BUTTERFLIES                        

      Butterflies make the garden a very special place. Most gardeners think about flowers when planning a butterfly garden. It is important, however,  that your plans include plants that supply food for butterfly larvae. Butterflies are specifically coadapted with native plants. Following are  common butterflies paired with the Boundary County native plants they choose for larvae food. For example: Lorquins admiral and Weidemeyer's admiral- Populus trichocarpa ( black cottonwood) and Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen), Amelanchier (serviceberry), Holodiscus (ocean spray) willow and choke cherry; white admiral-  Betula papyrifera var. occidentalis (Western Paper Birch); sulphurs-willow species, clover and other legumes; black swallowtail-Queen Ann's lace; western tiger swallowtail and pale swallowtail-Alnus,(Alder), Holodiscus (Ocean spray), Amelanchier (Serviceberry), Prunus virginiana (choke cherry); spring azure and Melissa blue- choke cherry,  Cornus stolonifer (red osier dogwood), lupines, alfalfa, clover; Purplish Copper-Potentilla and docks; wood nymph-  native grasses; pearl crescents- asters; Gnaphalium (pearly everlasting), lupine, Malva; monarch- milkweed; fritillary- violet; monarch- milkweed; mourning cloak-willow and aspen.
       Homes circumscribed by forest or wild areas have many plants that are crucial to butterfly survival.  Besides plants for larva, there are plants to supply nectar: yarrow, asters, dogbane, pearly everlasting, Antennaria (pusseytoes), groundsels and ragworts, goldenrod, elderberry, snowberry, white clover, red clover, wild bergamont, Prunella (selfheal), ninebark, chokecherry, pussy willow and countless others.
       To put it another way- gardeners in Boundary County are in the midst of an extensive butterfly garden. This gift from mother nature needs neither weed killers, extra water or fertilizer. Take advantage of  these natural gardens. Protect them and blend them into more manicured areas in the landscape. Let  your lawn (keep it small) flow from the house to the edge of the woods. Where woods meets lawn,  place clumps of ornamental grasses, flowering shrubs or possibly a perennial or annual garden.
        Butterfly caterpillars can be downright ugly, spiny and creepy as can the caterpillars of common garden pests. Learn to distinguish the good from the bad. There are some caterpillars and worms worth squashing or spraying with lime. These include fall web worms,  tent caterpillars, armyworms and the green larvae of the European cabbage butterfly. For pictures of garden pests: The Organic gardener's handbook of natural insect and disease control-Ellis and Bradley.  For pictures of butterfly larvae : The Butterfly Book-Stokes and Williams.  More about butterflies next week.   For further information and pictures of butterfly Larva visit our homepage at www.hollygardens.com. Happy Gardening
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