Wildlife gardening - attract butterflies
 

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm looking forward to looking through the older posts to see what discussions have been going on.

I've been working on creating a wildlife garden to attract birds and animals to my urban back garden.

What flowers to people recommend to attract butterlfies?

Many thanks in advance.

Kind regards,

Wildlife gardening - attract butterflies
 

"Mike_stone" wrote in message
...

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm looking forward to
looking through the older posts to see what discussions have been going
on.

I've been working on creating a wildlife garden to attract birds and
animals to my urban back garden.

What flowers to people recommend to attract butterlfies?


Cabbages.

Steve

Hi Mike, Im new too,and doing the same as you,by the sounds of it!
Ive put in a pond,which in turn,should attract insects.The pond has some flowering plants in too.
But plants.....buddlia is also called a butterfly bush.Ive got a cutting of it,I hope it takes!
Lupins are lovely. I have a wild geranium, which is covered with flowers.Always gets insects on it!

Wildlife gardening - attract butterflies
 

"Mike_stone" wrote in message
...

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm looking forward to
looking through the older posts to see what discussions have been going
on.

I've been working on creating a wildlife garden to attract birds and
animals to my urban back garden.

What flowers to people recommend to attract butterlfies?

Many thanks in advance.

Kind regards,




--
Mike_stone


Hi Mike from another Mike

I notice that you also want to attract birds. We have a 'bird friendly
gardens', I say 'gardens' much to the amusement of some on uk.rec.gardening
because our total garden is only 120 feet x 20 feet, but is divided up into
'gardens', gravel, veg, lawn etc etc and when we had it open to the public
someone remarked it was like walking from 'garden to garden', or 'room to
room'

We attract all sorts of birds and we have Bluetits nesting and working like
the clappers to feed young in the nest box which is about 12 feet from my
computer desk. They take no notice of us going in and out the Patio doors
:-))

Bird feeders with Peanuts and water are two of the things to attract birds
but the most important is the hedges and bushes they can nip into in a
hurry.

Take a look at the garden, taken in the Spring,
http://www.myalbum.com/Album=MUKLG34Q and the birds taken in the Winter,
http://www.myalbum.com/Album=YM8WG6CO which reminds me, they bath all the
year round, even when I have to break the ice in the bird bath.



Feeders. Water. Bushes and trees. An advantage of a small garden is that the
birds are concentrated in a small area. My daughter and son in law have a 2
acre landscaped walled garden complete with a massive pond, but the birds,
which includes dozens of Ducklings at the right time of the year, Magpies,
Woodpeckers, etc etc etc, are spread out. I have a show from the comfort of
an arm chair :-))



Good luck in getting your garden 'bird friendly'. It's taken about 6 years
to get the Bluetits to use the box for nesting ;-)



Mike

--

....................................
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.
....................................

Wildlife gardening - attract butterflies
 

"Sacha" wrote

Mike stone said:


I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm looking forward to
looking through the older posts to see what discussions have been going
on.

I've been working on creating a wildlife garden to attract birds and
animals to my urban back garden.

What flowers to people recommend to attract butterlfies?
Many thanks in advance.

Kind regards,

Buddleias are probably the best known. They like Sedums and Eupatorium
atropurpurea drives them mad.

Also good are Marjoram and Origano, herbs that are good for the kitchen and
will be covered in Butterflies and Bees of all descriptions. Trim them with
garden shears in the early spring. Even Thyme and Rosemary will attract
lots of Bees especially Bumbles and best to just let them grow.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

Hi Jake,

Thanks for the link and advice.

Cheers,

Mike

Thankyou Sacha and everyone else who replied.

Regards,

Wildlife gardening - attract butterflies
 

On May 20, 8:48*am, Sacha wrote:
On 2011-05-20 07:52:54 +0100, "Bob Hobden" said:





"Sacha" *wrote

*Mike stone said:

I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm looking forward to
looking through the older posts to see what discussions have been going
on.

I've been working on creating a wildlife garden to attract birds and
animals to my urban back garden.

What flowers to people recommend to attract butterlfies?
*Many thanks in advance.

Kind regards,

Buddleias are probably the best known. *They like Sedums and Eupatorium
atropurpurea drives them mad.

Also good are Marjoram and Origano, herbs that are good for the kitchen
and will be covered in Butterflies and Bees of all descriptions. Trim
them with garden shears in the early spring. *Even Thyme and Rosemary
will attract lots of Bees especially Bumbles and best to just let them
grow.

And I noticed yesterday afternoon that the Alliums 'Globemaster' were
covered in bumble bees and honey bees. *It's worth planting them for
that reason alone, even if they weren't so gorgeous!
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I always think that Budleija is very over rated, I'd plant open
centred flowers like Single and collerette Dahlias, they will keep the
insects and butterflys feeding from end of July till the frosts come,
much longer than budleija, also the everlasting flowers Helichrysums
and Statice will be covered in feeding insects and butterflys, they
will be fighting to get at the flowers, easy to grow from seed sown
direct, and you still have time.
David Hill

If your wildlife garden includes an area of longer grass and flowers, especially if it's in the sun and bordered by shrubs, you should find speckled wood moving in. I believe they defend their particular patch of grassland, so that means they're around for a long period, and you get interesting displays as they deter outsiders.

You won't nowadays attract the large numbers of butterflies that I remember from my childhood, more just the odd one or two here and there.

It's worth getting more interested in bumblebees - once you start looking, there are quite a few different types, and they are still relatively abundant. They'll come to the same sort of nectar-full easy to get at flowers that you're providing for your butterflies.

Wat you will get unfortunately depends on what is around you. If you're surrounded by a lot of small hard-landscaped, highly-chemicalled gardens you'll get fewer things than if you are close to an area of rough ground and all your neighbours are organic.

Wildlife gardening - attract butterflies
 

On 20/05/2011 09:14, Mike_stone wrote:
Jake;922119 Wrote:
On Thu, 19 May 2011 12:18:56 +0000, Mike_stone
wrote:
-

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm looking forward to
looking through the older posts to see what discussions have been going
on.

I've been working on creating a wildlife garden to attract birds and
animals to my urban back garden.

What flowers to people recommend to attract butterlfies?

Many thanks in advance.

Kind regards,-

There's a big long list at :
'Attract butterflies to your garden! Flowers for butterflies'
(http://tinyurl.com/674xtox)
(you don't have to buy from them but saves me listing a lot).

Shazzbat's suggestion will attract absolubtely loads of predominantly
white butterflies to your garden, followed by even more loads of
lovely green catterpillars. However you should have a continuing
reserve of cabbages growing indoors from which you will regularly
replenish the stock of cabbages growing outdoors.


Hi Jake,

Thanks for the link and advice.

A few of the things on that list are a bit on the world domination side
in terms of invasive tendencies. Be a bit careful what you choose.

You have to try and pick a selection of plants that are prolific with
small nectar rich flowers and span the entire season. Starting with pear
and apple blossom going right through to sedum spectabile at the end.
Some of the plants that butterflies love are a bit of a handful if you
don't keep on top of dead heading. Red valerian for instance which is
(too) easy to grow attracts many butterflies and hummingbird hawkmoths
for me, but it also comes up all over the place and I am pretty good
about not letting it set seed.

I still think it is well worth growing for the butterflies, but be a bit
careful not to introduce plants which are even more unruly. At the
moment the alliums are the main attraction - red valerian will be out in
a few days and then flowers continuously[*] until it gets frosted.
[*] provided that you religiously dead head it before it sets seed.

I let it grow along the base of a hedge and in clumps elsewhere.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Wildlife gardening - attract butterflies
 

On Fri, 20 May 2011 00:05:24 +0200, Martin wrote:

On Thu, 19 May 2011 16:42:18 +0100, "shazzbat"
wrote:


"Mike_stone" wrote in message
...

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm looking forward to
looking through the older posts to see what discussions have been going
on.

I've been working on creating a wildlife garden to attract birds and
animals to my urban back garden.

What flowers to people recommend to attract butterlfies?


Cabbages.

for the caterpillars to munch.


It's a close call between the caterpillars and the pigeons on the plot
next to me.


--
http://www.bra-and-pants.com -*- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk -*- http://www.holidayunder100.co.uk

Wildlife gardening - attract butterflies
 

In article , Sacha
writes
And butterflies love Verbena bonariensis also.

So do I (although personally it isn't for the nectar)

--
regards andyw