Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Daily Pictures #94, 1 by mellielong

mellielong wrote:
I went to the Native Plant Society sale in the county just north of me (I live about two miles below the county line). I usually go south because I'm on the north side of Tampa, but today convinced me to branch out in other directions. First, there was the native plant sale. I picked up some Carolina petunias which I've been wanting for a while, and I finally gave in and got a necklace pod after seeing the great hummingbird pics on the forum. Many of the plants I already had so that made me feel pretty good.

On the way there we drove by a couple of nurseries and I wanted to stop at one on the way back. They had lots of flowers I could see from the road. Once we got there, I found they had the Sweetbay Magnolia tree I've been wanting for a while now. Plus, these were 7-8 feel tall so they're decent-sized trees. This tree is the host for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail although they have been known to use Black Cherry in my yard, as well. I also picked up a Sweet Almond Bush. We had one of these at the museum where I used to volunteer and it attracts lots of butterflies. It also smells wonderful!

But the best news is that while we were waiting for the guy to get a dolly to lift the tree, I was staring at the regular magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora) when I saw a butterfly racing around. I thought it was a skipper but it turned out to be a Great Purple Hairstreak - which I have never seen until today!!!! I was so excited to be able to cross another butterfly off my list. I didn't get the best pictures due to the lighting, but cjeck it out anyway!

Melanie

This message was edited Mar 31, 2012 11:05 AM