Gorgeous butterflies, they are so much fun, and such a pleasure.
Butterfly garden pictures.
Hi Pod,
Azelea shrubs that have been at this house for eons before I came along...they really set off the papilio troilus spicebush swallowtail (ok I looked that up...I know nothing about butterflies but am trying to learn LOL)
And doing good I would say... Pretty photos and plants too. Glad you joined us!
Hi Dee .......... :o) ........ glad that you joined in!! This forum and the butterfly hummer forum is where I spend most of my time ....... GREAT PEOPLE with tons of knowledge and experience.
james t
Rednyr, we have Wild Blue. There was another company DH called (can't remember the name at the moment) which was supposed to be available here and came out, but it turned out we couldn't get their signal unless we put up a very tall pole (at our own expense, of course). Hilly areas are difficult for a lot of reasons. WB we can get with just their dish. I agree, CO is pretty! I wouldn't want to be there in the winter, however.
Hi James! yes sir followed your link and so happy to find others who are hummer and butterfly lovers...I am trying to find the one and only pic I have of a hummer in the yard on the mandevillea last year(or should I say up in it LOL)...with my digital cam it's hard to get a pic of them ! LOL
I am in awe of the pics that have the cats in them...silly me kept looking for a kitty in the pic until the light bulb went on :)~
texasbigleaves - hows your heater doing?
Oh, just noticed....on LouC's post about the caterpillars on parsley...that would be Black Swallowtail caterpillars, not Monarchs (who only use milkweed). They DO look similar.
Thank you for the correction, Linda. I knew that all along and don't know why I said "Monarch". We have the swallowtails in great numbers and I just went to sleep at the wheel. DUH
Christi
I'm so impressed, I think I'm intimidated! Can ya'll come over and help me design my butterfly garden? I can hardly wait, but I'm in zone 9a, should I be worried that some of these lovelies wont do as well here? The intended area is fairly large, and mostly full sun. I see some things in these pictures I simply have to have. My husband is building a deck and when he is finished I will know just how much area I have to deal with. My thought is to prepare beds and allow them to rest and plant in the fall.
It sounds like you have a great plan going Chood, the plants that we have in this area should do just fine in yours. I am sure Placenciarita will tell you which plants she is growing and all of us will be glad to help you as well.
Josephine.
Chood, ..........I say why wait until Fall to plant ....... I planted my first bed in mid summer and had many hours of enjoyment watching things develop .......I have heard that it takes two years for perennials to really come on strong .....
james t
Chood, I am no expert on any one plant. I love them all. I will help in whatever you need and might even have a few to share. I agree with jataylor, why wait until fall.
The only reason I was thinking to wait untill fall is that when I did my front beds, I prepared the beds with soil and used a product called Microlife which is a soil enhancer and allowed the beds to "rest". I planted in the fall and watered well, then with all the rain we had this last year, my plants did spectacularly. It may be hard to wait, I may not be able to if my husband actually stays in the Houston Office and we dont go on the road again. I went to visit him in North Texas in May, just as things were coming in their season and had to leave them except for short visits once a month! It was hard! I missed my plants, but they did so well that I had to cut my way into the front porch!
I guess what I want is to see them grow and I have a better chance in the fall than any other time! Thanks for all you offers of help, any suggestions on no-brainers would be helpful.