Black Knight butterfly bush carries long, honey-scented panicles of deep violet-purple all summer, and butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds find them from across the yard. It is a vigorous deciduous shrub, reaching 6 to 8 feet in a single Birmingham season, with gray-green foliage.

Plant it in full sun with decent drainage; it handles drought, clay, deer, and rabbits once established. Cut it back hard, to knee height, in late winter, since flowers come on new wood, and snip off spent panicles through summer to keep fresh ones coming.