butterflies Archives - Garden Experiments

5 Great Plants for A Butterfly Garden in the Southeast

Garden Experiments — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 19:38:00 +0000

Monarchs make a nearly 3,000-mile journey each year from Mexico to the northern U.S. and Canada. Along their travels, they rely on native milkweeds for food and host plants for their caterpillars. Growing plants in your butterfly garden than provide food and are also a host plant will attract lots of butterflies, including monarchs. And […]

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Celebrating Pollinators – Bees, Butterflies, Birds and More

Garden Experiments — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 19:32:23 +0000

National Pollinator Week occurs in mid- to late-June each year. The goal of this Week is to celebrate the beneficial insects, birds, and mammals that pollinate the flowers of plants that produce much of our food, maintain our ecosystems, stabilize soils, and provide wildlife habitat. It also serves to educate people about what they can […]

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My Favorite Plant-It-And-Forget-It Flower: Black-eyed Susan

Garden Experiments — Tue, 21 May 2019 13:25:53 +0000

If you’re looking for a plant-it-and-forget-it type of plant that still produces lots of flowers AND attracts pollinators, then look no further than the black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). This easy-to-grow wildflower is found throughout North America where you can find it alongside roads, in grassy openings and prairies, and even along the edge of forests. […]

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Early Spring Flowers for Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies

Garden Experiments — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 16:17:09 +0000

This early spring sky is filled with butterflies! I am seeing so many eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies (Papilio glaucus) feeding on colorful spring flowers that it has really brightened my days. Eastern tiger swallowtails are quite large – with a wingspan of 3 to 5.5 inches and with their bright yellow wings with blue spots, […]

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Japanese Honeysuckle vs Native Honeysuckle Vine

Garden Experiments — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 14:12:16 +0000

Have you ever plucked a honeysuckle flower, turned it around, and gently sucked the nectar from the tube-shaped back of the flower? If you grew up in the southeastern U.S., I bet you did. That taste of super-sweet honey nectar always makes me think of summer nights spent chasing fireflies and summer days spent running […]

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Cypress Vine: Delicate, But Aggressive

Garden Experiments — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 13:40:50 +0000

Tiny, star-shaped, brilliantly red flowers cover my cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit) in spring. Although the flowers are tiny, they really stand out against the light green of the leaves and vine. My favorite part about the cypress vine is its dainty, feather-like leaves. The leaves look so fragile and fairy-like that, even when it isn’t […]

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Are Monarchs the only Butterflies That Migrate (in North America)?

Garden Experiments — Sat, 21 Oct 2017 22:02:53 +0000

The orange and black colors of a monarch butterfly are so well-known and we keep an eye out for them each year. It is common knowledge that these butterflies migrate from their nesting grounds in Mexico into the northern United States and back each year. But did you know there are other butterflies the migrate? […]

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Obedient Plant – Physostegia virginiana

Garden Experiments — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 15:11:00 +0000

Deer-resistant AND it can grow in clay soil – what’s not to love about obedient plants? Native plants are favorites of mine because they are particularly suited for the local conditions (soil, heat, drought or rain, clay soil) of my area. When I find those native plants with particularly pretty flowers, I add them to […]

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Gulf Fritillary Butterfly Hatching

Garden Experiments — Tue, 12 Sep 2017 16:24:43 +0000

The Friday night air had hints of fall weather to come, and Saturday morning, I opened the windows to my house, letting the fresh breeze in. I love opening my windows and letting the fresh air blow through the house. This weekend was full of cool breezes and sunny weather. It was a perfect glimpse […]

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How to Attract and Feed Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterflies

Garden Experiments — Wed, 30 Aug 2017 12:47:27 +0000

One of the greatest joys I get out of my garden is watching the insects and wildlife that is attracted to the flowers and plants. I know that some of my plants will be consumed by these critters, but I’m willing to share. This week, I stumbled across this little black swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes) […]

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