Best Butterfly Plants

Along the midribs on the underside of each leaf are stickery prickles, and the stems are armed with short, recurved spines capable of grasping unsuspecting ungloved hands.If you decide that you want a coral bean in your landscape, choose a place with...

The hybrids offer larger and more numerous blooms and are quite popular. That is probably why many wedding bouquets of the time included phlox. Many cultivated plants can trace their 'roots' to common roadside wildflowers and gardeners often assume that...

New sprouts may also spring up from places where the roots were cut or from places where firebush was dug.Hummingbirds and butterflies flock in when the firebush is blooming. Firebush is attractive all during the summer months, but in fall it becomes...

They like sunny areas and open spaces and are often seen 'skipping' a few inches above the lawn. An herb garden is an excellent idea as well. When is a butterfly not exactly a butterfly and a moth not exactly a moth?

Butterflies are just one more living thing in the garden that brings happiness to young and old alike. You may wish to look into which ones might add to your garden. They do equally as well in all situations in my yard.This is a mossy phlox It grows in...

Literally being ushered into their whole unadulterated circle of life, and how my life relates to their metamorphosis. What if all they need is a formal introduction and a little more information?

Despite their stings, some lovely butterflies and moths choose them as their main food plants, so even Stinging Nettles give us something very special. I therefore provided a layer of dead leaves, bark and twigs in the bottom of the jar.At about the end...

Even if you have a preference for a specific color,. Water well, and you should see seedlings starting to sprout within a week. This will ensure that the bouquet is colorful and long-lasting.Butterflies love zinnias too.

The site is flat, though the parking area and trail are not paved. If a trip to Mexico to see the monarchs is out of the question, consider a trip to California.Western monarch butterflies spend the winter near the coast from Marin County to San Diego...

Thumbnail picture taken by and property of the author. "Monarchs need milkweeds." That's practically Rule # 1 of butterfly gardening. It's also fairly easy to grow from seed, using the same method as you would for Scarlet milkweed (above) Thetechnique...

If you must prune, do so after the main flowering to give it time to produce buds for the next year. I took my cutting from my Mom's plant in 2001 when she sold our farm. It blooms best in full sun, but does survive in shadier locations.

It is one of the most frequent tree species of the eastern United States forests and is hardy in Zones 4 to 9. Amiable Spouse and I are able to see the flowers on the ground after the squirrels cut them from the trees.

Digging into the native milkweeds for your area is a very rewarding experience. Sowing the seeds in the fall in the area they are to grow in or in the pots they will grow in is the best method for growing this wonderful plant.

Even though the aristolochic acid has medicinal properties, it is a renal toxin and probable carcinogen. Before the pipevine, I rarely saw the beautiful pipevine swallowtail butterflies.

But the thing that fascinates me most about butterflies is metamorphosis, that bit of biological magic that transforms a striped thing that crawls with many legs into a beautiful aerial creature that floats above our blossoms like stained glass windows...

Here are a few that may fit into your garden plan. It is up to each of us to choose one that is right for us and our butterflies. Unfortunately, flowers of native pipevines are not as spectacular as the flowers of the tropicals.

Gardeners often encounter unique and colorful insects in their gardens. This series of articles will help identify some of the most unusual ones and give you a peek into their lives.

One of the trees that were covered in thousands of monarch's last season right at the heart of the colony was lying on the ground reduced to wood chips. This raises the question: do we want to place the future of a natural treasure such as the monarch...

Both sexes are quick and cautious and it is difficult to sneak up on them. Zinnias and asters are favorites of many types of butterflies and they also like mints and shrubs in the Buddleja genus.

The second graders who find a stray toad on the playground at recess immediately think to carry him around the building (with teacher permission, of course!) and set him free in the butterfly garden, where he can find shade and plenty of prey to keep...

Then the tree blooms pink for several weeks.For its fall finale, if conditions are right, it produces red leaves.As if that's not enough, its bark exfoliates (sloughs off), revealing a light tawny orange pattern that's unique among trees or shrubs of...

Take 8- to 12-inch cuttings from small branches no larger than the diameter of a pencil, score the bark at the bottom of the cutting, and dip in rooting hormone. Insects and diseases are not usually a problem, but tent caterpillars may need to be controlled.

Monarch butterflies depend on milkweed for their survival. Both are informative and have additional information about milkweed and monarchs. Even the experts present opposing opinions.

It is the one plant that is almost exclusively relied upon by the caterpillars of the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly. I must have been very young and I don't remember who told me, but when my great Aunt Bett and I were climbing mountains looking for...

They have been popular in art, song and poetry for thousands of years, besides being our favorite garden visitors. Do a little research into what your native species prefer as host plants.

The wings' margins are black and feature two series of small white spots. During the two month-long migration, females lay eggs, creating successive generations who will complete the spring trek north until the butterflies reach their reproductive grounds...

Few pests and diseases bother them. Among these are 'Sunkissed' andShown above are 'Stardust', 'Iceberg' and below is 'Citrus Twist'These are but the tip of the iceberg in the many selections of border stonecrops which are available on the market.