Use the newspapers, Cathy, for cheap gardening. You can also use cardboard from boxes that you take apart. On top of that goes the mulch, or if you are building beds, as in lasagna gardening, the top soil, compost, and manure, then mulch.

I used broken concrete pieces to make a border around my bed. Someone else has given me about 50 round stones that have that mottled, raised stone look that used to be popular years ago? Anyway, I turn them over for just the plain old smooth look, which is much less "busy". I still have to lay out a bunch, but I have put a few in beds so I don't have to actually step on the soil, which compacts it.

Compost, compost, compost. Use your grass clippings, plant trimmings (except for big sticks), leaves, manure (to heat it up), keep it moist but not wet. Next year, you'll have some great compost to add to your beds.

I just let the leaves fall on my beds, crunch them up when they're dry, and mix them in with the soil. I'm into anything that is easy work for me. My garden is not beautiful, but it is natural looking. I let the weeds grow in a lot of places because the butterflies like to play in them, hide in them, and nectar on the rather insignificant blooms, too. Because of this, I've had more goatweed leafwings and other butterflies than I've ever had. This is the back yard, and nobody goes back there but me and the gas man. I guess you could say I am a "free spirit" "child of the 60's" gardener.

I planted tons of seeds this week, got 4 Hops rhizomes planted and my Aristolochia tomentosas planted today, my lavendar trimmed (that takes about an hour), pulled out the old rosemary bush that died this winter (too cold for it), trimmed up the passion vine and clematis, so everything is pretty much ship shape this year. Amazing what I can get done when I don't have to work outside the home!

I'm not an organized gardener, in fact, I am rather disorganized when it comes right down to it. But, I garden for me so I don't press myself to do something that someone else may like (or not). I would have to be on Valium and then I would be too tired to garden. LOL!

My next project is to get my plastic pots cleaned up so I can transplant my baby milkweeds and other seedlings. Gotta get your cherries to you yet. Have a few more seeds to plant, but already planted some Japanese MGs, balsam, aubrieta (yes, I got that too), chrysanthemum (annuals), tithonia (I hope it comes up this year), and tons of other things. But, I still have cypress vine (various colors of bloom) to plant, gold brugmansia, plaintain, and so forth. I think I may have discovered some pussytoes already growing in the yard, and my seedlings aren't looking too good, so I hope it is!

Susan

I keep a natural area near the edge of the woods for my butterfly plants. Most are self seeding or perennials and they seem to compete very well with the sedge that is there.

I'm having to change horses midstream here...and use BB as a visual screen to keep nosy morons from kvetching about my rabbits and generally less-than-perfectly-tidy habits. :)

I did put out hay bales as a temporary edging for this arc last year and am actually pretty pleased with the concept I came up with. They will be moving to the front part of the yard if I can manage it without them falling completely apart, and be planted directly in the haybale with plenty of mixed seed. By the time the bale finishes breaking down I'll be ready to work on that part of the yard.

The arc they defined will be BB's, planted quite closely (for BB)and allowed to get as high as they want--but perhaps not as deep front/back. I want a nice five foot dense hedge there.

On the south side, I'm putting in the perennial flowers and spreaders, generous self-seeders and so on, then further into the sun area, my vegetable garden.

The honeysuckle will be on the front fence, the front ditch will be plastered with vermicompost and mixed flower seeds....

I think I'm getting exhausted just thinking about all that has yet to be done!

My woods have been full of native azalea blooms this year! Here are two of my favorites - the butterflies nectar on them every now and then.
clickable thumbnails


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MissSherry

mboston, I have plenty of room here and am even wondering if I can keep after it all considering I got so many different types of seeds this year. I almost hate to say that this is it now because it seems like whenever I get into something it just goes on and on. Really though I guess a person can only weed so much. I don't think I want to spend my entire day weeding the flower beds, but it might be that way for awhile. When I started putting in the butterfly garden, I used landscape fabric because I thought that would be best, but now I guess I was wrong and won't use anymore. I just hate to think of all the weeding that I'm going to have to do for awhile until the plants get established and fill in the empty spaces. I don't think I'll be crowding a lot of different things together. I bought packs of seeds and most packs have at least 50 seeds. Even if only half of them make it, that's still a lot of plants of the same typt that will be together. I don't know if it would look better with 20 or 30 plants in one area or to break them up into two areas?

Sherry, Now that you mentioned it, I hope that the deer won't become a problem here. I don't think rabbits will be a problem because there aren't many around anymore, probably because of the feral cats and the hawks and owls that hang around here. I do have a groundhog that I'm pretty sure will be a problem because it's already out there chewing on some plants from last year. I hate to kill things, but I'll probably have to get my dad to come out and take care of it. If it had only stayed up in the yard further where it had been, but now it's right down here at the house. Since you have woodland, do you plant any plants in there? We have a lot of shaded areas in the woods and along the woods and I'm really trying to come up with some plants (especially host plants) that take well to shade. I wish I could see your property...it really sounds like it would be a butterfly's dream come true! You mentioned vines. This year I'll have a Hyacinth Bean Vine to hopefully try to get some skipper cats, and I'll also have Scarlet Runner Bean for the same reason. Those I'm starting from seed as soon as it warms up here, and I might plant another couple of vines too this year. What do you have your vines climbing on? I've been thinking about getting a Passiflora incarnata but it said in the description, "unruly vine, plant in natural setting", so now that makes me think it would try to take over the place, although I think it's only an annual up here so I'm wondering just how much it could grow in such a short time. I'm not sure about that one yet. I'll do what I can do. :)

Susan, Newspapers sound good to me! :) I know they're a lot cheaper than landscape fabric. I was here thinking if I end up with as many paths and plant areas as I think I might, I could be spending hundreds of dollars in just landscape fabric, which I can't do. You mentioned cardboard too. I have cardboard all around where I planted my swamp milkweed seeds last year, only I don't have it covered with any kind of mulch. I did have to anchor it down with rocks and things for weight so it wouldn't blow away. I still don't see the plants coming up; I think all that's growing so far is weeds. Do I also have to buy cow manure in bags for fertilizer? You also said about composting, which I've never tried here. I didn't know if there was anything special you have to do. Don't you have to keep turning it? I just didn't know if it would break my back (like you, I have my back problems). That sounds ingenious using broken concrete pieces to make a border. Does that keep the grass from growing in? I didn't know how people manage that. Last year I put landscrape timbers around the butterfly garden, but now it will be so big this year that I don't think I want to go buy all of those yet. That was at least acting as some type of barrier between my garden and the lawn. I think my garden will end up having that natural look too because of all the work involved. I wanted all of these plants, but if the weeds come up like I think they might (hoping not though), I really won't be out there all the time weeding. An hour a day is enough for me. Our garden is also in the backyard and it's not like anyone would see it except our neighbor and I know he wouldn't care and I don't care if he does anyway. It sounds like you got a lot done this week! I think you have more energy than I do. I wish I could just go go go like I see some people do with things, not necessarily gardening but whatever it is they have to and want to do. I a type of person who has to work a little, rest a little. Oh, I'm disorganized too. As a matter of fact, I'm that way with a lot of things. It used to drive my husband bananas, but I think he's finally accepted that that's who I am and no amount of nagging is going to change me. Ha, that's funny what you said, having to be on Valium if you did things a certain way and then have no energy to garden! :) No rush on the cherries. It's cold here anyway. Whenever you get a chance is fine. I still wish I could trade you something for them though. I'll have to look up pussytoes because I'm not sure what they are. Best of luck with your next projects.

downtoearth,Could you tell me what you plant at the edge of the woods? I could plant things there but it's pretty shady and I doubt if most plants would do okay there. It seems like most plant require full sun or part sun. This area I would consider shade. I could also plant things in the woods. It's usually a pretty damp woods.
Cathy

onafixedincome, (By the way, I can relate to your name),
So you have nosey neighbors, huh? Some of ours around here are, but I don't think most are. Our next door neighbors pretty much do their thing and we do ours. I don't have tidy habits either and if you or anyone else here would come to visit, you could see that for yourself. :) Just why do those morons kvetch about your rabbits anyway? They should "keep their heads in their own trough." I really dislike it when people are busybodies. It sounds like what you're doing is working for you. Now let me ask a dumb question. Being that I'm not a farmer, do hay bales have seeds? So then if it does you just let those seeds grow? Or maybe it doesn't, I don't know. Ha. If I were in your shoes, I'd also want a high hedge there. Do you do like I do and start the BB yourself from cuttings taken from your other BB's? It sounds like you have things laid out nicely with how you're arranging things. I didn't have a vegetable garden for years. I can't now because I'll already have more than enough weeding to do in the butterfly garden. I did decide, though, to put out some tomato plants for DH. I said it's stupid for him to pay megabucks in the store for some. We'll grow our own again; they aren't hard to grow. Now I guess if I see a tomato hornworm, I'll just have to let it eat the stalks! You mentioned honeysuckle...don't they just have a heavenly smell! I bet your neighbor's will wonder if anyone lives in there anymore or if it's turned into a jungle. ;-) I got tired too just reading what you have to do yet. lol

Janine, You sound like me with the not having money but yet being miserable without your plants. I've always loved gardening. So now I know how you came by your username since you said about the butterfly alley that you've created. :) I'm not young either or physically fit, so I guess that makes this gardening undertaking even more daunting yet, knowing that I can't just sprint right out there and hop from one thing to the other constantly. I'm very slow-paced; therefore, it takes me a long time to get something accomplished.I'm getting the idea that I should mix things in with the garden soil because now you also said it. I supposed it would make the soil looser and make any weeds that do come up easier to pull out. It sounds like you really made your soil nice and I bet the plants appreciate it. Our soil here is pretty much clay but not terribly heavy. Yes, your butterfly alley really does sound like it should produce a lot of nice plants for you and that the butterflies can enjoy. That would be a good idea for me to do too, use leaves in the garden. There are pretty many laying up along the woods. I don't know that they're all oak though, more like a mixture of oak and maple and a few other odds and ends. I think it sounds like you accomplished a lot last year actually! I bet it really looks nice too. Maybe I'll have to "bonsai" some of my trees too. I really would like a poplar tree here but have held back so far because I read that they can get 90 feet tall! :-O Of course, I think it said it takes them 30 years to reach maturity and I probably won't be around that long anyway and then someone will come along and cut it down because that's what people seem to do these days. My idea of progress isn't the same as what society's is. Your ideas and the others have helpe me a lot and I really appreciate it.

Cathy

Christie, I sure wish I'd have asked here last year before I went and put in all of my garden, which is almost all perennials. I don't know where I got the impression that landscape fabric was good, but it was before I started coming to this forum. Had I only known. Well, at least I learned now and won't put it in my beds I'll be planting this year. Maybe landscape fabric is just like cigarettes, not good for anything except maybe making the companies rich, and they know someone out there will buy it. I'll do what you and Susan suggested and use newspaper under the mulch instead of the landscape fabric. I like the brick paths because I figured I need room to walk somewhere anyway to weed and it's going to get pack down walking on it, so I might as well just make permanent paths. Now that I'm adding onto the garden immensely, it will probably look pretty awful for awhile until I'm able to get bricks for in the new paths. I'm not buying new but will try to get them used for free or cheap. I had started out buying bricks at Lowe's until I saw how much expense it would run into and so I only have two paths of those and then did the other three with bricks I got free from someone. I think I'll advertise again in our local free paper and see if I can get some more.

Sherry,
Those are really pretty azaleas that you have there! So now I'm thinking there must be different types of azalea bushes because our bushes by the house don't look like yours. Are some wild and some cultivated? Sorry but I'm just learning so many new things that I never knew before.

Cathy

I actually use the landscape fabric below the paths.I used to use plastic bags but they did not drain. I cover the fabric with a combination of home made stepping stones with the kids hand prints or mosaics, bricks, stones and leftover floor tiles (sometimes it helps to be a professional artist)and I fill in all around them with gravel. (1.78 a bag at Wal-mart)When my digital camera is working I'll post pictures.

Oh yeah, I should have mentioned that I am planning on using the fabric for the paths, just not the areas where the plants will actually be. Your way sounds very nice, and I'd love to see pictures when you get a chance.

Whoosh! You did a lot of typing, lady! :)

The problem with my place is A) it's quite small and B) the house runs the depth of the lot rather than the width--which leaves my whole life in plain view. And that stinks.

So I'm putting in the biggest, meanest BB I can find; the hay bales may put up some grass but the cats and rabbits will love it...besides, I prodded them today and it looks like I will be planting them in situ--they're not going to move in one piece! So...heap a couple of inches of rabbit vermicompost on there, seed it, water well and let 'er rip!

After two years' time my milkweed is actually coming up before July--maybe--just maybe--it will BLOOM this year. I wonder if it was stimulated to do that by the cats that were on it last summer (which didn't survive, darnit).

The A. tuberosa I bought as starts at WalMart are doing well--at least the first ones are. The latest ones are a real ripoff--brown dry and DEAD as far as I can tell. They're soaking; no growth and back they go for a REFUND!

My Milkweed seems to be in tandem with when the Monarchs start arriving. Or at least it was last year. which was the first time I did not actually have to "borrow" monarchs. I get impatient and go to the nursery scouting out the plants that already have eggs or cats on them. Luckily I have a nursery here that actually advertises the host plants with little pictures of butterflies so they don't use pesticide. and they are cool with me buying the plants with caterpillars on them. did I mention I was impatient?

Well, I'm so glad I got most of my plants planted out, and a lot of seed direct sown as well. Yesterday, I ran into the bed post and broke two toes! Am I clutz? Yep! You guys know I'm always breaking something, right? So, I doubt if I could get down on the ground and back up again on this foot.

Ah, well.......I need to wash pots today so I can transplant seedlings. That shouldn't be too strenuous.

Susan

onafixedincome, lol yeah, I get carried away with my typing, huh? :) Sorry to hear that your place probably isn't as big as you like and/or you'd rather have the house sitting the other way. It seems like some people just have such nice big places. I'd love to have acres and acres of land so I wouldn't have to put up with my neighbors. With us it's having to put up with the drunks next door and their #$%* dog always barking. It's almost enough to drive a person insane, and they NEVER tell it to be quiet. Heck, they hardly pay any attention to it at all. I don't even know why they got it! So for me, that's my gripe with where I'm at. We were here for 20 years and these yayhoos moved in at least 5 years ago and they've been a thorn in my side ever since. It's hard to enjoy our place when you have such neighbors. Whatever neighbor problems you have, I totally sympathize with you, and what really makes me mad is that my husband and daughter told them that they could ply football in our yard!!! Excuse me, but it's not my fault that their yard isn't big enough to play ball in, and if I wanted people in my backyard, I'd invite over the friends, people who I really like, not the ones next to us. Ugh, I'd better shut up. Sorry. Yeah, I think it would stink to have your life in plain view. I'm a private person. Are you too, or is it just that people there are extra nosey? I planted yews along part of our yard that faces the road and planted hollies in most of the rest of it out there. I just like that 'being alone' feeling, and it's hard to get that when we live right by a main road and a neighbor right on the other side of the driveway. I don't blame you for putting in the "biggest, meanest BB" you can find. I say do what you have to do to give yourself peace and keep out prying eyes. Yes, I bet the cats and rabbits will love it.

Was it the A. tuberosa that you're referring to where you said about it coming up before July? I didn't know if you meant that or another kind, and it didn't bloom the other two years?! I started A. tuberosa here from seed last year and it bloomed the first year and got cats on it. What happened that your cats didn't survive last year? I haven't seen anyone have that kind of milkweed in our area yet for sale as plants, but I have been noticing various places having the seeds. I bought mine at Lowe's but Walmart also has them. The only place in my area that sells any type of milkweed at all is a nursery that sells more of the unusual type plants, like we would like on here. They sell Swamp Milkweed every summer. I bought two in 2005 and six last year. I don't blame you and would also take those dead plants back to Walmart if they don't show any signs of life. I guess they mustn't take very good care of their plants.

butterflyalley, It sounds like it works out between the Monarchs and your milkweed there. I bet you were happy you didn't have to "borrow" Monarchs. :) I will have tons of things planted for the Black Swallowtails and if I don't get any here, I just might have to make a trip to the nursery (even if it is 15 miles away) and scout out their parsley plants if they have any. Actually, now that I know a lot more than I did last year, I can go to the nursery and look for plants that are host plants and if I have others here like them or others for that type of butterfly cat, I just might pile a whole load of cats of one plant and bring them home with me. :) I wish the nurseries around here would advertise plants with little pictures of the butterflies. I always wonder about the people who buy host plants, if they know anything about butterflies at all or if they buy a certain plant because they like the flowers, take it home, find cats, and kill them because they're defoliating the pretty plant that they just bought. Btw, I'm pretty impatient myself.

Oh Susan, I'm so sorry to hear about your toes! What do you do about broken toes, anyway? I never broke any but stubbed them a lot when I was a kid and wore flip-flops. I guess it's good that you already got more of your stuff planted, huh. Wow, that's too bad that you had a little bit of bad luck there. Well, just try to take it easy and don't try to do any calisthenics! ;-) Get well soon.

Cathy

Sorry about your toes, Susan!
Cathy, I lost hundreds of trees in my woods during Hurricane Katrina, we're finally getting the last of the dead ones cut and hauled out of here, and I've been ordering plants for the woods and planting them - trees and shrubs - like a fiend!
Native azaleas are tubular, whereas the non-native types flare out immediately at the base - I like the natives better! :)
MissSherry

Hi everyone,
I also love some privacy I never had in Florida..Up here in Alabama we can do whatever we want to, noone bothers us..
We have neighbors on the other side of the street and then a few Min. away..
They are all very nice and I feel blessed to have them close, but not too close..
Susan, I feel with you..I had my toes broken a few times before..it hurts since it can only self-heal..it will be bruised for a while and be swollen, if you never had it b4 happening, tape them toes not too tight together so they are stable and try to rest..
Hope you will be better soon..
Greetings
Susanne(SUE)

oh, Susan, whatever will we do with you???
Hope your toes heal fast, you have a lot of gardening and butterfly chasing to do!

Cathy, I had to laugh when onafixed income joked about your typing...How many words a minute do you think you type?

When I first started here, it took me forever to write a short post, now I can rattle off one like a veteran secretary. Another thing to thank this forum for...My typing speed has increased tenfold!

Has anyone ever grown Asclepias "Gay Butterflies?" I got the seeds from parks, and I thought it was a tropical variety but is a tuberosa. I wonder if it will be like our native tuberosa only in more colors thatn orange.

Maryann - I don't know. I'm always breaking something, aren't I? I know there's nothing to be done, so I just gimp along anyway.

I have seen the Gay Butterflies mix offered in several catalogs but never tried it. I have never had good luck with A. tuberosa anyway, so I'm trying almost everything but. I always thought it was because of the tuber.

Last week I went outside and pulled up all the dead curassavicas, and boy, they have quite a long tuber on them, too, after growing for just the summer (about 12-18"). But, then again, they don't seem as finicky as tuberosa. I wonder why?

Susan

I started a lovely perennial Butterfly garden last year so this is its second season and all the plants are coming back now and I am just so excited. I got the plan from www.bhg.com (Better homes and Garden web site)and built it around my butterfly bush which was already there and established. Our dining room window looks out over it. There are so many garden plans you can down load from the BHG site and all you have to do is register. I have downloaded at least 20, ha. They have the grid layout and the list of plants and alternatives so if you can not find one plant you can find another. I had the most fun finding the plants, some I had to order via internet. I just got them as I could. I also enjoyed laying it out with a hose and digging it. There is one spot for annuals and every thing else is perennial. I used the annual spot in late fall to plant cabbage so they are still there but soon to be harvested. then I will put in something new. Here is a photo of last year as I was just starting to get my plants. I will get a new photo this weekend of it now. It is about 5 or 6 ft wide and about 24 or 25 ft long. I enjoy it so much and have my hummingbird feeders in it also. Junie

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:462239}}

Very nice layout, Junie! The butterflies will love you. What kind of butterflies do you attract there? Tiger Swallowtails, Black Swallowtails, Monarchs? Do you have host plants for them? Of course, the cabbage would have been beloved by the cabbage whites! I think they're pretty, too. And Hummers, too? Wow, you put in a lot of work on it.

Susan

Susan, If you can't stand staying off your feet it works to have a very stiff shoe. one that does not bend much at the toes. I have steel toed boots. I've broken toes so much that one of them still sticks out at a strange angle.

caterwalin,
I am grateful that I have a nursery with one worker who has greatly influenced the owners and other workers to appreciate butterflies as caterpillars. but even at that nursery which is actually an individually owned hardware store the cashiers still don't realize that butterflies come from caterpillars. they freak when I want the caterpillars on the plants and yes I have loaded up the ones I could find onto one ,,or necessarily two plants. I also find the fennel, dill, and parsley at this nursery full of caterpillars in April. I wish people were not so ingnorant of caterpillars being the reason we have butterflies but they are. even our groundskeeper at our school who is a landscape architect would sooner kill a caterpillar than think about if it was a pest or a butterfly. I keep trying to educate people.My second grade son knows more than most adults I encounter.For many years I felt like the only one who gardened for butterflies, now I am still one of the very few around this town but obviously all of the members of this forum are giving me hope. I'm glad you type alot. I type 30 words a minute. and it just feels good to connect with people who don't think I'm obsessed because I have a passion for butterflies. so I have so much to say.15 years ago I worked at a public library and I would bring in my caterpillars and butterflies to "educate" the patrons. But in the end I have my mother to thank as it was her plants she would share with the caterpillars when I was a child. My oldest brother had planted a garden for butterflies when he was in high school in the 60's ( I think as a science project) and my mother learned to appreciate them then.

We have some school teachers on this forum who have created butterfly gardens at their schools. Perhaps that would inspire your groundskeeper to leave the cats alone? Tdogmom especially has her students interested in raising butterflies. In fact, her school and her garden are both Monarch Waystations.

I have those tough rubber garden shoes, which I wear outside, and I also have some substantial leather slides that I wear as well. Mainly, it's to protect the toes so I won't bump into anything else while they heal.

I actually haven't been outside for about 3 days now because it's been so cold. The ground is still very wet so I don't need to water or anything either. So, I'm just praying my plants make it thru this cold spell. The forecast has CHANGED. We thought it was going to warm up to 68* on Monday, but now the temps won't get much over 50* for the next 5 or 6 days......Grrrrrr!

I'm known to raise caterpillars that I have no clue what they are - moths of some kind - just to see what emerges in the end. I also raise sphinx moths like the hummingbird clearwings, eumorpha achemons, tomato, and tobacco hornworms. I keep looking for 8-spotted foresters on my Virginia Creeper because they are gorgeous caterpillars and adult moths.

Susan

Thanks Susan, I sure enjoyed working on it and still do. I have had a few Monarchs but hope this year it is better since all plants are better established and I have everything called for in the layout plus some :-). I also have the Black Swallowtail and some white and yellow ones, which I think are sulfers? I have Parsley and Dill planted and hope to get milkweed plants this year but maybe I wont put them in this garden but close by. It is hard to wait for the plants to spread and I tend to want to fill in every inch. It is my joy to sit in the mornings and have my coffee and watch the birds and flowers out my window. It is true peace! I love spring. I have lupines in a pot that I was just reading about here on the gardenweb and now I guess I will transplant them into the yard somewhere as they are the perennial ones. I think some butterflies are attracted but they were talking about the annual.

Junie

Our school does have a butterfly garden.The groundskeeper is not allowed to fool with it. The kindergarten science teacher maintains it. she is planning a field trip to my gardens this August when I expect to have the resident cats..... barring cat-tastrophe.(ha!)Last year I had GF, CS, OBS, GST. I think every leaf of my cassia and passion vines were covered in eggs, so much that the medium sized caterpillars would eat through them. I can only hope for this and more this year. It would be wonderfull to have that kind of influence on the students so wish me luck.
I am glad I read through all these forums because I would not have realized I could support the 8 spotted foresters. I have virginia creeper creeping though my back fence AND we saw that strange and colorful mystery moth/bfly that had some similarities to foresters.(it was gone so quickly we had to use our memories)I just finished my third flower bed and it has to be my last or my husband may make me get a second job. I have not put the plants in because tonight we are expecting 38. I have a thermometer in my courtyard and it usually does not get as cold in that protected area as the news reports. so I put all the pots there. I have my fimbriata pipe vines and the blossom is so cute! it is the tiny pipe like flower but the rounded colorful part has spiky tendrils like fringe. This was the first saturday so we went to our "main street market" my native plant nursery lady had brought me some plants from her place in St. Francisville La. I have a new Ptlea,( mine has not leafed out yet) a red bay, and a swamp milkweed( its pink) She had a cassia that has naturalized in this area so I figured it was a safe bet the sleepy oranges and barred oranges would like it.the way they ate last year I don't think having another one would hurt. this one is supposed to make an umbrella shaped tree.
Now the new flower bed will be full! so I'll have to behave for a while. All my plants this morning only came to 12 dollars so I'm not too naughty. Too bad I just found out that the botanic garden plant sale is next saturday.I have to get all my gardening taken care of because my real life or my reality will set in when schools back in on the 16. If I were the science teacher instead of Art this garden could be part of my work instead of preparing my students work for the art show. hmmm. would that make it tax deductible? just kidding.

Susan, you mentioned eight-spotted foresters on your Virginia creeper - look what I found on some wild grape vines in my woods -
{{gwi:462242}}
MissSherry

I have the privilege of gardening in a nearby park in Houston that has been under threat of development but which may be saved in its entirety if fundraising succeeds. For the third year I have installed host and nectar plants. This year I am using, inter alia, A. curassavica, A. tuberosa, A. speciosa (an experiment), Cassia obtusifolia (an excellent Sulphur host plant and magnet despite its exotic status here), Cut-and-Come Again zinnias for nectar, Centaurea americana (basketflower) for nectar (this one is native and an effective self-seeder), blue porterweed (Feb. freeze got them all; I am trying to sprout seeds from the victims), and Gaillardia pulchra for nectar. A number of these plants offer pollen and nectar that also attracts native bees, a topic you should not neglect since there are so many species, plus wasps and bee flies (the latter are nectaring flies that mimic bee coloration and shape). Check your garden at night; you may have nectaring moth visitors as well.
I have cleared grass in three areas for gardening, but I avoid herbicides completely since the grassy verges are full of skinks and lizards that could be harmed. I dig up areas I want to plant with a mattock, turn the soil over with a shovel, install plants, and then mulch with shredded cedar. Bark mulch floats away, and shredded cypress is the end result of an industry that is denuding the Gulf Coast of cypress trees. I suspect the fresh cedar odor discourages some creatures that would dine on my seedlings. I grow my milkweed from seed because nursery-bought plants are often contaminated with systemic insecticides that require a long time to clear. I don't feel the need to weed heavily since I grow many natives that do just fine when competing wiht grass. By using natives and legumes I do not need to fertilize, but I do amend the clay soil with looser, bagged commercial soil (my favorite is the tree and shrub mix from Lowes). If the Lowes soil is a little too acid, I don't worry since the local clay soils are basic, and I occasionally scatter finely-pellatized lime where I have used pine needle mulch from the local pines. I could keep going, but I think you get the idea that I use natives and non-native host and nectar plants and avoid doing anything harmful such as using herbicides and pesticides.

Oh, that is just too cool, MissSherry! Aren't they gorgeous cats? Very colorful and interesting! Possibly contestant for America's Next Top Model!!

Are you going to raise it? I'm such a moth nut, I am going to raise some if I find them this year.

Susan

Biosparite, I'm glad to hear you're gardening for butterflies in Houston - I hope you get enough funds to save the property! And I know what you mean about c. obtusifolia - it may be an exotic weed, but I've never seen it take over like, say, Chinese privet or kudzu, and the sulphurs sure love it! Several times I've grown them from seed in my garden and fertilized them - they grow about 7'X5' in size, much bigger than they do on the edge of the road.
Susan, I dont' think I'm going to raise it - I've got so many cats that I'm already raising. But if I change my mind and it's still there tomorrow, do they spin a cocoon? They don't go underground do they?
MissSherry

Oh Missherry, if you can please raise it and keep us posted!

It's beautiful.

Biosparite, you have a wonderful sounding project going there..How did you get involved with it?

Maryann

Mary Ann, the cat was hanging from a branch of grape vine that was hanging over into the path I was walking, which is why I saw it. I brushed up against it, then turned back to look at it. I noticed some yellow liquid oozing from one end or the other - it looked like its head. I worried that I had punctured it, or the cold weather had hurt it and it was oozing cat 'inards' - it looked healthy, though.
Last night I looked up eight spotted forester cats in my Wagner book. I'm glad I did, since it answered a lot of questions, but I'm not sure I want to tackle trying to raise this one. Although I wouldn't have any trouble offering it tendrils and stems, as I recall, grape vines are hard to keep fresh in a water pick. Here's what Wagner has to say -
"Look for the caterpillars feeding or perched on the underside of leaves near short apices. In addition to leaves the caterpillars consume tendrils and growing stem tissue. Larvae are quick to vomit an orange, mostly clear fluid when disturbed. They may also drop from their perch on a belay line - a behavior commonly associated with inchworms and microlepidopterans. The prepupal larvae will perish if not offered pulpy wood, dense peat balls, blocks of foam, or other materials into which they can tunnel to form their pupal cells."
There is plenty of rotting wood for the foresters to use here. I left the pine trunks that were topped off by the hurricane for the woodpeckers to use, and the foresters can probably use them, too - if not, there's an entire swath of a 'ditch' on a slope that I filled in with the chunks of wood left after we had so many stumps ground. This path is right next to the grape vine, so I'm wondering if the forester Mama chose that area because of all the rotting chunks of wood on the ground, that I only slightly covered with dirt and leaves. If I decide to raise it, I'll find some rotting wood that's insect free if I can, or I may buy a foam block at Walmart when I go today.
MissSherry

It sounds all too interesting to me, MissSherry, and they are such lovely moths IMHO! Do keep us posted if you raise it. I would love to see the process.

Grape leaves may wilt easily, but the Virginia Creeper stays pretty nice. I raised my EA cats on VC last year, and just brought them fresh leaves every day. The leaves stayed nice, but I had to feed them frequently because they are voracious consumers.

Last year I had a ton of cats on passifloras and my milkweed this year no one not a egg one either,I plant more flower beds and a ton more host plant this year sure hope to see the butterflys soon.
here are my new beds
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I sure hope for some eggs soon its so lonely here with no cats.

Here's crossing my fingers for you, Angie! I've been there. Last year, a friend gave me some cats to get started and once I did, they came in flocks!

Susan

I very much enjoyed reading everyone's posts and looking at the pictures. It seems I don't have time to get on here like I'd like. It's really busy with the planting (I'm still starting some seeds indoors!) and will soon be planting outside if it ever warms up. I kind of wish it were mostly all done...I have a lot of work ahead of me.

I plant what ever where ever *lol* I try for a cottage style garden but it's more like...well, I don't know yet.

I'll plant anything that says bee or butterfly attractor. I have a soft spot for sweetpeas so I go nuts in the fall planting seeds.

My host plants are mixed in with nectar plants. Nothing is organized or planned. I love self sowers and native plants also.

I leave a few weeds here and there. They play a role in nature. I don't allow them to get out of hand.

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and this years crimson clover...the skippers and bee's love it.
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That IS a cottage garden, and I love it! All those masses of flowers are just beautiful! The arbor is lovely - it adds charm.
Are the orange and yellow flowers in the second picture California poppies?
MissSherry

Oh, that Crimson Clover is to die for! I always remember that song "Crimson and Clover, over and over...." when seeing it planted because it just seems to go on endlessly. How beautiful!

Biosparite - when you used that term "inter alia" (among other things is what it means for others), I just knew you had to be a lawyer! LOL! Funnnnnnny. I worked for 30 years as a paralegal. I know very few lawyers that like gardening, I guess because it is time consuming, and most often you'll find attorneys at the office late at night instead of a garden. It is so refreshing to see you have interests outside of law. I had one lawyer at my office who gardened a bit, and the year that I raised tersa sphinx moths cats on my Red Pentas, I was afraid I was going to run out. I had about 10 tersas on 2 plants! Anyway, I sent out an e-mail to the office to see if anyone had some, and she responded that she did, but didn't want to share it with moths! Res ipsa loquitur!

The latest info on pine needle mulch is that it does not add sufficient acid to the soil to make any difference. I use it, too, but to be honest, I cannot tell that it helps either. I use Espoma 'Holly Tone', which is as close to an organic acid fertilizer as you can get. It is an extended release type fertilizer, too. But, you cannot, cannot beat MissSherry's chicken manure. Actually, chicken manure differs from cow manure in that it actually has some phosphorus in it. Did you know that MissSherry? So, its a great organic fertilizer for blooming plants, too. Composted chicken manure costs a bit more than steer manure, but you don't have to use as much of it, so it comes out in the laundry. LOL!

Susan

MissSherry, those are Ca poppies. They self sow every year.

Susan, I love the crimson clover. This is my second year and it self sows. It dies back when it gets warmer and goes in the compost pile.

Very nice, Angie, I hope you do get some cats soon.

Any self respecting butterfly should love to stop by your house.

Todance with wolves, your gardens are just gorgeous as well...

Susan, Hollytone is a wonderful product. It works really well on Blueberries too. I like the whole line of Espoma products.

I actually met a Surgeon who's favorite pastime is gardening. I wondered how he could ever find the time. He said that his wife gets annoyed with all the plants he buys in the spring when she knows he'll never have quite enough time to tend to them all.(Sound like anyone here we know?) Wouldn't you just know he's one of the kindest and most compassionate doctors I've ever met.

Such pretty pictures of gardes and wonderful ideas for gardens to come. I envy y'all so much with your talent. I love the way the cottage gargen just spills all over the place.

Miss Sherry those native azaleas are so pretty. We have the pink growing here on the farm but not the yellow. I did see some yellow last week.

Yes, Susan, chicken manure has a lot more of everything that plants need than composted cow manure, more nitrogen, phosphorous and potash, plus I think it has a lot of trace elements. Whatever it has, it's worked very well with my plants - I'm glad to hear that it's worked well for you. And you're right, you don't have to use nearly as much, so one bag lasts a long time.
MissSherry

Just figured out how to upload pic, so I wanted to add a few recent ones. Impatiently taken mid-day, but here goes.

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Beautiful Beavis.

Beautiful, beautiful!
MissSherry

Hey, Beavis, gorgeous gardens. What species/cultivar of lavendar is that? Also, what are the yellow daisy-like flowers?

Maryann, I have used three of the Espoma products, 'Holly Tone', the one for bulbs, and the balanced fert, too. I've been using them for about 3 or 4 years now. I use cheapo tomatoe fertilizer for my clematis, but I generally just look at the numbers and make a decision on what to use. Just because it's designated for tomatoes or whatever, doesn't mean it won't work for other plants, too. Anything to fool the consumer, right?

Todancewithwolves....I LOVE your garden....yes, any self respecting butterfly would stop by!!!

Oh my all your gardens are stunning! I love seeing pictures.

I totally agree with MissSherry. Chicken manure is wonderul and it warms up the soil.

Beavis, I dream of having all that land and that shed is to die for.

We all are sure to have fat butterflies and cats this year *LOL*

Weee finaly found this .Now just need butterflys.
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and here is my oil rig hehehe
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"Hey, Beavis, gorgeous gardens. What species/cultivar of lavendar is that? Also, what are the yellow daisy-like flowers?"

I believe the Lavendar is Munstead, and the yellow flowers are a type of Gaznia (African Daisy)

Angie, love the windmill and the oil derrick! I need that derrick for my Hops! LOL!

Thanks, Beavis, I am looking to try another lavendar in my garden, and am scouting for candidates.

Susan

Another wonderful cultivar of Lavendar to try is called "Grosso" It it quite striking.........