Where To Get Your Butterfly Garden Plants?

To me, one of the challenges of butterfly gardening is where to get your plants.  Fortunately there are several good places in Houston.  The following are my favorites and why I like them.  Also, a little caveat.  Just because Houston Garden Centers, Lowes, or Home Depot sells Milkweed does not mean that plants from these locations will be good for your garden.  It is extremely important that whatever plants you buy have been treated, sprayed with insecticide, etc.  The reason I list the places below is because I have never had a problem with anything I have bought from them, they sell plants that do well in the Houston area, and their prices are reasonable.

Joshua’s Native Plants – My favorite place.  Joshua’s Native Plants sells lots of plants for butterflies that frequent the Houston area, and even better, he knows alot about butterflies!  He also seems to know ever dang latin name for the plants he sells as well.

Buchanan’s Native Plants – My second favorite place.  The great thing about Buchanan’s is the sheer variety of plants they have and how all do well in the Houston Area.  They also send out a weekly email telling you what’s new, and that gets me hooked every time.

Wabash Antique and Feed – “A Little Bit of Country in the Heart of the City” is how they describe their store and I would agree.  Although I buy my plants and either Joshua’s or Buchanan’s, I get my mulch, potting soil, and bird seed from Wabash.  They also sell plants, though not as many as the above two and by the time I make it to their store, I’ve already bought everything I need.  An interesting thing that’s certainly worth a trip.  They not only sell plants and mulch, but stuff for horses, real chickens, rabbits, geese, kittens, and puppies.

Honestly, between Joshua’s and Buchanan’s you really can’t go wrong.  Visually it seems as though Buchanan’s is a bit larger, but Joshua’s is more personal.

Oh, and before I forget here’s a link to a document from the Cockrell Butterfly Center in Houston describing the nectar and hosts plants for Butterflies in the Houston Area.  Enjoy!  Cockrell Butterfly Center in Houston Guide for Butterflies in Houston