The last week or two has seen an influx of butterflies in the garden, which may or may not be the norm at this time of year; some have even paused long enough for me to photograph them, which is certainly not the norm! I hadn’t planned to seek them out for Six on Saturday, the meme hosted by Jim of Garden Ruminations, but nevertheless they still wangled themselves into the photographs. Above is a meadow brown.
Nearby, some of the ‘Goliath’ lilies planted in the autumn have just come into flower: I think this is ‘Anastasia’. Having had one of this type of lily for a number of years, I had thought that lily beetles were not interested in them, but Anastasia was harbouring one today, even more surprising as there have been none elsewhere for several weeks.
All but one of my dahlias have been flowering for a number of weeks, keeping me on tenterhooks as to its suitability as a substitute for ‘Top Totty’, a beautiful but temperamental purple dahlia that has failed to thrive. The alternative, ‘Blyton Stella’, bought as a rooted cutting from a dahlia specialist, is certainly going to be purple, but will it be the right shade of purple to satisfy my needs? Who knows… and isn’t it curious how the colour develops in the opening bud?
Also on a go-slow are the eucomis in the Coop, with only one, E ‘Amelia’ beginning to throw up a flowering stem. The foliage was also slow to emerge, perhaps the result of the chilly spring we had, so might there be hope for flowers on some of the others too?
After about 3 years, however, we do finally have blooms on Clematis ‘Duchess of Albany’, trumpet-shaped like ‘Princess Diana’ but a paler pink. She is going to be a very beautiful lady…
Let’s finish with some more incidental butterflies, which just
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Some plants, of course, are naturally late bloomers, like asters, helenium and chrysanthemum, but what about those that ‘should’ flower from early summer, but don’t? I am rather disappointed with the annual Chinese aster, callistephus (above), this year, as it is only just coming into bloom, especially as this variety, C ‘Duchess Blue’ is such a glorious shade. I am also growing C ‘Hulk’, which I think may be a greenish flower, which is even tardier. I have only grown these once before and was disappointed with their short flowering period, so with delayed flowering to take on boar too I might not bother again.
A butterfly garden (or butterfly habitat) is a place dedicated for butterflies to feed and hydrate. It also helps butterflies find shelter, as many of their natural habitats are being lost due to human activities and urbanisation.
…well, one bee, although there were several on the echinops above, E Arctic Glow’, when I was trying to take a photograph, but they wouldn’t stand still or long enough! The garden, is, however, currently swarming with bees and butterflies, which is good to see.
There’s nothing better than growing your own organic vegetables, freshly harvested and available to eat that day. However, here at Garden Organic’s demonstration garden we also want to grow produce that’s attractive and encourages pollinators and beneficial insects.
Discover the surprising truth about butterflies and their dietary habits in this informative article—Do Butterflies Drink Blood? Also, learn how butterflies obtain their nutrition and the unique sources they seek for sustenance.
Zinnias are easy to grow. They are half-hardy annuals, so need to be sown in the protection of a greenhouse or a propagator on a bright house windowsill in mid to late spring. Once they’re large enough to handle, prick them out individually and grow on before transplanting outdoors when all risk of frost has passed.
Butterflies have this unexplainable allure that seems to appeal to people of all ages. The key to enticing these winged beauties to your yard, is utilizing adult nectar sources and larval (caterpillar) host plants in your plant palette.
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a beautiful native wildflower that is an excellent source of pollen and nectar for beneficial pollinating insects. The genus name Asclepias is derived from the Greek god of medicine, Asklepios, and the species name means a tuberous, taproot.
Venturing out despite the rain to take photos for Jim’s Saturday meme on his Garden Ruminations blog, I changed my focus partway through as I was increasingly bowled over by the glorious clumps of perennials around the garden. I have mentioned a massive hellebore previously, now not the only one, and even the dandelions seem to be on steroids! It is not just the size that impresses, but the wonderfully rounded shapes of them too – look at Centaurea ‘Jordy’ above, and the echinops, probably E ‘Blue Globe’, below:
Having successfully got five streptocarpus through the winter and into bloom I am a little more hopeful of my prowess with them, but will feel more confident once I have got them through a second winter too – and may even be tempted to add one or two more! The fern behind them is a couple of plantlets lifted from the saucer under a pot of sarracenia, kept topped up with water and seemingly an ideal breeding ground for ferns – the asplenium is understandable as there is a lot of it in the garden but I don’t know what this fern is or where the spores have come from.
Apart from the quick Wordless Wednesday post, I don’t think I have looked at my blog at all since Monday, having instead been taking advantage of available time and clement weather to pursue the endless list of tasks necessary in a spring garden. No sooner is one crossed off the list there is another to replace it, but at least progress is noticeably being made.