Invite butterflies to live their full lifecycle in your garden. Provide host plants for laying eggs and for caterpillar food.

Butterflies lay eggs that hatch in 3-6 days. A caterpillar pupates in 3-4 weeks then in 9-14 days, a new butterfly emerges.

1. Locate your butterfly garden in full sun. Butterflies need sun to warm their bodies to fly.
2. Plant butterfly-attracting flowers that have strong scents and bright colors.
3. Include plants in your garden for butterflies lay their eggs and for emerging caterpillars to eat.

Bright colors and fragrance attract butterflies.

Select native plants and they will attract local butterflies. Watching a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis is reward enough for all the chewed leaves missing in the garden.

Puddling -

By sipping moisture from mud puddles, butterflies take in salts and minerals from the soil. This behavior is called puddling, and is mostly seen in male butterflies. Placing stones in the garden, or shallow bowls filled with sand and water are perfect for puddling.

Herbs attract butterflies and caterpillars.

Shirley poppies are a fragrant heirloom

Valentine’s Day Special at Renee’s Garden 20% off through Feb. 14 on selected “lover-ly”  flowers  that are sure to win the heart of that Special Someone.

I, of course, went a little nuts ordering Shirley Poppies, “Falling in Love” (Papaver rhocas) because I think you can never have too many poppies. There are other selections in this sale, including a fragrant heirloom sweet pea.

Most new or inexperienced gardeners wait too long before they plant poppies. In my zone 6 garden, I will sow poppies in Feb or March. I direct sow these teeny, tiny seed in the garden two months before  tomatoes.

http://www.reneesgarden.com

Oh, attention sweethearts everywhere: though it is a loving gesture, the purchase of flower seeds does not let one off the hook for chocolate.

See you in Renee’s Community Garden.

chive and sage blooms

Most herb flowers are small and unremarkable, but I look forward to these lavender colored chive and sage blooms every spring. They are edible, but I prefer to gather a kitchen bouquet so I can enjoy the flowers even longer.

Kitchen bouquets make herb leaves close and easy to use for cooking.

Flowers in the kitchen

Chive flowers will turn this white wine vinegar pink

More lavendar colored flowers

clematis “President” is a homeless plant I have yet to move to a permanent home. It has faithfully lived in this plastic pot for over a year.

( It takes just a little imagination to view the next blooms which are in my camera but not in my possession right now.)

Strawberries

Roses

Astillbe

Daylilies

Columbine

Carol, garden blogger at May Dreams Gardens started the Bloom Day tradition Garden bloggers Bloom Day May 2010.

Q   What is the difference between daffodils and narcissus? They are the same. Narcissus is the Latin or botanical name for all daffodils. Daffodil is the common name for the genus Narcissus.

Old House Gardens has heirloom bulbs and will consume hours of your time reading and learning about these rare beauties.

is one of my favorite bulb buying sites because daffodils and tulips just need to be planted in massColor Blends.

This is a practice post.

Bitsy 2002 Earliest Blooming Variety;
Blooms 85-275 Days Per Year.

Miss Mary Mary 2005 All-American title is granted only to those rare daylily varieties that have demonstrated superior performance in dozens of criteria across at least five USDA hardiness zones. The AADSC All-AmericanDaylily Award differs from others in that its results are based on rigorous scientific methodology.

From our friends at
All-American Daylilies