It's About Thyme June 11, 2009
Sunday afternoon, 2 p.m. free lecture: Square Foot Gardening
Learn from Rachel and Charles Hall about how to prepare soil, how to
select plants, how to compost, and simple construction techniques.
select plants, how to compost, and simple construction techniques.
[Bring water and a chair.]
_______________________________________________________
WEEKEND SALE: 30% off select fruit trees, including plums,
peaches, pears, apricots and apples. (some restrictions apply)
WEEKEND SALE: 30% off select fruit trees, including plums,
peaches, pears, apricots and apples. (some restrictions apply)
Chris holds one of the beautiful black swallowtail caterpillars that's been busily
munching away on his parsley patch.
munching away on his parsley patch.
How to Host a Butterfly Party
by Chris Winslow
The triple curled parsley that I planted last fall has now reached a height
of three and a half feet and has hundreds of beautiful blooms.
And busy eating the foliage are the caterpillars (or larvae) for the black
swallowtail butterfly. Soon these multi-colored beauties will find a quiet
place to form a chrysalis and begin their metamorphosis into adults.
Plants such as parsley are a food source and host plant for the larvae.
If you select the right hosts, you can choose the types of butterflies that
visit your garden.
As I discovered, for black swallowtails, the curled and flat-leaf (Italian)
parsleys work very well. Butterflies manage to track them down, even if I
have them growing in pots in the greenhouse. They also enjoy dill, fennel
and rue (Ruta graveolens).
The plant of choice for the regal monarchs and queens is butterfly weed
(Asclepias tuberose). This is a milkweed that grows to a height of 4 feet,
with a display of orange and red flowers.
Milkweed is important to the butterfly world because it contains a bountiful
supply of nectar. Other nectar plants include lantanas,butterfly bushes
(Buddlea), pentas, mistflowers (Eupatoriums), mealy sages, Turk’s caps, and
wild bergamot. These plants all act as fueling stations for many of the 170
species of butterfly that visit the Austin area.
Why not add a few of these drought-hardy species to your garden and be
a good Lepidopteral host to these marvels of nature?
[For more detailed info on this subject, visit the Austin Butterfly Forum
www.austinbutterflies.org]
Happy gardening, everyone!
______________________________________________________
of three and a half feet and has hundreds of beautiful blooms.
And busy eating the foliage are the caterpillars (or larvae) for the black
swallowtail butterfly. Soon these multi-colored beauties will find a quiet
place to form a chrysalis and begin their metamorphosis into adults.
Plants such as parsley are a food source and host plant for the larvae.
If you select the right hosts, you can choose the types of butterflies that
visit your garden.
As I discovered, for black swallowtails, the curled and flat-leaf (Italian)
parsleys work very well. Butterflies manage to track them down, even if I
have them growing in pots in the greenhouse. They also enjoy dill, fennel
and rue (Ruta graveolens).
The plant of choice for the regal monarchs and queens is butterfly weed
(Asclepias tuberose). This is a milkweed that grows to a height of 4 feet,
with a display of orange and red flowers.
Milkweed is important to the butterfly world because it contains a bountiful
supply of nectar. Other nectar plants include lantanas,butterfly bushes
(Buddlea), pentas, mistflowers (Eupatoriums), mealy sages, Turk’s caps, and
wild bergamot. These plants all act as fueling stations for many of the 170
species of butterfly that visit the Austin area.
Why not add a few of these drought-hardy species to your garden and be
a good Lepidopteral host to these marvels of nature?
[For more detailed info on this subject, visit the Austin Butterfly Forum
www.austinbutterflies.org]
Happy gardening, everyone!
______________________________________________________
