I am so glad God gives us richly all things to enjoy! Birds, flowers, and butterflies are such fascinating and beautiful creations that the Lord gave us as His free entertainment, if we just take the time to enjoy them. This last year I've especially enjoyed the beauty all around me, with my camera in hand! Capturing a butterfly in a photograph has taken my breath away many times, as minute features I had never seen before are now visible. As I have zoomed in on the detailed features of flowers, birds and butterflies, I have been blessed during many sacred moments of worshiping my Creator.
If you want to attract butterflies to your yard and garden, here are a few suggestions.
Grow purple and white flowers. Purple is the favorite color of butterflies, although they will certainly sip from flowers of other colors as well. I found they also love white, red, yellow, and orange. Marigolds seem to lure large yellow and gold butterflies.
Plant white clover instead of ordinary grass, even in a small section
of your yard, for a fragrant lawn that butterflies will find
irresistible.
Butterfly bushes and hollyhocks attract a variety of colorful butterflies. Garlic chives produce white airy flowers in mid to late summer, which I found loaded with butterflies and bumblebees that didn't chase after me while photographing within inches of them.
Butterfly bushes and hollyhocks attract a variety of colorful butterflies. Garlic chives produce white airy flowers in mid to late summer, which I found loaded with butterflies and bumblebees that didn't chase after me while photographing within inches of them.
Butterflies love to sip from a stream or puddle, so if you don't have a stream nearby, fill a shallow white or purple bowl with fresh water, so they can stop by and sip. I found and photographed as many as fifteen yellow tiger swallowtail butterflies huddled together in a shallow part of our backyard stream, and later read that this ritual is called "puddling." They do this to sip minerals from the water and soil. Isn't it amazing how God builds into butterflies exactly what they need to survive?
Spicebush Butterfly puddling in our stream
Yellow Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies puddling in our stream
If you do just one thing to attract butterflies, plant a purple butterfly bush. They are inexpensive, grow quite rapidly, are extremely hardy, and the butterflies love the elongated brilliant purple blossoms! And so do I!
No comments:
Post a Comment