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.
ReplyDeleteBuddleias need a bed of nettles nearby for butterflies to lay their eggs
ReplyDeleteReally GZ? Please tell me more. I often have nettles growing in my veg plot: "Where nettles will grow. Anything will grow". They fill the soil with nitrogen like the peas and other legumes do.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have any buddleias, I think. Not sure what the Greek name is. But we have loads of butterflies. They are lovely!!
ReplyDeleteBoutleia is apparently the Greek name for the butterfly bush Linda. I got that from Professor Google. It's great that you have lots of butterfly on Poros.
ReplyDeleteWe have several Buddleias ..the large purple one a dark red and two yellow globosa. All free from cuttings!
ReplyDeleteThe globosa Buddleia look like Christmas decorations or Chinese lanterns JayCee. I would definitely take some cuttings of them. Do you get lots of butterflies?
ReplyDeleteWe have had lots this year. Their babies ate my radishes! Well, the leaves anyway 🙄
DeleteSounds like Cabbage Whites. They're playing havoc with my brassicas at the moment. I think they could be lace curtain designers.
DeleteIt could be flea beetle?
DeleteI love a buddleia, although I don't have one in my garden. It's crazy just how many butterflies they can attract.
ReplyDeleteAnd I used to love Heart. Ann and Nancy could belt them out with the best of them.
They do attract the butterflies Jules. You can buy miniature Buddleia. Even tri coloured ones. I loved early Heart hits like 'Barracuda', ' Dreamboat Annie' and the eighties and nineties stuff like: " Alone". Great band. I'm glad I have seen them play live.
ReplyDeleteI would be frightened to plant a budeia here in case it went feral like the hydrangeas and agapanthus (like Rhododendron has done in many woodlands of UK)
ReplyDeleteI do like how they attract butterflies TM. The Buddleia definitely seems to have a Midas touch with them. I believe Japanese Knotweed was introduced to England for its architectural like plant structure and Rhododendrons for game cover on large country estates like Muckross.
ReplyDelete