Hi, all, First, Emily, depending on where you are, you may want to get started on your garden now. Here in the South (Zone 7), many of the woodies and perennials that attract butterflies do best when planted in the fall. In the spring, your butterfly area will be ready to rock and roll. Check to see what your local Extension Agent or Master Gardeners have to say about when to plant.
My favorite butterfly plant is Monarda, (beebalm) a native wildflower and medicinal herb. Never met a Monarda I didn't like. They attract hummingbirds, too. They are good to plant in the fall, here. A fun project is to combine native plants with butterflies (and bird gardens/habitat gardens). I like U of Florida's site, http://www.nsis.org/butterfly/butterfly-plants-nectar.html, for a plant list, though they wisely counsel to check butterfly by butterfly to find preferred foods. The Florida list has lots of easy, reliable widely adapted North American favs, like asters, purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Coreopsis spp., Rudbeckia spp. (black-eyed Susans) and sunflowers (Helianthus spp.) I also like the annual butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/wildseed/21/21.4.html), a brightly colored cousin of common milkweed. Also, check your local wildlife federation, http://www.nwf.org. The North Carolina branch is awesome, and I think the Georgia branch used to sell inexpensive 'butterfly garden kits' for beginners. About Buddleia, at the risk of foolheartishly tempting fate, I've got a different take on good ol' 'butterfly bush' than Adam and Mike (and 'Passalong Plants' writer and great Southern gardener Felder Rushing). Buddleia does indeed attract butterflies and grows like a weed - exactly the problem, it turns out. I have a couple, and have been roundly criticized for it by some of the best gardeners I know, enough that I at least am having some second thoughts. Here's a balanced summary of the issues from Claire Hagen Dole, editor of the Butterfly Gardener's Quarterly (http://butterflygardeners.com/list.htm): >> Politically Incorrect? Buddleia is at home in disturbed areas, such as road cuts or new development sites. Its flowers have softened wartime London's bombed lots and the slag heaps of Welsh mining towns. This tendency to be a weedy colonizer, along with its exotic (non-native) status in North America, is now making Buddleia politically incorrect. It's included in the recently published Invasive Plants [Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Handbook #149, 1996, $7.95]. Buddleia davidii has spread from gardens along the Eastern seaboard and the West coast, to roadsides and riparian (streamside) zones. It's not yet considered a serious problem, but it's spreading rapidly. So what's a responsible gardener to do? Sarah Reichard, who has been monitoring invasive plants at the University of Washington, says she's less concerned about Buddleia's use in urban areas. But if you're growing it near a natural area, watch for volunteer seedlings. Remove them and get rid of the plant if necessary (dig out the roots, which will resprout). You can also plant a less invasive form of Buddleia like B. globosa or seek native alternatives<< I also find here in Zone 7B, I need to whack Buddleia back aggressively every fall - it isn't an all season star in the the landscape. In fact, it generally looks pretty weedy (except for the butterflies, which really do like it). Yankees down this way tend to dismiss it as wannabe lilacs, which tank here in the heat. But I confess I do engage in some non-native butterfly attracting - I grow old fashioned parsley just for tiger swallowtail larva. They are amazing. Don Boekelheide Urban Ministry Center Charlotte, NC ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
