This is the summer of the butterfly! We have been observing many kinds in our front yard garden...it is amazing to watch as several flutter around from flower to flower. The American Lady butterflies are smaller than we expected but they are daily visitors to the butterfly bushes.
We planned this garden for bees, butterflies, and birds and they are now moving in and taking advantage of our neighborhood oasis that we have created. Our neighbors all stop by to tell us how much they enjoy seeing our yard as they walk and drive up the street. It makes me smile.
Creating this wildlife habitat has been a dream realized. I can honestly say that we have spent time every single day enjoying the wonderful things in this space.
The Western Tiger Swallowtails are the most frequent of the larger butterflies to visit every day. They spend lots of time on the butterfly bushes but they also land on the lavender from time to time. I think they are my favorite butterfly.
The white butterfly bush is the color that attracts the most butterflies from our casual observation. It has larger amounts of flowers so I think they may be the attraction.
We have had a few Monarch butterflies in the past week. This one looks a little tattered. It is exciting to see a Monarch though...this is exactly why we created this habitat. We looked forward to having our nature study subjects come to us...and they have.
This long thin purple flower cluster is my favorite shape and color. This could be called my purple section since I have purple lavender, sage, and butterfly bushes literally bursting out all over. The bees have found this space and they are here all day long.
The deep purple bushes line the front street and there are hummingbirds that can be seen landing on the blossoms as they take a break from collecting the nectar. The blooms don't even dip down...those hummers must be super lightweight.
There are a few more butterfly varieties that have come to visit but I haven't caught them with my camera....yet. I will share when I do.
Just for the record, the bee balm and nasturtiums started blooming this week in the back yard. Beautiful!
Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!
