Butterfly Gardening

I've been fascinated with insects since childhood and butterflies in particular with their metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis. While my childhood passion did not yield a career in Lepidoptera, I absolutely love it when a Swallowtail or Monarch comes fluttering through my flower garden. When a friend turned me on to butterfly gardening I decided I wanted to learn all about which plants butterflies use for nectar as well as which serve as host plants for the caterpillars. A butterfly garden is a fantastic way to promote education and conservation of these winged beauties since increased urbanization is constantly infringing on butterfly habitats. A butterfly garden can come in any size or shape from a fully landscaped backyard, to a small balcony or patio to a window box. Planting the flowers adult butterflies rely on for nectar as well as the host plants the next generation of caterpillars will feed on quickly attracts large numbers of local butterflies. By alternating plants with various blooming cycles you can ensure vigorous butterfly activity year round.

Adult butterflies feed on sweet liquid, such as nectar from flowers. You can plant a variety of flowers to attract adult butterflies including petunias, alyssum, lobelia, cosmos, daylily, and rudbeckia daisies. Vines such as trumpet vine, wisteria or passion vine will quickly fill in and you may also consider shrubs such as hibiscus and butterfly bush.

A great way to jumpstart your butterfly traffic is to use a homemade feeder filled with sugar water. Mix 4 parts water to 1 part sugar, boil until the sugar is fully dissolved and then cool. Use something absorbant like paper towels to soak up the solution and put them in a shallow container on a post a few inches above your flowers. Another easy trick is to do the same with watermelon cuttings, but don't worry about keeping it fresh - they prefer it rotten.

Some butterflies can be observed on moist sand or mud gathering around puddles of water where they feed. The function of this "puddling" is not fully understood, they may be drinking the dissolved minerals, but maintaining a damp, salty area in your yard can be a useful method for attracting these butterflies. It can also be a good idea to put some rocks in your garden giving the butterflies a spot to bask in the morning sun and warm themselves.

Now, the caterpillars are much pickier eaters and most species will only survive on their own specific host plants. Monarch caterpillars, for example, can only live on milkweed plants while female swallowtails look for parsley, dill and fennel to lay their eggs.

Anyone can have success butterfly gardening, just research what butterflies live in your area and then fill your garden with the appropriate host plants and lots of nectar sources.

Patio Gardening

You don't need a backyard, anyone can make a simple and beautiful patio garden. The fragrance and color of container gardens are a fantastic addition to any space. Container gardening may be the only option for those who live in apartments but any size terrace, balcony, deck or patio can be transformed into a fantastically cozy garden. Multiple containers can transform a space and provide great privacy but even a single potted plant or two can be a welcome addition for smaller spaces. Almost all vegetables and flowers grow well in containers and apartment owners may be surprised to learn they can grow their own fresh herbs or vegetables in a very small space. Larger plants like corn or fruit trees are obviously not an option for an apartment balcony. With a little planning you can have a lovely container garden year-round. Take advantage of the ease of container gardening and replace flowers that have finished blooming for example replace your spring bulbs with summer blooming annuals, which are then replace with chrysanthemums in the fall and evergreens over the winter. Pots of flowers make a fantastic touch for indoor decorating and while they typically don't get enough sunlight indoors, with a container garden you can easily rotate them inside for a few days.

History of Gardening

Gardening has been an integral part of civilization for as long as civilization has existed. Without the cultivation of plants for food mankind would never have enough food to support permanent settlements; humanity would never progress past a nomadic, hunter/gatherer lifestyle. The modern gardener may be surprised to learn how many of the gardening tools and techniques we use to this day were perfected in ancient times. In fact, the ancient world boasted a slew of magnificent gardens. The earliest records of ornamental gardens are found in Egyptian Paintings from 1500 B.C. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were so impressive they were considered a wonder of the world. Ptolemy's gardens at Alexandria brought the art of gardening to Rome and the wealthiest citizens built grandiose and lavish gardens, some of which can still be seen today. Meanwhile the East was evolving its own style of gardens with rock gardens, koi ponds and miniature bonsai trees. The Renaissance brought an explosion in the development of landscaping and garden design. By the 19th century cottage gardens like this one painted by Curtius Duassat were en vogue. Even today, with all our modern technology, gardening remains one of the most if not the most popular hobby in the world.