I often have been asked about butterfly gardening and why they don't see butterflies in their newly created gardens, in answer let me tell you about our adventure of the last few years.
When we moved to our Astoria property it was the furthest thing from a butterfly garden. It had the required foundation plantings of rhododendrons and a couple pathetic rose bushes struggling to survive in the middle of grass. Over an acre and a half of grass, not that pretty green carpet of golf courses, just mowed green stuff. The previous owners believed in riding lawn mowers if it could not be run over by the riding lawn mower it was tall blackberry vines and elderberry. We could not even walk to the back of the over 4 acres because of the blackberries.
We did many things those first few months, we put up fences to section off some of the back yard for our dogs. And Hank spent many hours cutting blackberry vines and improving the animal trails over the 4 acre hillside. We quit mowing the hillside yard except for twice a year just to see what would grow.
But 6 years ago we really made the change to gardening for butterflies. We planted many of the butterfly bushes and weedier plants from the Seaside butterfly garden in the back yard. I designed a butterfly garden for our side yard, which is enjoyed daily from our dining room window as well as the kitchen window.
After the first summer I had those feeling of why did we not see more butterflies. But now I am happy to report a wide variety of wildlife live in and around our property.
Our earliest butterfly visitors are usually Spring Azure's or Mourning Cloak's (that overwinter in our grove of alders) of course the flit of white is always visible in the spring, we have the Veined White as well as the Cabbage White in abundance. The showy swallowtails start appearing in May we see Anise Swallowtails, Western Tiger Swallowtails, and Pale Swallowtails during the season. During the summer Lorquin's Admiral, Painted Ladies, West Coast Ladies and Red Admirals visit many times, August brings the Skippers flitting quickly across the grass and flowers. We have a few visitors that have surprised us one summer we were visited by a couple Clodius Parnassians and some Sara's Orange Tip have paid us a summer visit. We close the summer with a multitude of Sulphurs that visit well into October, a few years ago I visited with Sulphurs during a walk on Halloween! We were both out to enjoy the sunny fall weather.
Other than our butterfly friends the gardens have also drawn a wide array of friends: Dragonflies(at least 5 types), Damselflies, Mayflies, hoverflies and hummingbirds. Several types of bumble bees, honey bees, mason bees and wasps as well as a full array of slugs, beetles, lady bugs, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, lace wings, grasshoppers and this year crickets abound.
On a larger scale we have a family of grey squirrels, visiting native red squirrels, chipmunks, frogs, and black tail deer live year round in our backyard. Birds abound with Stellarjays, chickadees, Gold finches, Crows, Robins, Thrush and Screech Owls.
With a few bats and many moth species to round out the night-life. Oh and I can't forget our garden snakes that love to sun on the walkways around the front door.
I would never have believed that first year that we could walk outside - just about anytime of the year and be greeted by a wild creature, whether they know they are safe or just enjoy the changes to the place as much as we do I could not tell you. But when you start naming your deer, snakes and many visitors it makes the work just a little bit easier.
So when you start on that journey of a garden for butterflies remember your yard will become the playground and home for many friends and neighbors.
Debra Hazelett