Honeybee landing on milkthistle flower. Photo from WIkipedia Commons.

Flowers for Bees, Birds & Butterflies

Create a haven in your backyard for Bees, Butterflies and Hummingbirds with quality flower seed mixes from Botanical Interest. Enjoy a bounty of colorful flowers season-to-season and your garden will attract pollinators seeking their favorite plants. Support your local pollinators, they have vital— and essential— work to do in our environment!

Time to sow some seeds! We recommend:

The Eastern Breeze Butterfly Collection includes:

Grow Food for Our Endangered Bee Population

The Backyard Naturalist stocks Botanical Interests'Precious Pollinators mix provides food and nectar to a wide range of pollinators, including insects, butterflies, and moths.

Precious Pollinators

Pollinators help us by pollinating a third or more of the food we eat. Precious Pollinators mix provides food and nectar to a wide range of pollinators, including insects, butterflies, and moths. Colorful mix with varying heights and bloom times of annual and perennial flowers and herbs, many of which are native to North America.

Annuals and perennials.
See planting guide.

 The bee population has declined in recent years, and scientists aren't sure exactly why. The variety of colorful blooms in this mix provides plentiful food for many of the over 4,000 species of bees that live in the U.S., just waiting to visit your garden! Bee populations have been in decline in recent years. Colony collapse and die-off are serious problems for farmers and gardeners who depend on bees to pollinate many of the fruits and vegetables we eat. Bees are also important to animals and birds that feed on wild berries, nuts and seeds produced by bee-pollinated plants. Growing these flowers can help save bees, and provide you with a beautiful flower garden.

Save the Bees

Bee population has declined in recent years, and scientists aren’t sure exactly why. The variety of colorful blooms in this mix provides plentiful food for many of the over 4,000 species of bees that live in the U.S., just waiting to visit your garden! Colony collapse and die-off are serious problems for farmers and gardeners who depend on bees to pollinate many of the fruits and vegetables we eat. Bees are also important to animals and birds that feed on wild berries, nuts and seeds produced by bee-pollinated plants. Growing these flowers can help save bees, and provide you with a beautiful flower garden.

Annuals, biennials and perennials.
See planting guide.

Create a Haven for Songbirds and Hummingbirds

Annuals, biennials and perennials. Your garden haven for hummingbirds will not only attract and provide nectar for the tiny, bright creatures, but also present you with a glorious array of vivid floral colors that will last spring to fall for your enjoyment as well.

Hummingbird Haven

Your garden haven for hummingbirds will not only attract and provide nectar for the tiny, bright creatures, but also present you with a glorious array of vivid floral colors that will last spring to fall for your enjoyment as well.

Annuals, biennials and perennials.
See planting guide.

To attract songbirds to your backyard by growing flowers, The Backyard Naturalist recommends planting 'Songbird Delight' Seed Blends from Botanical Interests.

Songbird Delight

Lure colorful finches, cardinals, blue jays and nuthatches to your garden to dine on the variety of tasty seeds from the flowers that grow from this mix. A collection of annual and perennial blooming plants fill the summer garden with blue, pink, purple, white, red, orange and yellow flowers in an assortment of shapes and sizes, followed by seed heads for hungry birds.

Annuals and perennials.
See planting guide.

Attract Butterflies to Your Backyard

Annuals, biennials and perennials. It’s easy to convert your garden into a private retreat for native butterflies. Butterflies use plants during each stage of their life cycle – egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis) and adult (butterfly). This mix includes plants for their entire life cycle, and will attract a great number and variety of native butterflies.

Bring Home the Butterflies

It’s easy to convert your garden into a private retreat for native butterflies. Butterflies use plants during each stage of their life cycle – egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis) and adult (butterfly). This mix includes plants for their entire life cycle, and will attract a great number and variety of native butterflies.

Annuals, biennials and perennials.
See planting guide.

Native Milkweed

The Backyard Naturalist's Butterfly Flower Irresistible Milkweed Blend

Butterfly Flower Irresistible Milkweed Blend

Asclepias incarnata

Butterflies and hummingbirds will flock to your garden to feast on the sweet nectar of this easy-to-grow native perennial. Often called Swamp Milkweed, this species grows best in moist or wet soils such as near a pond or stream, but the loosely-clumped plants will grow well in a garden with regular watering. Decorative pods are beautiful in dried arrangements.
Deer resistant.

Perennial. See planting guide.

The Backyard Naturalist's Butterfly Flower Common Milkweed Irresistible Blend

Butterfly Flower Common Milkweed

Asclepias syriaca

Observe the monarch butterfly lifecycle right in your garden! This species provides food and habitat for monarch butterflies and their caterpillars. In summer, pink to purplish or white flowers are followed by decorative seedpods that are beautiful in dried arrangements. Robust, shrub-like perennial, spreads by underground rhizomes. Drought tolerant once established. Native throughout much of the eastern United States.
Deer resistant.

Perennial. See planting guide.

The BYN's Butterfly Flower Showy Milkweed seeds

Butterfly Flower Showy Milkweed

Asclepias speciosa

Invite monarch butterflies to your garden with the stunning blooms of this robust, shrub-like perennial. Also called Greek Milkweed, this species is drought tolerant once established and grows best in well-drained soils. Plants have green to silvery-green foliage and stems that are often soft and fuzzy. In summer, pink to white flowers are followed by decorative, woolly seedpods that are beautiful in dried arrangements. Native throughout much of the western United States.
Deer resistant.

Perennial. See planting guide.

Eastern Breeze Butterfly Collection

The Backyard Naturalist Butterfly Flower Garden Seeds for Eastern States. Organic seeds from Botanical Interests to attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other wild birds to your backyard.

Eastern Breeze Butterfly Collection

Assorted Genera and species

The Backyard Naturalist, along with Botanical Interests and many others, promotes the National Wildlife Federation’s Butterfly Hero Campaign to raise awareness of the monarch butterfly’s habitat loss. We believe that as home gardeners, we can help to replenish the monarch habitat by sowing milkweed and other butterfly-friendly varieties in our home, school, and community gardens.

The Eastern Breeze Butterfly Collection includes two native milkweed varieties (Asclepias tuberosa and Asclepias incarnata) that serve as host plants for monarch caterpillars. Bring Home the Butterflies Flower Mix and Cut & Come Again Zinnia adds bright hues to your garden, attracting butterflies and providing nectar. Sit back and wait for the butterflies to arrive!

Butterfly Flower Milkweed
Butterfly Flower Irresistible Milkweed Blend
Zinnia Cut & Come Again Heirloom Seeds
Bring Home the Butterflies

Butterfly Flower Milkweed

Asclepias tuberosa

We all recognize the iconic Monarch butterfly with its majestic orange and black wings. Unfortunately, the butterfly we all know and love is losing its habitat, specifically milkweed, to modern farming methods and population development. To help the Monarchs, Botanical Interests is supporting the National Wildlife Federation’s Butterfly Hero Campaign by donating seed packets to their Butterfly Garden Kit. As home gardeners, we can help to replenish the Monarch habitat by sowing milkweed and other butterfly-friendly varieties in our home, school, and community gardens. Buy some today and wait for the butterflies to arrive!

Butterflies will seek out your garden when you grow this vigorous perennial, shrub-like plant; you can observe the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly! Beginning in summer, you will be treated to a profusion of fiery, red-orange flowers followed by decorative green seed pods. Drought tolerant once established. Native to much of the eastern United States. A nice addition to cut flower arrangements.
Deer resistant.

Perennial. See planting guide.

Zinnia Cut & Come Again Heirloom Seeds

Zinnia elegans pumila

Cut these old-fashioned blooms for your bouquets, and flowers will “come again” producing continuously until fall frost. Long-lasting 2″ – 2½” blossoms on heat-loving plants supply endless color for your flowerbeds, containers and borders. Each individual flower lasts a very long time on the plant, and in the vase before fading.

Annual. See planting guide.

Planting Guide

Precious Pollinators Save the Bees

Annuals and perennials

Full sun
Blooms summer to frost
1′-6′ tall tall

Days to Emerge:
7-12 days

Seed Depth:
1/4”

Seed Spacing:
Scatter about 25 seeds per sq. ft. and rake in

Thinning:
As needed

When to sow outside: RECOMMENDED. 1 to 2 weeks before average last frost.

When to start inside: Not recommended.

SOWN AT THE RATE OF 25 SEEDS PER SQ. FT., THIS MIX COVERS APPROXIMATELY 25 SQ. FT. AND INCLUDES: (Percent of mix by weight)
20.5% Sunflower,
18.5% Borage,
11% Zinnia,
10% Cosmos,
9% Red Clover,
6% Milkweed,
6% Purple Coneflower,
5% Marigold,
4% Lance-leaved Coreopsis,
3% Scarlet Sage,
3% Phacelia,
3% Dill,
0.5% Lemon Bee Balm,
0.5% Smooth Aster

A – Annual, B – Biennial, P – Perennial

Artist: Carolyn Crawford

Annuals, biennials
and perennials

Full sun
Blooms spring to frost
18”-60” tall

Days to Emerge:
7-21 days

Seed Depth:
1/4”

Seed Spacing:
Scatter about 25 seeds per square foot and rake in

Thinning:
As needed

When to sow outside: RECOMMENDED. In cold climates, sow annual mixes in the spring, 1 to 2 weeks before the average last frost. In mild climates, sow seed during the cooler months, generally October through March.

When to start inside: Not recommended.

SOWN AT THE RATE OF 25 SEEDS PER SQ. FT., THIS MIX COVERS APPROXIMATELY 225 SQ. FT. AND INCLUDES: (Percent of mix by weight)
Borage (A). . 16%
Sunflower, Lemon Queen (A). . 13%
Coriander/Cilantro (A). . 13%
Siberian Wallflower (B/P). . 10%
Dill (A). . 6%
Coreopsis, Lance Leaf (P). . 6%
California Poppy (A). . 6%
Gaillardia, Annual (A). . 6%
Zinnia, Lilliput (A). . 6%
Basil, Sweet (A). . 5%
Cosmos (A). . 3%
Purple Prairie Clover (P). . 3%
Globe Gilia (A). . 2%
Catnip (P). . 1%
Lemon Mint (A). . 1%
Black-Eyed Susan (A/P). . 1%
Goldenrod (P). . 1%
Lavender Hyssop (P). . 0.5%
Bergamot (P). . 0.5%

A – Annual, B – Biennial, P – Perennial

Artist: Carolyn Crawford

Planting Guide

Hummingbird Haven Songbird Delight

Annuals, biennials
and perennials

Full sun
Blooms summer to fall
6″-48″ tall

Days to Emerge:
7-30 days

Seed Depth:
1/16″-1/4”

Seed Spacing:
Scatter about 25 seeds per square foot and rake in

Thinning:
As needed

When to sow outside: RECOMMENDED. 1 to 2 weeks before average last frost. A second option: sow half the seed 4 weeks before the average last frost (hoping the last frost is earlier than usual) and sow the second half a week or two after the average last frost (just to be safe).

When to start inside: Not recommended.

SOWN AT THE RATE OF 25 SEEDS PER SQ. FT., THIS MIX COVERS APPROXIMATELY 85 SQ. FT. AND INCLUDES: (Percent of mix by weight)

Nasturtium (A). . 60%
Lupine (P). . 10%
Zinnia (A). . 5%
Hollyhock, Dark Colors (A). . 8%
Butterfly Weed (P). . 3%
Texas Sage (P). . 2%
Phlox (A). . 2%
Rocket Larkspur (A). . 2%
Spider Flower (A). . 2%
Godetia A). . 1%
Bee Balm (P). . 1%
Columbine, Shooting Star (P). . 0.5%
Penstemon, Tubular Bells (A). . 0.5%
Red-Hot Poker (P). . 1%
Standing Cypress (B). . 1%
Foxglove (B). . 0.3%
Flowering Tobacco (A). . 0.5%
Coral Bells (P). . 0.2%

A-Annual, B-Biennial, P-Perennial

Artist: Libby Kyer

Annuals and perennials

Full sun
Blooms spring to frost
14”-60” tall

Days to Emerge:
5-20 days

Seed Depth:
1/4”

Seed Spacing:
Scatter about 25 seeds per square foot and rake in

Thinning:
As needed

When to sow outside: RECOMMENDED. 1 to 2 weeks before average last frost. A second option: sow half the seed 4 weeks before the average last frost (hoping the last frost is earlier than usual) and sow the second half a week or two after the average last frost (just to be safe).

When to start inside: Not recommended.

Special sowing instructions: Scatter seed and rake in lightly to a depth of 1/4″. Be sure seeds are covered so that hungry birds can’t see them, and pluck them up before they have a chance to sprout.

SOWN AT THE RATE OF 25 SEEDS PER SQ. FT., THIS MIX COVERS APPROXIMATELY 400 SQ. FT. AND INCLUDES: (Percent of mix by weight)

Wheat (A). . 20%
Millet, Hybrid Pearl (A). . 17%
Sunflower, Black Oil (A). . 15%
Safflower (A). . 12%
Bachelor Button, Polka Dot Mix (A). . 10%
Coneflower, Purple (P). . 9%
Cosmos (A). . 6%
Marigold, African ‘Crackerjack’ (A). . 4%
Mexican Hat (P). . 2%
Love-Lies-Bleeding (A). . 2%
Black-Eyed Susan (A). . 2%
Goldenrod, Rigid (P). . 1%

A-Annual, P-Perennial

Artist: Marjorie Leggitt

Planting Guide

Butterfly Flower
Irresistible
Milkweed Blend
Butterfly Flower
Common Milkweed
Butterfly Flower
Showy Milkweed

Perennial
Full sun
Blooms summer
3′ – 5′ tall

Days to Emerge:
14 – 28 days

Seed Depth:
1/4″

Seed Spacing:
A group of 5 seeds every 16″ – 24″

Thinning:
When 3” tall,thin to 1 every 16”-24”

When to sow outside: 2 to 4 weeks before average last frost, and up to 8 weeks before first fall frost.

When to start inside: 6 to 8 weeks before average last frost.

Artist: Carolyn Crawford

Perennial

Full sun
Blooms summer
2′- 6′ tall

Days to Emerge:
14-28 days

Seed Depth:
1/4″

Seed Spacing:
A group of 3 seeds every 16″-24″

Thinning:
When 3″ tall, thin to 1 every 16″-24″

When to sow outside: 2 to 4 weeks before average last frost, and up to 8 weeks before first fall frost.

When to start inside: 6 to 8 weeks before average last frost.

Special germination instructions: Benefits greatly from stratification (see inside of packet).

Artist: Carolyn Crawford

Perennial

Full sun
Blooms summer
2′-6′ tall

Days to Emerge:
14-28 days

Seed Depth:
1/4″

Seed Spacing:
A group of 3 seeds every 16″ – 24″

Thinning:
When 3″ tall, thin to 1 every 16″ – 24″

When to sow outside: 2 to 4 weeks before average last frost, and up to 8 weeks before first fall frost.

When to start inside: 6 to 8 weeks before average last frost.

Special germination instructions: Benefits greatly from stratification (see inside of packet).

Artist: Connie Sayas

Planting Guide

Bring Home the Butterflies Zinnia Cut & Come Again Heirloom Seeds Butterfly Flower Milkweed

Annuals, biennials
and perennials

Full sun
Blooms spring to fall
12”-48” tall

Days to Emerge:
7-21 days

Seed Depth:
1/8”-1/4”

Seed Spacing:
Scatter about 25 seeds per square foot and rake in

Thinning:
As needed

When to sow outside: RECOMMENDED. 1 to 2 weeks before average last frost. A second option: sow half the seed 4 weeks before the average last frost (hoping the last frost is earlier than usual) and sow the second half a week or two after the average last frost (just to be safe).

When to start inside: Not recommended.

SOWN AT THE RATE OF 25 SEEDS PER SQ. FT., THIS MIX COVERS APPROXIMATELY 150 SQ. FT. AND INCLUDES: (Percent of mix by weight)

Mexican Lupine (A) . . 30%
Purple Coneflower (P) . . 3%
Mexican Sunflower (A). . 7%
Calendula (A) . . 7%
Cosmos (A) . . 7%
Camellia, Balsam. (A) . . 6%
Pincushion Flower (A) . . 2%
Borage (A) . . 5%
Sunset Flower (A) . . 4%
Parsley (B) . . 3%
Cornflower (A) . . 4%
Clover, Crimson (A) . . 4%
Blazing Star (P) . . 4%
Coreopsis, Lance-leaved (P) . . 2%
Prairie Gayfeather (P) . . 2%
Sweet Sultan (A) . . 2%
Sweet William (B) . . 1.5%
Aster, Rainbow Mix (A) . . 1%
Black-Eyed Susan (A) . . 0.5%
Dill, Common (A). . 0.5%
Snapdragon (A). . 1%
Yarrow (P) . . 1%
Sneezeweed (P) . . 0.5%
Bishops Flower (A) . . 0.5%
Lemon Mint(A) . . 0.5%
Rocky Mtn. Bee Plant (A) . . 0.5%
Verbena, Tall (A) . . 0.5%

A-Annual, B-Biennial, P-Perennial

Artist: Libby Kyer

Annual
Full sun
Blooms summer to fall
1 ½’-2 ½’ tall

Days to Emerge:
3-10 days

Seed Depth:
1/4”

Seed Spacing:
A group of 3 seeds every 12”

Thinning:
When 2” tall, thin to 1 every 12”

When to sow outside: 1 to 2 weeks after average last frost.

When to start inside: 6 weeks before average last frost. Transplant outdoors after last frost. Zinnias do not gain from being planted early; they wait for warmer weather.

Artist: Marjorie Leggitt

Perennial
Full sun
Blooms summer
2′ – 3′ tall

Days to Emerge:
14 – 28 days

Seed Depth:
1/4″

Seed Spacing:
A group of 3 seeds every 16″-24″

Thinning:
When 3″ tall, thin to 1 every 16″ – 24″

When to sow outside: 2 to 4 weeks before average last frost, and up to 8 weeks before first fall frost.

When to start inside: 6 to 8 weeks before average last frost.

Special germination instructions: Benefits greatly from stratification (see inside of packet).

Artist: Carolyn Crawford

If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.

― Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian Nobel Prize Winner, The Life of the Bee