tree blossoms.
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