The Sunny Flower That Attracts All Kinds Of Pollinators To The Garden

Butterflies and bees aren't just helpful pollinators in the garden — they're also a joy to watch as they flit from flower to flower. They can even help your vegetable garden thrive. With the right flowers you can attract even more of the beautiful and busy animals to your yard. One of the best flowers for ensuring your yard is a hub of buzzing bees and beautiful butterflies is the bright and cheerful golden alexander (Zizia aurea) flower. 

Native to eastern North America, golden alexander is a short-lived perennial that blooms in May and June. Like many members of the carrot family, it can be identified by the umbel shape of its flowers — a shape that happens to be particularly adored by bees and butterflies. Whether you plant this flower primarily for its visual appeal, or for its ability to attract bees and butterflies, golden alexander is a perfect garden addition for gardeners who are trying to grow more flowers native to America. 

Hardy in USDA Zones 3 through 8, golden alexander is impressively cold tolerant. As it can handle everything from light shade to full sun and can grow in soils ranging from clay-heavy to loamy, it's not difficult to find a good spot for it in your yard. It can handle wet soils with ease as well, and is perfect for growing in rain gardens. 

Golden alexanders can make excellent additions to beneficial butterfly gardens, where they can pair with other butterfly- and bee-attracting plants. Some of the best flowers for attracting butterflies, which include butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) and beebalm (Monarda didyma), thrive in similar conditions to golden alexander. Because golden alexander generally only grows about 2 feet tall, it's perfect for adding towards the middle of garden borders, with shorter plants in front and taller plants behind it so that its cheery flowers aren't obscured.