The Butterfly Landing

Let's Talk About Plants🦋🐝🐛Violas. If you think about a fall and winter garden you definitely have to have violas. We always had the good old fashion jump ups when I was growing up and as a somewhat mature person, they are one plant I would not do without. Violas come in lots of different colors and types, you can plant them from potted starters from the nurseries or by seed. You can usually find jump ups in bulk if you have large areas, I think Wildseed farms has them in bulk. They will grow in part sun to full sun and require a medium amount of water. They are great in pots or in the ground, in combination gardens or hanging baskets, and of course they will brighten up any garden. They are a great source of nectar in the winter and are cold tolerant. They are a great way to bring color into the dreary days of winter, it will make you smile to look out at your garden or patio and see their cute faces in all their bright colors. And.... you probably guessed it by now, they are a host plant for the Variegated fritillary. The Variegated fritillary is a beautiful butterfly and can vary in colors from a light tawny gold to a deep rust/gold. Variegated fritillary caterpillar feeding on jump ups. I have mine started, I hope you will add some to your garden!

Nov 1st and 2nd Also known as Dia de los Mu***os and the Monarch butterfly, forever intertwined in some beliefs.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/dias-de-los-monarchs.htm

🎤The Butterfly Landing has several types of milkweed including the hard to find Pearl milkweed vine going up to Rainbow Gardens Bandera for sale! We also have several types of pipevine including the extremely hard to find Virginia snake root with this load. I hope to have these tagged and ready to sell by 11am, I hope to see you there!🦋🐝🐛The pictures are of mature plants at The Butterfly Landing habitat.

Let's Talk About Plants🦋🐝🐛Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare. This plant has many attributes but growing next to other veggies or host plants is not one of them. Fennel is allelopathic, capable of producing chemicals that inhibit other plants from germinating. Allelopathic plants can release chemicals from their roots as well so give it some space or keep it in a large pot. I had some in a corner for a long time and it did wonderfully giving us lots of caterpillars and the butterflies were always stopping by to lay eggs. It is a wonderful host plant for the beautiful Black swallowtail butterfly shown in the pictures. The flowers are also very attractive to many beneficial insects including bees, small wasps, lacewings, and syrphid flies, and especially lady bugs. They like to lay their eggs on them and it can be a great beneficial plant to add around other plants that draw aphids.. When planting for caterpillar food I recommend the Florence fennel it will produce the larger plants and will usually sprout or bulb from the soil level and regrow. Once the roots are well established they won't need much water. They have large deep roots and like to be kept on the dry side.
Now is a great time to start them by seed, they will grow through the winter thriving in the cooler weather and if the plants are large enough they will withstand freezes. Another great thing about Fennel is the fern like foliage, it is very attractive and can be used as a beautiful filler in bouquets. If you like eating it this plant is extremally nutritious, all of the plant except the roots are edible. Just a little fun fact.... in pioneer days parents used to give their children fennel stalks in church to suck on like a candy stick hoping to keep their kiddos quite during the sermon. If you don't already have this plant started this fall you can find the seed at almost any nursery and online. Try it, you'll like it!

I have had several questions about planting pollinator gardens this fall. Here are several of the native plants and how they were placed in the landscape. I hope this will help give you some ideas and if you need additional help I am at the Rainbow Gardens Bandera butterfly area Tuesday and Saturdays from 11-4 stop in anytime.

The asters at The Butterfly Landing have been beautiful this fall but because of the dry season we have had I have had to water them to keep the blooms from fading away quickly. They are worth a little extra water and the bees love them.

As fall sets in, pollinators like bees and butterflies rely on late-blooming plants to provide the food and resources they need for winter survival. These plants, from goldenrods to asters, are critical lifelines for pollinators and a key part of maintaining biodiversity in our ecosystems.

Learn more about the importance of these late-season blooms in The Pollinator Partnership's latest blog, and discover how small actions can help protect pollinators across North America.

🔗 Read the full blog: pollinator.org/blog/late-season-lifelines

Let's Talk About Plants🦋🐝🐛Dill! Anethum graveolens. I love dill I was growing it long before I got into Butterfly gardening. I make pickles most summers and I like to put it on my sandwiches with the lettuce and add it to dips and dressings. Oh, and the Black swallowtails host on it and yes, I grow lots for them. It is an attractive plant when it blooms if grown in the sun, a little leggy if grown in part sun or shade. Lots of bees and small butterflies like the blooms and it will usually bloom early in the spring if planted now. I grow it over the winter, but fall and early spring work too. Don't try to plant it late spring or summer here it doesn't like South Texas summers. It can take light freezes if mature but I usually cover mine during freezes. If it is extremely cold and freezes out I just replant. Be sure to save your seeds before you cut the plant down, your harvested seeds off of your plants will be better and stronger than starter plants and seeds in packets from Nurseries or seed catalogues, and far easier to grow. If you let the seed drop and don't disturb the soil you can get them to "volunteer" in your gardens. When harvesting be sure and look for eggs from the Black swallowtail butterfly, somehow the mama butterflies will find your plants and lay eggs on them. I grow some for the butterflies and some for me and move the young caterpillars after they hatch over to "their" plants and then harvest mine. If you grow several of the larger varieties like Mammoth dill there should be enough for the caterpillars and for you. Dill does not like to be overwatered, it will get mildew, so water and let the soil dry in between each watering. It is easy to grow by seed, I usually plant it in 4" pots so I can place them where I like but they are easy enough planted straight into a prepared area. When the 4" pots have fully rooted I plant in several areas and in large pots, the more areas the better when sharing with the butterfly caterpillars. Here is what the caterpillars and butterfly eggs look like on dill plants, and also pictures of the butterflies.

We had a beautiful Sulphur butterfly emerge the other day at The Butterfly Landing. I just had to bring the caterpillar into the enclosure to protect it from the paper wasps. I'm so glad I did, it is gorgeous!

There are a few spice bush plants left for sale in the butterfly garden area at Rainbow Gardens Bandera, they are the host plant for the Spicebush swallowtail.

The Butterfly Landing is at Rainbow Gardens Bandera today from 11-4 as part of the Artisan village. We are at the Butterfly Garden Area.
https://www.rainbowgardens.biz/event/4th-annual-artisan-village/2024-10-12/

🎤We are bringing Texana milkweed, Pipevine fimbriata and Watsonii, and a few other plants to Rainbow Gardens Bandera for sale tomorrow. The plants should be tagged and ready to go by about 11am. We will also have a few seeds for sale from The Butterfly Landing. The pictures are of mature plants at The Butterfly Landing. Save The Pollinators Save The World!🦋🐝🦇

🎤The Butterfly Landing is pleased to announce that we will be selling seeds this Saturday at Rainbow Gardens as a part of the Artisan village. We will be there at 11am and for the first time we have some of our extra seed for sale like the hard to find Prairie parsley, Lindheimer's senna, Partridge pea and others. I hope you will come out and support some of our local artisans and stop by the butterfly area and say Hi🫶 With the sunny days it is great butterfly watching time, just incase you haven't been there lately! Save The Pollinators Save The World.
Here is more info about the Artisan Village
https://www.rainbowgardens.biz/event/4th-annual-artisan-village/2024-10-12/

Happy World Mental Health Day and Happy Columbus Day!

We are seeing more and more weary travelers! Be sure to have plenty of nectar plants this time of year so the hungry Monarchs and Painted ladies can fuel up for the long trip.

Have you been seeing these delicate insects recently? These are lacewings and we are having a population explosion at The Butterfly Landing! That's good!! They feed on aphids. YES!

YOU all might be interested in this class😁https://www.rainbowgardens.biz/event/starting-native-milkweeds-from-seed

Starting Native Milkweeds From Seed | Rainbow Gardens Starting Native Milkweeds From Seed The demand for native plants, especially native Milkweeds, is growing more and more each year. Unfortunately, the demand ...

The Butterfly Landing will not be at Rainbow Gardens Bandera today we will be showing off our caterpillars in the Rainbow Gardens Booth at The Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival main event located at the Pecan Grove at Breckenridge Park/ Zoo Train Station. https://www.rainbowgardens.biz/.../2024-monarch.../
I will be there answering pollinator, nectar, and host plant questions. I hope to see you there!
For additional information you can contact- www.bloomingwithbirdie.com

Hey Ya'll check this blog out for more info on Coneflowers by the Happy Gardener!! https://www.rainbowgardens.biz/pollinators/coneflower-how-to-successfully-plant-coneflowers-by-seed/

This summer I have seen the Southern Great White butterfly both at Rainbow Gardens Bandera and at The Butterfly Landing and that is a first for me that can be confirmed ID's. Pretty exciting! Unfortunately the eggs didn't make it, I was really hoping to raise the ones in the top picture on clammyweed but no go.

The Butterfly Landing will be at Rainbow Gardens Bandera today for our class on the circle of life called Essential Plants for Wildlife and Pollinators, I hope you will join us for this free class!
https://www.rainbowgardens.biz/event/essential-plants-for-wildlife-and-pollinators-2/

I couldn't help myself. I think the leaves look so cool.

🎤We have Giant Milkweed trees, Native Pipevine A. serpentaria or Virginia snakeroot, US native Pipevine Watsonii, local native Pearl milkweed, and a few Incense passion vines all going up to Rainbow Gardens Bandera tomorrow for sale. They should be tagged and ready to go by about 11am. Save The Pollinators Save The World!🦋🐝🦇

This is great information Butterfly Lady! Thank you Journey North!

Tropical Storm Helene is heading toward Florida. How will migrating monarch butterflies and other butterflies and their caterpillars survive? Journey North has the answer: https://journeynorth.org/tm/monarch/sl/53/gallery.html