Butterflies and Buddleia.
The 🦋 🦋 butterflies love the Buddleia that I planted to make our patio a bit more private last year. You can see the bay and Beara in the background. We live in the countryside next to the sea.Regular readers will know this particular shade of purple/ lilac specimen is an offspring of a Buddleia cutting I took when I lived in Cheshire. I filled two wheelie bins full of my shrubs and perennials and manhandled it into the back of a Luton hire van.
Last year I planted another cutting that had successfully "striked" rootsand now it's attracting the Red Admirals.
When I was trying to sell my Buddleia and other plants at a carboot sale the other week.
I had a conversation with a lovely lady and I told her about the Buddleia or butterfly bush. I told her if she planted it in her garden it would attract the butterflies 🦋. Then I said that apparently that butterflies serve no natural purpose other than being beautiful. We both agreed what could be better than that? She bought my potted Buddleia and went away happy.
My Sedum Autumn Joy's are now turning pinky purple. These also attract the butterflies. Sadly when I see these in flower and the butterflies hovering round them. I know winter is on the way. Rather like seeing farmers making second or third cut bales of silage. So the cattle will have forage in winter.
Anyone getting lots of butterflies on their Buddleias?
Here's a song by American heavy rock band Heart. I saw them play at Birmingham NEC back in the late eighties. I think it was 1988🤔? Crikey! That is thirty seven years ago. Where does the time go?
My garden is full so no space for anything huge, BUT next doors overgrown garden has a huge buddleia, plus 3 elderflower none have been cutting back, so we enjoy the birds, butterflies and other creatures which live and visit there. Sounds idealistic, but the rats, foxes and all her cats take away some of the joy.
ReplyDeleteI like mature gardens Marlene. Buddleia cuttings are very easy to strike and you could put them in your plant nursery and give them away next year. We have 7 cats but I still see the odd rat scavenging in winter. I once watched two brown rats foraging blackberries in a field. I also saw a fox carrying a dead rat in it's mouth. So I suppose they are all part of the food cycle.
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