Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Your gift keeps resources like this database thriving!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
120 ratings

Wednesday - February 23, 2005

From: San Antonio, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Deer Resistant
Title: Native grasses and wildflowers to attract butterflies in Blanco Co., TX
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Could you please recommend (native, xeriscape, deer resistant) grasses and flowers that attract butterflies that can be grown in Blanco County?

ANSWER:

Here is a short list of plants native to Central Texas that meet your criteria for attracting butterflies, requiring little water, and being deer resistant.

Wildflowers: green milkweed (Asclepias viridis), butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Texas thistle (Cirsium texanum), Turk's cap (Malvaviscus arboreus), butterfly bush (Buddleja marrublifolia), lantana (Lantana camara), cherry sage (Salvia greggii)

Grasses: purple three-awn ( Aristida purpurea) and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium).

You can find more information on the Wildflower Center web page about butterfly gardens by selecting Explore Plants from the side bar, next select Clearinghouse Publications, then Native Plant Library. You will find a 2-page PDF file titled "Butterfly Gardening" that you can download. You can also find a book, Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife by Noreen Damude and Kelly C. Bender in the Wildflower Center's Wild Ideas store that will give you more ideas about plants that attract butterflies. The Native Plant Society of Texas has a list of deer-resistant plants in Camouflage Gardening that not only gives deer-resistant plants that are native to Central Texas but also tells you why the deer avoid them.
 

More Deer Resistant Questions

Deer-resistant plants for wildlife in Margaretville NY
April 18, 2010 - We have a 60 degree bank behind a recently completed retaining wall that is mostly rocky with a light topsoil. We are going to put down grass just to keep the topsoil in place, but someone suggested ...
view the full question and answer

Deer Resistant plants in South Dakota
November 03, 2011 - Plants and flowers that deer wont eat and will grow in Black Hills, SD
view the full question and answer

Shady Perennial Groundcover Suggestions for Indiana
April 21, 2013 - Could you please recommend perennial groundcovers for Indiana that are low and leafy, self-spreading, non-invasive, deer resistant, and moisture tolerant; and that are good for erosion control on a sh...
view the full question and answer

Deer Resistant Roses and Fruit Trees in NC
April 20, 2015 - Hello, I am planning a house on Lake Gaston in North Carolina (to be built) and will need to establish a new garden on the cleared lot. I would like to focus on native plants, but I love a cutting ga...
view the full question and answer

Deer Resistant and Drought Tolerant Pink-Flowering Shrub for Austin, TX
April 15, 2013 - Is there a pink-flowering bush that is deer resistant and drought tolerant that would do well in Austin, TX? If not pink flowering, any color of a flowering bush is fine.
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.