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| Gladys Parker, co-ed, 1931. She went to teacher's college, taught in country schools, and spent 10 years to graduate from Augustana during the Depression. |
Mom grew up on an organic farm, which they just called "a farm" in those days. She became an expert on herbs, wild flowers, butterflies, and moths, photographing and publishing her photographs in magazines.
My future wife Chris learned what it was like to be in that house on 18th Street A. Moths were in the fridge, and one escaped to rest and warm up on the drapes.
Did I listen and learn about butterflies, moths, and wild flowers? Composting? No.
So I had to start from zero when the gardening bug hit me. Chris says I was normal until we moved to Midland. All of the sudden, the farmer came out in me. I read every book on soil, plants, and animal life in the Grace Dow Library and bought many more from Rodale.
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| The Monarch is sipping nectar from the sunflower, which is virtually an aircraft carrier for beneficial insects. |
Butterfly Lessons
I have been trying to use the sunniest part of our yard, which once hosted $5 roses I got on sale. I moved them and tried straw-bail gardening, which ended as slug breeding. Those critters were so happy and well fed - rotting organic matter, regular soaking, no toxins. Paradise.
But now I am making the area a butterfly garden. I even moved most of the Wild Ginger Hidden Lilies to make a green fence in the back yard.
The first installation was a Chaste Tree, which we definitely killed by digging it up in the dry season, cutting its roots, and moving to the east edge of the Butterfly Garden. I dumped a bag of Stinky Peat (peat moss + manure) on its
base and cut back all the branches, after the plant showed all signs of death - drooping with black withered leaves. Two weeks later, after I bought a replacement, the shrub leafed out and looked great. The new one was planed in the dry sunny area near the sidewalk.
Recipe for going crazy - My initial instructions for Chaste Tree were - pruning is fine but never water it. Later instructions were - water it frequently. I ended up with three Chaste Trees - now four - and the watered ones did very well. They are loved by bumble bees, which I find endlessly fun to watch.
Butterfly Hosting and Adult Butterfly Feeding
I decided to study butterfly plants more for the 2019 season. There are two kinds of plants for butterflies:
- Hosting plants for caterpillars.
- Nectar plants for adult butterflies.
In God's plan, butterflies are very particular about the where to hatch the children. The prime example is Milkweed for the Monarch caterpillars. Everyone should grow them and capture some caterpillars on Milkweed to watch them change over. Mom lived with us in New Ulm, so she taught me how. Reading about this is nothing compared to watching it happen.
Hosting the Children
So, besides the Milkweed family, what are the best hosting plants for a wide variety of butterflies? The top two are the Oak tree (shock) and Pussy Willows (need some). I have many different mints and cover crop flowers, so I am content about my gardens as nurseries for caterpillars.
Most butterflies specialize in one plant, so we can see how God has teamed a special butterfly for a particular plant, often an overlooked one like Buckwheat.
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| Order Joe Pye early. Like Milkweed, it sells out before the other plants. |
Nectar for the Adults - Start with Joe Pye
Everyone enjoys seeing butterflies, so I am building up the nectar side everywhere for them.
Joe Pye is the first choice for seeing butterflies all season. They bloom a bit late but normally have butterflies and beneficial insects feeding every day until the last bloom gives up. Joe Pye is a hardy perennial, so it is inexpensive and easy to grow and maintain.
If you can, buy a couple of Cinnabon Trees, aka Clethra, aka Summersweet aka... This shrub gives off a delicious sweet cinnamon scent from the plant all the time, and its flowers are a total delight to butterflies and beneficials.
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| Butterfly puddling station constructed from a terra cotta saucer with gravel and a couple of rocks on which the butterflies can land to sip mineralized water. • Photo courtesy of The Wildlife Gardener. |
Birdbaths Become Butterfly Puddles
I am not happy with my two small birdbaths, so I was happy to be reminded of the butterfly puddle. The pedestal birdbaths are the right size to have sand plus manure plus water for butterflies. Butterflies like to sip the salts and water, and they need a more secure place.
