What kind of annual flowers will attract bees and butterflies?

For butterflies there are two types of plants : nectar plants and host plants. Nectar plants are the butterflies' food, and host plants are what the caterpillars eat. Some caterpillars only eat one type of plant, so make sure you get the right ones!

Host Plants:

-Dill, Fennel, or Parsley - Black Swallowtail

-Milkweed - Monarch

-Passionvine - Gulf Fritillary

-Senna - Cloudless Sullphur, Orange Sulphur, Sleepy Sulphur

-Spicebush - Spicebush Swallowtail

-Dutchman's Pipevine - Pipevine Swallowtail

Nectar Plants (annuals only):

-Mexican Sunflower

-Zinnia

-Verbena

-Phlox

-Cosmos

+++ Go for bright colors and large flowers!+++

Agastache is unbelievable. I found an agastache plant at Lowes for about $7 and I had never heard of it. As soon as I planted it it exploded in growth and attracted unbelievable numbers of bees and butterflies. Mostly bees, but the nice kind that don't sting. In fact, I can stand right next to the plant while a thousand bees are on it, doing whatever it is they do, and they don't even notice me. And it's beautiful when it's in bloom. But it does grow about 2.5 to 3 feet tall and about 3-4 feet wide

Here are more options

BEES:

Mosquito Plant ( Agastache cana )

Borage ( Borage officinalis )

Purple Headed Gomphrena ( Gomphrena )

Lemon Balm ( Melissa officinalis )

Medico Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa )

Purple Horse Mint ( Monarda Citriodora )

Red Clover ( Trifolium pratense )

BUTTERFLIES:

Butterfly Weed ( Asclepias tuberosa )

Butterfly Bush ( Buddlefa )

Sulphur Strawflower ( Helichrysum )

Purple Passion Flower ( Passiflora )

Long Stemmed Black-Eyed-Susans ( Rudbeckia asteraceae )