Inviting Butterflies to the Garden

My Grama Alta's yard was a treasure trove of fluttering butterflies dancing through the mid-morning sunlight. Happy, smiling - full of wonder at their intricate patterns and glorious colors - my sister and I were thrilled to spot little brown moths, elegant orange and black monarchs, species with orange oval markings or butterflies with translucent wings the color of lime sherbet. Lime were my favorite! It was normal to have butterflies.

It didn't occur to me.
My Grandma Alta had invited the butterflies to her garden.

As I'm guaranteed to attract my handsome Italian hubby with a spread of warm bread, pepperoni pizza and Basil Tomato Mozzarella Caprese; my Grama Alta had attracted the butterflies by planting a border of delicious nectar producing flowers.

A Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on the nectar of a pink and yellow Lantana.

Until a few years ago we had no butterflies. I hadn't invited them. It wasn't intentional. I just didn't realize they had nowhere to go and nothing to eat at my garden party.

Butterflies like to lay their eggs on Desert Milkweed (Asclepias subulata), so this is where we began. I say we, because my hubby is super excited about this project and picked out the milkweed himself.

1.  I filled a large pot with a mix of 3/4 native dirt and 1/4 sand.
2.  Planted the milkweed in full, hot sun near a sprinkler that would splash a few cups-worth of water into it every morning.
3. It's THRIVING in these "horrible" conditions because it's desert-adapted and prefers clay soil and sand for drainage and full sun. If you have a rock or xeriscape yard, consider adding a dozen of these no-maintenance plants.

This first season, I must admit I was an uneducated butterfly mom and rinsed the yellow aphids with such vigor I feel relatively certain I knocked away the butterfly eggs as well. Next year, I'll know better and rinse gently.

I also planted Silky Gold Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) in part-shade. It prefers morning sun only. I dug a large hole and mixed the soil with half sand before backfilling it. This will assure the soil drains thoroughly after each watering. This plant DOES NOT like to stay wet and will die in full sun.

I planted quick-growing Passion Vine (Passiflora alatocaerulea) in part-sun. When hungry, hungry caterpillars hatch, they love to munch these leaves. Plus the vine produces stunningly beautiful flowers.

Can you spot the holes where caterpillars have begun to feast? Sometimes they strip the vine bare. No worries. It's just part of the ebb and flow in the garden. If it doesn't survive, I'll plant a new one.

Passion vine will extend springy tendrils to catch onto a trellis or arbor as it climbs.

I've planted different varieties of Lantana in every corner of my garden so after butterflies emerge from their cocoons they enjoy nectar from a wide spectrum of color.

I think Lantana flowers look like fourth of July fireworks.

Spent blossoms produce little seed clusters which eventually turn black and drop to the ground. Lantana reseeds easily and the new sprouts can be dug up and transplanted around the yard (full to part-sun).

I also provide a "seep" or safe water supply for butterflies. I poured sand on the ground under my hanging pots. As water drips from the pots in the morning, it saturates the sand. Once it stops dripping, butterflies can safely land on the sand and drink from it without wetting their wings or falling into a puddle.

Each spring, thousands of Monarchs flutter on a 3,000 mile journey, leaving the warm overwintering sites in California and Mexico for summer breeding grounds throughout the US and Canada. Believe it or not, they scour metropolitan Arizona, like weary travelers, on the lookout for shelter, food and water. I've heard rumors there's a gardener in Central Phoenix who began planting milkweeds, chaste tree, fairy duster, coreopsis, sunflower, wooly butterfly bush, lantana and zinnias several years ago to create a backyard Monarch Waystation. Rumor has it - on certain spring days you'll find her standing in her city garden surrounded by a hundred butterflies which flutter freely, enjoying this stop on their journey. Can you imagine? I plan to add more flowers, shelter plants and at least a dozen more milkweed to see how many butterflies will come.

I'm excited the butterflies have begun to find Miracle Haven.

To find more easy-to grow desert milkweeds:
http://swmonarchs.org/milkweed.php

Visit Phoenix Home & Garden magazine to learn more about beginning a butterfly garden:
http://www.phgmag.com/garden/desert/201201/a-monarch-garden/

Timing is Everything (Planting in the Desert)

To plant a seed is to predict the future. As a gardener, I'm a prophet of sorts. I can point to bare earth and say, "In four months this empty space will be glorious!" I love to drive through the Biltmore Resort and survey their lush garden beds; but if I see a profusion of petunias in spring it's not a good idea to head home and plant petunia seeds. Spring blooms need to be planted months earlier. In Arizona, my contemplative cherub is surrounded by Bachelor Button flowers in April because I sprinkled a handful of itsy seeds in a bed of compost last December. 

 Plant Bachelor Button seed in December for spring blooms in the desert (sun to part-sun).

Nasturtium is brightening my patio in April because I planted 3 plump seeds in January (plant Oct-Jan in sun). Timing is everything!

In April my tomatoes are plump and green. I've only harvested a few mature, red fruit. Young seedlings should move to sunny garden beds by Valentine's Day (St. Patrick's Day if the frosts pass early). I often continue transplanting large tomato plants into my garden thru May. Cover them with 40% shade cloth when the temps rise above 95 degrees, and they will take a break from fruit production but continue root and stem development. As soon as temps cool down, in early fall, tomatoes will begin producing again until a winter freeze.

Peace is a well-suited climbing rose for the desert and blooms reliably each spring. Plant in part-sun. Water slow and deep. Fertilize every two weeks in early-fall and spring, only once a month in summer. Bend old canes horizontally to force a row of new vertical shoots to sprout from each cane. Every new vertical shoot will  produce beautiful blooms!

In April tiny clusters form on Red Flame grape. Can you see them now? The juicy red, seedless grapes will be ripe in early summer.

In spring I like to transplant Victoria Blue Salvia farinacea (six-packs or gallon pots from the nursery). If I keep them well watered thru the summer, I'm l still enjoying their vibrant blooms at Christmas! The stalks are beautiful in bouquets.

Florida Prince Peach has begun to bloom. Soon it will fill in with leaves and set fruit which will ripen in mid-summer. Early spring's a wonderful time to plant fruit trees.

It's time to plant Sunflower and Zinnia seeds (April-May & July-Oct in sun or part-sun). You can't see them blooming today, but you can predict them into existence for your tomorrows. Veggie Planting Calendar.
Flower Planting Guide for the desert.

It rained in my desert garden today.
See it?

Three Colorful Design Tips that Save Money

I formed the arch by recycling two old bedposts and topped them with
old, curtain rod finials. A bent a piece of rebar forms the center of the arch.

 1. Anchor your design with evergreen plants.

Use evergreens, that bloom in different seasons, around the perimeter of your landscape to maintain a lush and colorful, but inexpensive appearance year-round. Evergreen plants shed and re-grow leaves in moderation through the year, as opposed to deciduous plants which shed all their leaves at once and go completely dormant for a season. (Oleander, Ruellia and Asparagus fern are evergreen.)

2. Add permanent color.

Paint a wall, bench or acessory. We chose Mediterranean blue for the back wall and simple gray concrete for the stepping stones, bench and urns to mute the effect of the bright wall. Three sizes of gray river rock add texture and interest.

3. Limit and group annuals.

Annuals are the perky, colorful flowers that generally last only half a year in Arizona, and can be expensive to replace each season. Some annuals prefer to bloom during our cold season (geranium, petunia, snapdragon, stock, lobelia, begonia, nasturtium) and others bloom during our warm season (vinca, zinnia, pentas, scaevola, lavender, celosia). Sometimes you can nurse them through to a second bloom season but they generally struggle. To limit costs, I used evergreens in my design and only designated one urn for seasonal annual color.

Add debris to the compost bin or campfire kindling pile.

Spanish Lavender and Zinnia (Warm season: Full to part-sun with good drainage).

I only spent $7. refreshing the annual color in this urn. My original design allowed me to refresh this garden room with minimal effort by simply removing debris and the overgrown clutter. Everything else is permanent. Simple!

 "If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought
into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give." -George MacDonald