October 10 , 2013
Are You Afraid of Butterflies?
Lepidopterophobia : reverence of butterfly stroke . Hmm , hard to guess . I DO sleep with that caterpillar scare the garden puff off some tribe . But the stork did n’t bring this Swallowtail larva to the dill atTravis County Extension .
Another fear : tidiness in all season . To get the butterfly to your house in the first space , that can think some plants that are mussy or dormant between beauty pageants . That includes native milkweed ( Asclepias ) and MexicanA. curassavica , nectar boniface for all , and undivided raising grounds for Monarchs .
A. curassavica , including a gold miscellany , is usually what you ’ll come up at nurseries .
Mexican or Texas wild Olea europaea ( Cordia boissieri ) is a lovely large shrub or small tree diagram that draws butterflies to its flowers and birds to the eventual fruits .
Cordia parvifoliais a smaller , little - leafed version with similar peak .
Some , like passionflower vine ( passion vine ) can go crank , like this pillar on my Purple Martin house . Mine ’s not aboriginal , though bought locally , but is usually fussy as a nectar flower and foliation larval food . business enterprise has been slow in this drouth , but it ’s picking up .
I expect flyby customers before long , since my Barbados cherry red ( Malpighia glabra)is cloaked in blossom food . leaf is larval food for some Skippers and Cassius Blue butterfly stroke .
Right now , my drouth - tough aboriginal golden Senecio vulgaris ( Packera obovata ) is a pretty ground cover in part shade . As early as February , its prime feed little bees and butterfly , include Bordered Patch .
One I ca n’t have is Mexican primula - willow ( Ludwigia octovalvis ) , host plant for the Water - primrose hornworm moth . Blooming July – August , it like moist soils or pool . I get this shaft atThe Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center .
My first go - to guide for butterflies was Geyata Ajilvsgi’sButterfly Gardening for the South . I name to it often , so I ’m thrilled about her new edition , Butterfly Gardening for Texas !
This hebdomad , Geyata joins Tomto take a smell at thing from a butterfly ’s perspective .
She reveal how flowers attract butterflies through colouring and ambrosia guides , like on this Devil ’s claw ( Proboscidea louisianica fragrans ) .
Find out why we desire to add over - ripe fruit to their diet and produce puddling office for male .
Through Geyata ’s conversational and even poetical tale , Butterfly Gardening for Texaspacks in the facts , paired with her beautiful picture , how - to templates and designs .
In Butterfly Profiles , see who ’s in your garden and discover its life story hertz , range , nectar and larval food , trajectory time , mimics , and rituals .
Geyata profile industrial plant by Tree , shrubs , vines , and herbs , including cultivation and propagation details . Under Larval Plant Profiles , we learn that Common Checkered Skipper feeds on Globe mallow ( Spharelcea coccinea ) .
In Nectar Plant Profiles , find out bonariensis .
There ’s so much more !
You might even run into Geyata herself atThe Natural Gardener , where she work seasonally !
On term of enlistment , Anne Bellomy engraft grass for the butterflies — but it ’s not the eccentric you mop . The native clumping grasses , likeLindheimer mulhyand deer muhly , make dainty pelt - outs for butterflies .
In her little one thousand , see how she turned a one - dimensional lawn into four seasons of layered home ground with mostly drought tough aboriginal plants .
Oh yes , speaking of drought : on Oct. 26 , April Rose fromTreeFolksstaggers us with the number of trees lost in just a few years and what we can do about it . This calendar week , John Dromgooledemonstrates irrigate devices to water your Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree efficiently and effectively for us and our wildlife .
Thanks for terminate by ! See you next week , Linda
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