By Barbara Elmore, HCMG |
|
Bring Butterflies in for
a Landing |
|
If you want to flag in
some of the colorful
butterflies flitting
around outside,
following simple
guidelines can make your
task easier: Draw them
with bright colors, use
manmade chemicals
sparingly, nourish them
with easy-to-grow nectar
plants, and provide a
place for them to lay
their eggs. |
|
Butterflies use their
own color wheel when
they are seeking nectar.
They favor blossoms in
hues of red, yellow,
orange, pink or purple.
In her comprehensive
book Butterfly Gardening
for the South, Texas
author and veteran
gardener Geyata Ajilvsgi
notes that butterflies
possess "the broadest
spectrum of color vision
known to exist in the
animal kingdom," from
ultraviolet through
yellow-orange and red.
The butterfly needs
colors for
communication, feeding
and protection, she
says. |
With a garden full of purple
coneflower
(Echinacea purpurea) and
yellow lantana
(Lantana camara), you are sure to
have
butterflies visiting |
|
Numerous plants attract
butterflies, but anyone
starting or adding to a
garden might want to try
some or all of the
plants listed below.
Each grows successfully
in most regions of
Texas, is relatively
trouble-free and returns
year after year. The
bonus is that each one
also reels in
butterflies seeking
nectar: |
|
• Lantana (Lantana sp.),
a native that boasts
profuse orange, red and
yellow hues throughout
the
spring and summer.
• Mexican
mint marigold (Tagetes
lucida) supplies small
yellow blooms on a tall
stem in late
summer. Its foliage
smells like anise.
• Purple
coneflower (Echinacea
angustifolia) blooms
spring to fall. Although
"purple" is part of this
plant's name, the large,
tall flowers are bright
pink.
•
Butterfly weed (Asclepias
tuberosa) is a
spring-to-fall bloomer
that the insect can lay
her eggs on.
• Aster
(Aster sp.) supplies the
garden with purple
blossoms in the shape of
daisies in the fall. |
Gulf frittilary
butterflies lay their
eggs on the
passion flower vine (Passiflora
incarnata).
|
|
Beware – after the
butterfly lays her eggs
and caterpillars hatch,
they will eat the
vegetation. For example,
monarchs lay their eggs
on their underside of
the butterfly weed, and
the larvae often strip
the leaves. Happily,
both leaves and flowers
will return. |
|
Other host plants –
plants that "host" the
caterpillars – include
parsley, fennel,
passionflower,
nasturtiums and even
bluebonnets. If you
provide host plants for
the butterfly larvae to
munch on, keep them
going through the
winter. You can do this
by starting new plants
in pots. |
|
Butterflies "puddle,"
Ajilvsgi notes in her
book. The puddles might
contain dung, urine or
dead animals, which
provide the nutrients
the butterflies need.
For a garden without
flowers, she recommends
a butterfly feeder
containing a mixture of
½ teaspoon honey, ½
teaspoon sugar, a heavy
dash of salt and a cup
of water. Butterflies
also like Gatorade. |
|
Other tips for
thoughtful butterfly
gardening: |
• Avoid chemical sprays
in your garden unless
you don't want
butterflies on the
plants. Try Bt
(Bacillus thurengiensis)
on the plants you don't
want the larvae to eat.
•
Don't locate
butterfly-attracting
plants near a birdfeeder
because the birds will
eat the caterpillars if
they find them.
•
Apartment dwellers,
don't despair. Find a
sunny outdoor spot and
use pots or hanging
containers
of blooming plants. You
can use lantana,
verbena, petunia and
nasturtiums. |
| |
