I just love both of these, purple coneflowers and double orange daylilies. The former are native american wildflowers and attract pretty native american wildlife, as you'll see. The latter are equally easy to grow, and co-ordinate nicely, picking up the orange color of the echinacea but contrasting nicely as to flower shape and foliage. What, you don't see any butterflies? Keep looking...:)

...and looking...(don't you just hate those email jokes that tell you to keep scrolling down?

I tried finding a perfect one, but all of mine are ratty—one of the prices of an organic garden. The fact that I do absolutely nothing to it once the mosquitoes start biting might have something to do it, too. And no, there's no butterfly in this shot.

See one now? No, well, it's there; also a bee.

Lots of people have already taken pictures of these beautiful butterflies. So? Here's some more.

Besides, this particular specimen was really nice and fresh looking, unlike some of the other poor tattered souls I photographed.

This poor creature obviously has had some runins with birds...

but has beautiful patterns, especially the eyes on the outer lower wings,

and together these shots make a strong case for echinacea as a “butterfly” flower.

The only real downside from a photographer's point of view, is that butterflies, like daylilies, are most active in bright strong sunshine, whereas dawn and dusk make for better, more attractive light.

Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.