Well, thanks for all the nice comments and new info. Sherry, so pleased to hear some came up! To combine a few answers: The patch is alongside my "driveway", I never planted a single seed or rootstock...Mother Nature did all the work, after I burned the brush out. I do alternately cut or burn it once a year..in late winter/early spring. I do this in several other areas as well, resulting in wide variations of flowers/grass/brush due to slope, moisture levels, soil type etc., but all patches lure butterflies and various pollinators. Due to limited success with purchased/planted stuff, this has become my "minimal effort" volunteer B-fly gardening technique... ; -) I adopted this method after Katrina and a minimal tornado opened up large gaps in the tree canopy...otherwise known as "making lemonade," it works for me in large part because I can burn "out there" Going offshore for two weeks...till next time.

Hi KSOhio; I am in the Dayton, Ohio area. KC and I have had lots of conversations about butterflies. I also conduct a multitude of surveys down here. The literature states that swamp milkweed (A. incarnata) is the preference over three other native Asclepias species (Oviposition preference and larval performance of North American monarch butterflies on four Asclepias species Deborah T. Ladner & Sonia Altizer). In Florida A. curassavica is preferred over A. incarnata. (Malcolm SB & Brower LP (1986) Selective oviposition by monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus L.) in a mixed stand of Asclepias curassavica L. and A. incarnata). We find in practice that monarchs prefer A. incarnata to A. curassavica. It's just that currasavica is quick growing and can be managed easier at times because it is an annual. As to its preventing OE. Nope, we have fed it exclusively to Monarchs and gotten lots of OE. It might help the insect if a very low number of spores were consumed but I would not rely on it to prevent OE. Purchasing or importing Monarchs is a really bad idea. There are lots of reputable butterfly farms but some aren't. I volunteer at Cox Arboretum's butterfly house. We often get caterpillars from folks who have to go on vacation and "donate" their monarch caterpillar to us. The last batch was heavily infected with OE. Even so, your purchasing and raising Monarchs is not likely to help the population across the country or even in NW Ohio. The major issues for our monarchs in Ohio are as follows, 1) the condition and weather of the Mexican hibernation areas 2) the condition and weather of the first stopping over point along the gulf coast (the drought last year in Texas caused some of the lowest numbers yet) 3) the availability of nectar plants on migration (round-up ready crops have done a number on all butterflies as well as the suburbanization of farm lands). Be patient, get seed from local sources if possible and start plants this early spring and you will have all you need. In terms of the Giant Swallowtail. I would be interested in the citation for the white sapote. I have not found an article listing preferences for the GS. However, here is something to think about. You mentioned the hummingbird prefering local plants. This is very true of butterflies, with perhaps the exception of the Monarch (which makes sense since it migrates great distances). Sonia Altizer's study cites this; "Eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies (Papilio glaucus) sampled along a latitudinal gradient showed greater oviposition preference and larval performance on tree species that were relatively more abundant at their collection sites (Bossart & Scriber, 1995)." On this board we have noted that a butterfly growing in Miss Sherry's backyard may prefer something different to mine. So, I would definately think that GS's here would prefer local plants. Can you tell me why you think the GS is "dwindling"? If anything we have seen an increase. The GS is not a hardy overwintering butterfly. It can take cold temps but not well. So, with the change in our weather patterns, we are actually seeing more of them (see The Role of Environmental Factors In the Northeastern Range Expansion of Papilio cresephontes. Susan D. Finkbeiner, 2011). So, if you plant the right plants, I suspect you will attract them. Good luck, Elisabeth

Actually, I think the Echinacea and the liatris are the ones that are inappropriately placed and surviving largely because they are just tough plants. The yew provides shade to the South-west. Also, I'm north of you, so the sunlight is less intense. I was hoping the bleeding heart would spread to beneath the yew. The spot is part shade and dry. Wasn't sure weather to plant shade-loving plants that like moisture or full sun plants that tolerate drought. The bleeding heart was a recent addition, so I don't know if it will survive long term. The bleeding heart looks good with the nodding onion, but doesn't really go with the liatris.

theparsley, I hope your Liatris does well for you. Here, the pollinators love the blooms. They don't take up much ground space as they grow straight up! You might even have to use one of those wire stakes to support the flower stalk but the stake becomes well hidden by the leaves. I'd like to try some standing cypress plants interspersed with the Liatris. The two plants together would give me a longer bloom time for that growing space. Hi James, if your plants are beginning to bloom, hopefully your butterfly activity will pick up. Since the storms passed on and with the return of the sun, I'm seeing quite a bit of activity here in the past couple of days. I saw a tiny little blue butterfly yesterday on the A texana blooms. It was the size of a hairstreak but I didn't notice particular markings on it's wings. Very delicate looking and a lovely soft true blue color. Didn't have my camera with me and by the time I finished my watering, forgot to try and get a photo. This was the first I've ever seen this lovely little guy in my garden and wish I'd tried to get a photo so I could try and ID it. Yesterday I had a Yellow male tiger swallowtail, a female Monarch, a beautiful young male Pipevine and a hummingbird moth. Recently, I saw a black swallowtail that Sherry ID'ed as a female but I've not seen it again and I've found no eggs to date. :-( I have a lot of Rue and Fennel so really hope for some BST cats one day. Hang in there. Sometimes the butterflies visit and are gone quickly; sometimes they're in and out throughout the day and you might not be aware they've dropped by. If you don't already grow this vine, I'd suggest considering the woolly pipevine. Since planting my vines, I have Pipevine Swallowtails every year and as Sherry taught me, they tend to hang around their birth area. Of course, it probably helps that my vines are probably the only pipevine within miles! :-) The vines take a couple of years to reach a stage where they could support a few cats but as these sturdy vines mature, they will attract this lovely native butterfly to your garden. The little female isn't flashy but the male is stunning. ... Mary Male Pipevine Swallowtail - Battus philenor