The Sweet-Smelling Perennial Plant That'll Have Butterflies Flocking To Your Garden

Garden feeling a bit lackluster lately? It could be missing some butterflies. Along with being colorful and vibrant, the winged visitors are master pollinators. As they flock to the bright flowers of your garden, they'll collect pollen and carry it to nearby plants, giving the vegetation a chance to replicate and promoting biodiversity throughout your outdoor landscape. In short, butterflies add a kind of natural magic you can't buy at the nursery to any backyard oasis.

With purposeful planting, you can start a pollinator garden that will attract butterflies to breathe new life into your blooms. And there's one plant in particular that can kickstart your efforts. Eryngium yuccifolium, commonly known as rattlesnake master, is a native perennial with globe-shaped blooms that butterflies can't resist. Relatively hardy and fuss-free, it's one of the easier plants to grow for beginner gardeners. Plus, it's got a sweet smell and a unique appearance, making it a delightful way to encourage more breathtaking butterflies into your garden.

Rattlesnake master is native to the prairies and meadows of the eastern United States. But thanks to its prickly, yucca-like leaves and bulbous flower heads, it looks more like a plant you might find in the desert. It provides a visually interesting contrast to some of the more colorful or dainty butterfly favorites, like dahlias, coneflowers, or milkweed.

The plant has another characteristic in common with many desert plants — it's pretty adaptable. Rattlesnake master thrives in growing zones 3 to 8 without much hands-on care. Just make sure it gets full sun and dry to moist soil conditions, depending on the variety. But if your garden has experienced drier weather than usual recently, you should still be safe; rattlesnake master has been known to survive drought conditions.

The best time to plant rattlesnake master is after soil temperatures have dropped below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. When the plant blooms (typically starting in late June and lasting until early fall), you'll probably notice a honey-like smell coming from the flowers. It's that scent that attracts everyone's favorite pollinators, butterflies, to the plant and quite literally make it a perennial that will bring timeless beauty to the garden for years.