There's a book by Gene Stratton Porter that talks about building a garden for a life-sized fairy princess... Laddie: A True Blue Story: Laddie hadn't done a thing but make an exact copy of my playhouse under the biggest maiden's-blush in our orchard. He used the immense beech for one corner, where I had the apple tree. His Magic Carpet was woolly-dog moss, and all the magic about it, was that on the damp woods floor, in the deep shade, the moss had taken root and was growing as if it always had been there. He had been able to cut and stick much larger willow sprouts for his walls than I could, and in the wet black mould they didn't look as if they ever had wilted. They were so fresh and green, no doubt they had taken root and were growing. Where I had a low bench under my tree, he had used a log; but he had hewed the top flat, and made a moss cover. In each corner he had set a fern as high as my head. On either side of the entrance he had planted a cluster of cardinal flower that was in full bloom, and around the walls in a few places thrifty bunches of Oswego tea and foxfire, that I would have walked miles to secure for my wild garden under the Bartlett pear tree. It was so beautiful it took my breath away. "If the Queen's daughter doesn't like this," I said softly, "she'll have to go to Heaven before she finds anything better, for there can't be another place on earth so pretty." Perhaps the above will give you some ideas?

Also, I find this thread so interesting because I saw some eggs on one of my Baptisia australis last year, and later saw some of the leaves folded over. Being so new to butterfly gardening, I wasn't sure about what to expect. I never actually saw a cat, just the eggs and then the folded leaves. Never saw the adult, either. I will be watching closely for eggs. If I decided to bring the eggs in to try to raise them, can I just bring in the branch the eggs are on, or use a whole plant so the cats can choose which leaf to use? About how long does it take from egg to adult? Thanks for sharing. So much to learn and then share with DH and the grandkids. Betty

Thanks,I loved the color of that Mazari! I can't keep my plants covered in this weather no matter if this is Iowa or not...makes no difference. The forecast is for temps 65F to 80F next week and mid 60s(lowest)to mid 70s for highs through the week after. Why would I leave them covered? The Cactus bed heats up to 100+ and causes early flowering of the barrel cactus,this causes them to flower in April and because they are designed to stand heat,they rot on rainy days. My Washy enclosures will hit 120F. More good reasons to uncover- The plants are actually used to cooler lows(15ish) and highs in the 50-60F range. Uncovering them now makes a seemless transition. The soil temp is now in the upper 40s and by this time next week should be around 60F. Having protect on with soil temps of 38F and enclosures temps 90+ is rough. Click for weather forecast

People do what they do. Sometimes there is no good reason. I think many people do silly or stupid things. I have learned to pick a couple of areas and only expend energy trying to do something in those areas. For instance, I always try to get dogs/cats that were either destined for shelters or in shelters. I am at the legal limit of two dogs---and have been for years. But, I have made sure two dogs do not get euthanized and have not become a part of the pet problem areas. I am also part of a group responsible for reporting property code violations(to include pet violations. And I live in a city where the local police department(who run the shelter and have patrolmen as animal enforcement personnel) has developed a no kill shelter in conjunction with the local Humane Society. That is making a difference.