Audubon's Home PageThis site is a guide to just about everything related to helping our environment

A ROBOTIC GARDENYou can actually plant seeds and watch your garden grow while on line !!

Environmental Defense Fund The wonders of Wild Life a lot of Good information about wild flowers.

Birdingwell rated by Web Magazine

[email protected]National Home Gardening Club They will be very happy to hear from you.

MORE GARDEN NEWS A suppliment to this Page with more interesting Garden tips!!

Common Name -.- Scientific Name-.- Nectar(N)or Host(H) Plant-.- Comments

Butterfly weed-.- Asclepias tuberosa-.- N,H -.- Excellent nectar plant,for all butterflies;Monarchs lay eggs on only Host plant

Asters-.- Aster spp.-.- N -.- blooms when monarchs migtate

Butterfly bush-.- Buddleia davidii-.- N-.- Indispensable

Valerian-.-Centranthus ruber-.-N-.-Excellent-self- sows.

Coneflower-.-Echinacea spp.-.-N-.-Indispensable.

Gayfeather-.- Liatris spp.-.-N-.-Many nativer varities.

Summer phlox-.-Phlox paniculata- .-N-.-Indispensable.

Black-eyed Susan-.-Rudbeckia spp.-.-N-.-Long blooming.

Pincushion flower-.-Scabiosa-.-N-.-Excellent-lives forever.

'Butterfly Blue'& 'Pink Mist'

Stonecrop-.-Sedum telephium-.-N-.- Blooms at time of monarch migration

'Autum Joy'

Planning a buterfly garden

Your main objective in planning a garden to attract butterflies is to make life as easy as posible for them. Butterflies are cold-blooded inscets, so their activity is limited to warm days. Since they will almost always be found feeding on plants in full sunlight, the first step is to locate your butterfly garden in a sunny area. Also, your garden needs to be in an area procted from the wind. It takes a lot of energy for a butterfly to fly in gale force winds, so either situate your garden in a sheltered area or plant a windbreaker.

once you've chosen your site, plant generous quantities of diverse plants, including host plants for the young and nectar plants for the adults. Don't hesitate to use a combination of annuals, perennials, vines,andherbs. Weedy patches and long grasses are desirable spots for egg laying, so be sure to incororate some into your garden.Since many butterfly species prefer native plants and grasses to use as a nursery, it's a good policy to let a corner of your property go wild. If you can, you should provide a mud puddle as well, since butterflies cannot frimnk from open water, and many males need the mineral salts that are found in mud.

Last but certainly not least, eliminate the use of pesticides in your garden, as most of these chemicals are injurous to butterflies at some stage of their life cycle.

This is only part of an article taken from a Gardening Magazine which the National Gardening Club sends to it's members, and writen by Natalia Howard Natalia Howard is a writer, photographer, and frequent guest speaker on a variety of gardening topics. She is also co- owner of Clearfield Farm, a Lawrence, Kansas, retail garden center specializing in perennials and herbs.

As a member of The National Home Garden Club I came accross this article about" Designs On Wildlife" by Kevin J. Cook.

He promotes wildlife gardening as an approach to keeping or attracting birds to your property. He listed 6 regions for attracing certain birds and said to be on the lookout!!

Spring affects bird life differently in various ecoregions. For example, in the Desert Southwest and Humid Southeast, many overwhelming birds depart and many migrants pass through without staying, Watch for these birds in your area:

1. PACIFIC COAST

Departure of winter visiters such as hermit thrushes,fox sparrows, and palm warblers.

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Last modified on Jan , 2002

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