Over the President's Day holiday I managed to labor to clean out the old garden and begin a new one. Trees are blooming here that shouldn't be for at least another month, and humidity hangs in the air, but we're in a severe drought.
Maybe I can inspire you to consider planting a BUTTERFLY GARDEN too?
You see, it takes THREE GENERATIONS of monarch to make it to Mexico which seems to be the country they like to hang out in. Last year about 40 acres of Mexico had monarchs hanging in the trees but this year that same area had only about 2 acres worth. That means a generation or two has been decimated.
IN ORDER TO ATTRACT BUTTERFLIES TO YOUR GARDEN you need the following:
You need plants they can munch when they are caterpillars... THE MILKWEED PLANT IS possible their favorite but check with your local arboretum library or expert native nursery about LOCAL plants. Very nearby they need NECTAR BEARING plants for NOURISHMENT when they are on wing. The savvy butterflies are also looking for a place they can safely be in their in-between chrysalis stage and that means NO WIND and WARM ENOUGH.
Some links to help you!
LIVE MONARCH ORG - NONPROFIT - INFORMATION - FREE SEEDS
UPDATE 2014:
This year marks another sharp decline in Monarch overwintering numbers and may represent the shrinking of their migratory route. The 97% decline from their high over the past 20 years has researchers very concerned. YOU CAN DONATE TO THEM TOO. This is where I got my packet of seeds, which I shared with two other people.
ARBORETUM ORG - LOS ANGELES COUNTY link... I called the arboretum in Arcadia and the librarian was terrific! There are probably libraries like this in other parts of the country.
FLOWERS that attract "pollinators" include easy to grow MARIGOLDS, NASTURTIUM, and HUNTINGTON GARDENS BLOG - SWEET ALYSSUM Sweet Alyssum.
Butterflies like flowers that are about the same color as they are. If you plant RED you may also get hummingbirds so think about that when you plant PETUNIAS. The Sweet Alyssum smells like perfume but I'm also planting it because the Southern California butterflies tend to be light or pastel shades.
For those of you who are disgusted with winter, SPRING WILL COME - IT WILL!
