They’re flitting back and forth across my back garden as though they own the place. And when you get down to the nitty gritty thought about it, I suppose they do. After all, it is man who is greedy and does not want to share with the creatures that Mother Nature, and-or God if your mind is so oriented, has put there in an intricate balance; which man, to this day, has made little, or no, effort to try and understand.
I’m talking, just in case your mind has not yet clicked in, about the birds, and the bees, and the butterflies. And I’m talking too, about chipmunks, squirrels, and bunny rabbits, for I have mummy bunny and I believe, if I have counted correctly, three of her cute little offspring that are enjoying the white Dutch clover that I have over-seeded my lawn with. That not only keeps the bunnies from nibbling my lilies but clover acts as both host plant to several butterfly species, as well as the necessary nutrients that our bee populations now need so desperately to survive.
In addition, it is deep rooted, allowing it to stay green during drought, and it also brings intricate minerals from deep soils to the surface, enabling other plants to survive and thrive, symbiotically, as nature intended.
I just had the pleasure of planting an entire butterfly garden over at the Elora Art Centre. That was a fun thing for me. Although it was planned, and funds raised, quite some time ago, several uncontrollable circumstances kept completion dragging on and on and on. But not so this past week. With the help of two volunteer vehicle drivers, to haul the plants from point A to B, things fell into place and in two short stints of planting just shy of two hundred plants were popped into the ground.
We now have a sustainable butterfly garden in place, and although it will look like nothing other than a complete mess to the so-called formal tunnel-visioned gardener; to the common sense thinker it will look to them, as it does to the bees, birds, and butterflies, as a little piece of paradise, Heaven on earth.
One of the biggest mistakes the average, and I use the word “formal” again, gardener makes is the eradication and non inclusion of the host plants to the butterflies. I am not talking about the nectar producing food flowers upon which the adult butterflies flock and feed, I’m talking about the plants and shrubs upon which they lay their eggs and the young caterpillars feed upon the foliage. Many of which are species specific to a certain butterfly, and the larva cannot live on other host plants.
I’m talking also about the inclusion of non native plants that the show-off gardener seems to be so addicted to. This shallow lack of forethought, on all gardening fronts is one of the major hazards that our environment faces today. We must, and I repeat must, stop patting ourselves on the back and saying what a nice and tidy garden. We must, and I again repeat, must, leave that spray can on the store shelves and let Mother Nature have the right of way across our back yards and gardens. We must once again make our back yards a safe and carefree haven in which our very own children can have rough and tumble fun while playing in an environment that is healthy. If you are thinking of butterfly gardening, how about planting a poplar, willow or elm, in that back corner. They are host to the Mourning Cloak. How about leaving a clump or two of that stinging nettle, out behind the garage, it is host plant to the Red Admiral. Leave that cluster of milkweed right where it is, it is not only a beautiful intricate plant, it is host to the Monarch. Leave that cluster of choke cherry, it is host to the Tiger Swallowtail. The Giant Swallowtail is species specific to the prickly ash, while the White Sulphur loves your cabbage plants.
Birds, bees and butterflies in your back yard will tell you that you have a healthy place for your children and grandchildren to enjoy.
Take care, ’cause we care.