It is a perennial. You would have to choose one for the place you want to plant it, They vary in size from tiny to quite large and there are dozens of varieties . Soilwise they are easy but they do not like to be wet.

Thankyou Wyeboy, do you know if they prefer full sun or would they be ok in partial shade?

They prefer full sun !

Another prettier perennial that is amazing for attracting butterflies and bees is Scabiosa, look for 'Ritz Blue' or 'Pink Mist', they have gorgeous pink or purple flowers from late spring until autumn and you'll love them !

im no good at latin names but theres a very hardy butterfly atracter commonly known as a butterfly bush . it grows easily , big and flowers for a long time and theres quite a few colours .

The one which is most often associated with butterfly attraction is Sedm spectabile which comes in colour from white to red. It is a perennial herb, grows to about 2 feet tall and as much across if you want it to.

I think nosey potter is talking about Buddliea. It grows in to a shrub and needs to be cut back at the end of the year to about half its height then in spring it gets cut back again to half of that height. It has long cones of flowers in many colours. There are also two yellow ones, an early flowering one and a later flowering one.Both produce their flowers in balls. There is also a waterfall version with flowers growing along the stems. Heathers attract butterflies as do viburnums. Welcome to GOY. I have just looked and the big shrubs are not suitable for small gardens.

I have a small garden and i have a Buddleia !
You 'can' put them in small gardens and as they can get cut back/to the ground yearly anyway this keeps them a sensible size.

Larger specimens in small gardens can work quite well a lot of the time :-)

The actual size of your garden has a lot to do with the value of any advice offered. As you are new you may not have dicovered the treasures in the A-Z at the foot of the page. Click on S and then small gardens. Some are quite big. If you also click on sedums there is lots of information about specific plants and the owners experiences with them. They come complete with butterflies. Louise1 is quite right you will want to have height in your garden as this creates a very different ambiance from having everything at eye level or below. If you can let us know the approx size of your garden then there are plenty of people to help with all sorts of ideas. I find them very friendly and helpful with sound advice.

good luck with your butterflies anyway im sure youl find something that does the job .

WOW! Thankyou so much to all of you who took time out to pass on such a variety of info and great tips..i'm very greatful...Noseypotter,Scotsgran,Louise1, Owdboggy,and Wyeboy. Im certain not to fail with such a wealth of knowledge and experience at my finger tips! What a great site this is, only wish i'd discovered it years ago! I do already have 3 quite unruly Buddleia which need taken under control this is probably why they are not flowering very well. Problem is my husband has just put a bird box, that my young son made, up in Feb - not expecting it to be rented out this year, so he just stuck on the fence next to the patio and Buddleia..big mistake! A pair of beautiful little Blue Tits have moved right in and now i'm scared to go out to do to much in case i frighten them off! I don't think they have laid yet but i'm guessing that it wont be long. They seem to disappear when i'm out there and wont venture near the box. So looks like i'll have to take a back seat for now till "Penny and Fred" have brought up their brood! After they have finished i'll move the box to a better location! As for my butterflies, i'm going to have a look at my local garden centre to see if they have Sedum or Scabiosa hopefully i'll be able to sneak them in without being noticed! Thanks a bunch everyone! (Pardon the pun!)

anytime daisy and know that wasnt a terrible cheap chat up line lol .take care bye for now xx

I'm sure your son is thrilled to bits to have such wonderful tenants. We sat at our bedroom window one year between 7am and 11am and could not tear ourselves away as baby after baby emerged and took flight. I think there were eleven.

bless thats a lot scots

Gosh Scotsgran i hope i might be so priviledged! I must say i'm already finding it hard to tear myself away from the window sill, i just sit for hours watching and waiting, i think i might be a bit of a twitcher..it's just so fascinating.

wow scots gran one more and they could of played football and had a spare player lol

That I would love to see lol They can have as many as 16 noseypotter. This year a pheasant has made a nest, just an indentation in the ground, and has laid one egg in it yesterday. It is in a very open site so don't hold out much hope for it being left alone.

it mite be just a very young bird that knows know better bye the sounds of it .thats amazing for a little bird.my friend has an evergreen shrub right outside his front door .its one thats new growth is very bright almost yellow in the spring and turns to dark green near the end of the year.he said have a look near the top inside.when i did theres a long tailed tits nest right there .i imagine knocking and leaving people are within about 24" of this nest but without being told you would never know.natures amazing.