Santana - the Variegated Butterfly Bush

Look at how beautiful that is!

Such striking colors!

Even the most subtle hues have such beauty.

Oh yeah, and those butterflies are gorgeous as well!

If you can tear your focus away from those beautiful butterflies, you will see the Buddleia davidii 'Santana', a gorgeous butterfly bush with green and gold variegated leaves and fuchsia purple flowers. 

It is also a butterfly magnet in my yard, as you can tell, beloved by the swallowtails and skippers that visit the Red House's garden.  I have the Santana in the small part of my yard that actually gets decent drainage, and it also gets full sun.

Now, onto the cons of this bush.  Sadly, according to the nearby Plant Delights Nursery, this butterfly bush is fairly short-lived.   Mine also has a rather splaying habit.

We'll see if a little pruning before next year's growth will encourage a more upright shape.  However, even with these small detractions, the Red House is very enamored with this butterfly bush and will enjoy it for as many years as it can.

Okay, now you can go back to looking at the butterflies..