Wordless Wednesday
I love the way Rudbeckia (also known as Black eyed Susan) buds unfurl as they prepare to bloom. They look like some kind of alien creature about to be born don’t they?
What's blooming today?
by Tricia
by Tricia
Back in 2002/2003 when my husband and I landscaped our backyard and created our raised bed garden I’d wanted to grow plants that would attract butterflies and birds to the garden. I spent the winter researching plants that would thrive in my area and that would attract butterflies. If they happened to have scent that was just a bonus!
Butterflies sip from the nectar of many flowers and their larvae eat the leaves of plants such as milkweed, so when planning a garden meant to attract butterflies you should keep all of their life stages in mind.
It’s also important that your butterfly garden be organic. You can’t use pesticides that kill a wide variety of insects as you’ll likely end up killing the butterflies that you desire.
Habitual zones and places where areas of the landscape meet with the tree lines are favorite safe places for them. They also search for areas that can shelter them from high winds, summer storms and rains. Shrubs and trees are good choices for plants that will provide them protective shelter. It is also helpful to find out what kinds of butterflies are native to your area so you can find appropriate plants for them.
Some plants that attract Anise Swallowtail and the Black swallowtail butterflies are fennel, parsley and dill.
Lupine flowers are a favorite with Fritillary butterfly and Snapdragons are a great choice of attracting butterflies that are native to your own area.
Gardens that offer a safe haven for butterflies will not only attract passing butterflies but likely encourage them to stay longer or to return frequently. Most butterflies are active in the mid to late summer, so it is important that you also have plants available to them during that time.
A home made butterfly feeding station might also be a great idea. You can make a feeder by using a small jar, a lid with a small hole drilled in the center and a piece of cotton to plug the hole in the lid. The nectar is made with 9 parts water and one part sugar. Very similar to hummingbird nectar actually. In fact if you have hummingbird feeders in your garden they might suffice as an additional area for butterflies as well.
Butterflies do not drink water from birdbaths, however they will drink water that puddles on large rocks or from areas where water has gathered on the soil after a rain storm.
As your plants mature you’ll likely see more and more butterflies visiting your garden each year. I know that’s been the case with our garden. We have quite the variety of wildlife that seek out our garden.
Here’s a list of plants that attract butterflies:
Annual Plants and Flowers
Perennial Plants
Shrubs
Trees
Vines
It’s certainly not to late in most areas to start a few of these plants or perhaps buy some seedlings or potted plants from a nursery.
Get started on your butterfly garden now.
by Tricia
Well I managed to finally get out into the Garden on Sunday. It was a lovely day and it was high time that I got out there to tidy up my garden and begin pruning the roses.
Last Autumn I didn’t even manage to put my garden to bed. By this I mean I didn’t do the usual winter protection. I was just too ill. So I’d have to say that I really haven’t done much in my garden at all since perhaps last September and at that time it was mainly only watering the garden.
That’s 7 months of not doing any garden work. Do you know how my body is feeling right now?
I was outside for about five hours. Once I got started I couldn’t make myself stop. Surprisingly I felt pretty good while I was working away. However once I got back inside I began to notice that my back was stiffening up. Now the bottom of my left foot is numb. I guess I must have a pinched nerve in my back! Oh the damage I do to myself when I garden. I tell you – it’s an extreme sport for me.
There are so many plants growing it’s unbelievable! Some are way ahead of themselves. For instance, my daffodils rarely make an appearance before mid-May, yet I have two that are up and blooming and more to come. Some of my supposedly later blooming Tulips are also up and about to bloom. What else was growing well? Strawberry plants, raspberry canes, several clematis, helebores, columbine, monkshood, toad lilies, regular lilies, oriental lilies, several types of tulip, hyacinth, muscari, lavender, Chionodoxa, snow drops, sedum, astilbe, geranium, new york asters, phlox, hostas, trilliums, peonies, rudbeckia, honeysuckle vines and on and on. I’m sure I’ve missed some of the perennials that I saw out there.
I believe that most of the roses will end up surviving. There’s a lot of dead branches but there’s life in the lower areas. Some are quite hardy and are already leaving out at the tips and upper branches. I didn’t survey each rose because I was trying to systematically work my way through the garden one area at a time.
I think I managed to tidy up half of the back garden beds. If my body cooperates I’ll go back outside later today and try to finish up the back. Then I’ll have to do the side of the house, the front garden and boulevard. Oh my … it’s a lot of work!