Buddleja is a wonderfully charismatic genus of flowering shrubs and small trees in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, celebrated for its long, nectar-rich flower clusters and its easy, airy garden presence. The genus contains more than 100 species and has a broad native range stretching across tropical and subtropical parts of the Americas, Africa, Madagascar and Asia. The name honours the English botanist and clergyman Rev. Adam Buddle, and the plants are especially admired for their fragrant blooms and their ability to draw in butterflies and other visiting insects.

Native to China, Buddleja davidii ‘Alba’, commonly known as Butterfly Bush or Summer Lilac, is a beautiful sub-shrub growing 180 to 240 cm tall and over 120 cm wide with a gorgeous, graceful arching habit. It blooms in midsummer to autumn with large fragrant, plume-like flower clusters which rise above the foliage for a wonderful display of white blooms. Very deserving of its name, as literally hundreds of butterflies, hummingbirds and bees will visit these graceful plants every day, feeding on the sweet nectar. Butterfly Bush is actually a shrub that can grow to a very large size in mild winter areas. However, in colder areas it is often treated as a perennial by cutting it back each spring. Pruning the plant this way will cause the flowers to be on shorter stems so that they can be seen more easily and also used with other perennials. They make wonderful cut flowers; in fact, each long cluster of white flowers is a fragrant bouquet in itself!