Great Tree To Attract Butterflies & Bees

We try to include plants and trees around our home that are both super easy to grow and also add some level of use for beneficial insects. One of our favorites we added three years ago was a Vitex tree. Vitex Vitex agnus-castus also known by Chaste Tree, Lilac Chaste Tree and Monk's Pepper -Its hardy from Zone 6a-9b and can grow up to 20 ft tall. It likes full sun to partial shade and is grown for its nice foliage. If the tree is dead-headed it will encourage more blooms later in the season Its drought tolerant and suitable for xeriscaping. BUT, what sold us on it was the fact we saw how nicely it grew in the grassy median of the interstate  not too far from us. If the tree could survive there, we knew it was the tree for us. Vitex tree going into its 3rd summer here American Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis) Better view of the amazing color of this "Painted Lady" I took these pictures on a very windy day so it was hard to capture the honeybees that were buzzing around the tree.

Random Pictures

Here is what's going on in my yard:



..a jumping spider hiding in a gladiola



..my rock rose that I got from this spring's plant swap is blooming



..one of four of my new castor bean plants given to me this spring. This one is a red variety



..a new variety of morning glories that I started this year. I love the color!



..one of TWO lemons on my newly planted lemon tree



..a gulf fritillary butterfly caterpillar on one of my many passion vine plants. This is their host plant. I've had quite a few of the beautiful bright orange butterflies fluttering through my back yard.

Happy 4th of July!

It's time to celebrate! I think our evening will consist of grilled out food, a crazy game of Trivial Pursuit and then to finish the evening..fireworks! We have a few that we've bought to set off tonight. The neighbors buy really nice ones too, so between all of us it should be a lot of fun. We can see the fireworks displays from several area cities (that should tell you how flat it is here) from our back yard. Since we have teenagers now, the thrill of going to see a public display is not quite as fun as setting them off in our own backyard. Thankfully, we live in the country where we CAN set them off AND we are currently not under a BURN BAN. We are commonly under those this time of year when everything is dried to crisp.

Outside of that, the work outside continues. I'm working in the veggie garden trying to keep it from drying out. Within the next few weeks I will begin to set out tomatoes and peppers for the fall garden season. Everyone around here prefers the fall garden. It seems to do much better than the spring. Most of the insect problems are reduced and all around performance is higher.

Breaking News...After months of waiting I finally have swallowtail butterfly caterpillars!! Yay!!



The fennel plants have grown HUGE and I have checked often to see if eggs have been laid on them. I was beginning to think I had missed the chance to raise some swallowtails here. That's why I am so excited to have 5 hungry caterpillars now. The swallowtail caterpillars will use parsley, dill, fennel and any member of that family as their host plant. What a beautiful caterpillar!!!

Field of Flowers

This is part of our front lawn. We are trying to make the most of how it is being used. Right now we've just left it alone, allowing a natural cycle of growth. We have a lot of clover that grows, blooms, dies and decomposes adding valuable nutrients back into the soil. The same goes for other winter "weeds" which includes the loathed henbit.

You see, there are beneficial insects that depend on areas where there are things in bloom throughout most of the year. Honeybees and butterflies are just to name a few of those who are seeking nectar. By allowing our lawn to go through the natural process, we've had something blooming in it at all times since February.

Our current bloomer is oxalis. It has really taken off this year. The waves of yellow are quite pleasing to view. So that makes the third color... first was purple (henbit), then white (clover), and currently yellow (oxalis). In the midst of all of it are bits of blue tiny flowers that I still need to identify. Seeing the population of ladybugs, bumblebees, butterflies and honeybees increase since we moved here 3 years ago amazes me. I think word is getting around that we have a pretty nice place to feast free of chemicals!

The photo here is like playing "Where's Waldo?" (click photo to enlarge) There is a honeybee on one of the flowers. Between the bee not wanting to pose and my camera's slow speed, the timing was a challenge. The bees were hopping from one flower to the next WAY before I could get focused. So 10 picture failures later...this is it!

We DO want to continue to add plants and trees to our lawn that will both feed us and them. Our plan is to build low water usage beds that will give habitat for butterflies and encourage building their population.

Maybe if we lived with a tiny patch of lawn, then having it in a condition that best worked with our needs, we would make different choices. Neighbors may not be so happy with you in a nice suburban-pristine-lawn subdivision. But, better choices could be made by considering what you are truly impacting negatively by having a basically sterile lawn. Considering a perennial bed (even if you can only in the back yard) will help. Since we are on a few acres, it just didn't seem right to sterilize the whole yard, just for the sake of aesthetics. With CCD on the rise for bees and a marked decline in other beneficial insects, our choices DO count.

Plus... it makes life just a bit more colorful I think. Now, we do mow as to not let it get too tall, and it seems we have more flowers than the fields around us. It's either that or the horses and cows have eaten all of the flowers. :)