This year we decided to create a butterfly garden in front. Our Milkweeds which we planted last year from seed are by now a returning, and well-established anchor with stalks well over 5 feet high. The white-pinkish flowers are so fragrant that walking up to our house is through a lovely wave of perfume. The scent is almost a blend of Calla Lillies, Lilac and Jasmin! Our plan was simply to buy one of these wildflower mixes, which come ready to sprinkle including a fertilizer. We didn't have high hopes, but were super surprised when this established itself as a dense crop of Cosmos, Bachelor Buttons, Corn Flowers, Allysum and more. We are thrilled with the outcome of this very easy exercise in what is really a dry, not very fertile soil. Our birds took care of some great random sunflowers, which anchor the patch on the other side of the Milkweeds.
First visitors to the Milkweeds this year are our beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, as pictured here below.
We hope the Monarchs will be laying their eggs soon, so we can report on Milkweed nursery developments!
