Kim, I teach Kindergarten and my the 4-, 5-, and 6-year olds about bees and how to act around them. I have had children who literally freak out (much like your granddaughter) around just about ANY kind of bug but through time, they've become de-sensitized to them. At the end of this school year, one grandma said I deserved a medal, as her granddaughter came up to her with a snail in her hand (same child would run screaming and even jumped up on a table at school one day, when a bee was nearby). Keep in mind that each of the plants you've mentioned (Parsley, Dill, Fennel, and Milkweed) each are flowering plants and WILL produce blossoms that bees, wasps, butterflies, hoverflies, etc. love! You aren't going to be able to separate the 'butterflies from the bees' if you just hope to get butterflies and no bees in the garden by having 'just host plants for butterflies.' It is one of those things I teach my class from the beginning: we have to take the bugs we like with the bugs we don't like and make do. One of the things I've done is collected an assortment of 'dead' bug specimens and put them into containers. These are all set out on a long counter and are labeled. Children are very curious about the bugs so I take time to them about: how they died, what types of things they eat, their life-cycle, when and where you'd find them, etc. Being able to see a 'scary' bug up-close without fear of being bitten or stung can often help. I act out how the bug feels when it is threatened and how it feels when it isn't and show that if we humans leave them alone, then oftentimes, the bugs will leave us alone. I have a butterfly garden right outside my Kindergarten classroom. My little ones climb up on stools to root around in the garden (it is a planter) that is filled with Passiflora (host for Gulf Fritillaries Agraulis vanillae), Lavatera (host for Painted Ladies Vanessa cardui and West Coast Ladies Vanessa annabella), Rue (host for Giant Swallowtails Papilio cresphontes), Nasturtiums (host for Cabbage Whites Pieris rapae), Milkweed (host for Monarchs Danaus plexippus), Salvia, Lantana, and I'm certain there's something else in there that I can't think of. Have there been 'bad' bugs around when the kids are looking for isopods and caterpillars? Sure. We get nasty ol' wasps regularly and when the kids see them, they simply and quietly walk away, stand back, and wait until the wasp flies off. Same thing when a bee comes around. Spiders abound, too. It's all a matter of time and patience. Give your granddaughter time. Believe me, it took Alexis a long time before she wasn't freaked over snails. :) Her MOM, on the other handÂshe says she needs to hang out in my class for awhile ;P Sherry

The best nectar plants in my garden for Monarchs and others are the large red pentas. The second best is the large purple porterweed. I have a feeling that this is going to vary greatly with location and seasons.

UPDATE! Spotted caterpillar again. He has at least tripled in size and is, without question, a Monarch! He is devouring the Butterfly Weed (???) like there's no tomorrow! Very happy! Anything I should try to do for him vis a vis winter? Bronze Fennel and a shot at parsley, roger that Susan. APOLOGIES Miss Sherry! I live off Highland Road in between Lee Dr. and Staring Ln. I won't say the neighborhood, but since I have a .75+ acre lot you'll know it isn't either of the 'Woods' (Woodgate or Woodstone) and may very well be able to narrow it down to 2-3 neighborhoods. You'd be wrong (probably), though, as my neighborhood is exceptionally small and old, built some before and most after WWII (my home is pre-war). Well, maybe you'd be right... lol. I'm relatively well insulated from traffic, which is indeed brutal. My Butterfly Weed is Asclepias curassavica and seems to absolutely be a host for Monarchs. My Lantane is Anne Marie, and while I bought small specimens, the will eventually reach 2x2 feets in size. Is that large end or small? I am VERY INTERESTED in gertting Passiflora incarnata & caerulea but shall wait for Spring. Do you know of any reputable nurseries from which to buy them online, if my local nurseries fail me? I use, in oder of preference: Louisiana Nursery (Perkins); Cleggs (Siegen) and Lowes (also Siegen, in that pooly accessible Siegen Marketmplace just south of I-10). Occassionally Ace's Hardware on Highland where Kenilworth dead ends into Highland. They have loads of seed packets which nurseries, oddly, don't seem to carry much of. While I'm thinking of it, I've had terrible success in growing from seeds. A packet of 50 may yield, if they yield ANY, less than half a dozen! It's frustrating. I've used those minature greenhouses where you plant each seed(s) in a pre-made tiny pot and cover with transparent plastic, tiny seed-starter pots that I've treated in a number of different ways. I have set them on the ground (brick) outdoors, in planter saucers together in groups, and all of the abive on a wrought iron patio furniture table. I've used Miracle Grow to water them and rainwater (we collect it in a large drum). I've kept them constantly moist, downright wet and dry-ish. Any ideas? Back to Passionvines. I was in love wih them before I knew they had any use for butterflies whatsoever. (i really believ at this point, as trifling a cause for Him as it sounds, that God is aiding me in my endeavors - far too many coincidences. another example i have not 1 but 2 fully mature Tulip Trees > likely b/c it doesn't get near as much sun as the one close to my primary butterfly garden> Why He has chosen to help me in this endeavor....mysterious ways, etc). I wish He'd turn some of His grace toward my Gingko which seems to be having problems. We have lost 1 already. The kiwi are in the ground (finally) but I'm worried that one may not be able to get he full sun when it begins to need it (3 years!!). Easily remedied by removing 2 small/medium tallow trees if it proves necessary. I have never liked these volunteer weed-trees as I call them. They grow everywhere and so fast! In mid-Summer I must make a circuit of the yards to tear up foot high tallow trees that have hidden along fence lines, etc. or in what we call 'Jeremy's Garden.' If you're curious at to what that is, ask and I'll explain - sort of a half-project begun years ago. Well, Thanks Again All! Jeremy

Was out the door early and planted the last Ftrebush into my second 25 gal wooden whiskey barrel. Saw another butterfly yesterday. It was a gorgeous deep orange with black spots and a 3 " wingspan. It was perched atop the bright flowers of my White Penta out front, completey ignoring the Red Penta just 6 inches away. He was not nervous in the least as I stood over him, memorizing his markings. He flitted off and I trotted inside to google his identity. Turns out he/she was a Gulf Fritillaries, IMHO, one of the most beautiful butterflies around. Today as I returned home in the afternoon I saw another. A Gulf Friitillatie ( who names these creatures ? ), - again on the White Penta,..maybe the same guy from yesterday. I knew nothing of butterflies till I travelled to Costa Rica 22 yrs ago. While there I visited the Monterverde Cloud Forest for 2 + days. While there I took in their Butterfly Garden.. On barely 1/3 acre, this netting covered jungle was an eye opener. Have had this in the back of my mind ever since. So by Saturday I will have two butterfly gardens, small as they are. One out front with 7 plants and a NE exposure, the 2nd, behind the lanai with only 3 plants ( a Firebush bracketed by 2 Milkeeds ), with a SE exposure. In the 6 yrs I've lived here have not seen even one butterfly as best I can remember. In last 4 days have seen four,. so am optimistic. Think this is something I would recommend to anyone with a little land outside, after the work of installation the maintenance is easy, even for me ! ( smile ) This post was edited by jofus on Fri, Oct 31, 14 at 8:40