Greetings!
The fourth annual National Pollinator Week is June 21 - 27,
2010. Plant something that will be beneficial to these hardworking animals. Many people are planting with insects such as bees, flies and butterflies in mind. Humming birds, moths bats and beetles also pollinate plants for us.Choose a variety of plants that
will provide nectar and pollen throughout the growing season.
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Your Garden in June
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Swallowtail Butterfly on Milkweed  |
Take a look at your
June garden. Are there enough colors and textures to keep the garden interesting?
Look around and see if your garden is inviting to birds, butterflies and other
insects. Butterflies are looking for places to deposit their eggs. Only
specific plants will work because the larva or caterpillars need
specific plants for this purpose. For example, Monarch butterflies use Asclepias or Milkweeds.
You can provide the food for caterpillars with Swamp Milkweed, Butterfly Weed
or other milkweed. I would stay away from common milkweed because it can become
invasive in a garden setting. Diversity is the key to providing food sources
for adult butterflies. Lawns provide no habitat. Butterflies also need sunny
locations. They need to warm their wings before they can fly. Providing
moisture for them is also a great way to encourage them. In a sunny location, moisten the bare soil so they they can use it to "puddle". Butterflies "puddle" or draw moisture out of the ground because they cannot get all the
nutrients they need from nectar so they get these nutrients by taking them from
moist soil. It is fun to watch them congregate. Use plants such as Monarda (Bee
balm), Black-eyed Susan, Bugbane, Cardinal flower, Asters (which are host
plants too), and Goldenrod for nectar sources. These are good sources of seed
for birds and food for other insects also. This will make your garden more
interesting for people too.
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Invasive alertDame's rocket  | |
Have you ever put a
plant in your garden and then spent the next 5 to 10 years trying to get rid
of it? People move plants into their gardens that are invasive. They see these
beautiful plants and think, 'That is gorgeous. I can move them into my garden and
have a great plant.' Someone gives it to them or they move it from the side of
the road. Dames' Rocket is one such plant and now you see it everywhere along
the roads. Why is this a problem? It displaces native plants and becomes a mono-culture, crowding out all other plants. Dames' Rocket is from Eurasia and is still common in "Wildflower" mixes. If you buy
wildflower mixes make sure they are native. Be sure you don't plant it and if
you have it or see it destroy the seed heads before it spreads. Dames' Rocket is
a short-lived perennial that is a prolific seeder. Please don't move it into your
garden. Please discourage others from planting it and explain way invasive
plants are a problem. They destroy habitats for insects and birds.
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