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Feeding,
Breeding and Sheltering Pollinators
“The butterfly is a flying flower, the flower a tethered butterfly.” – Ecouchard Le Brun
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If
you'd like to design your own butterfly and pollinator garden, you can download
My Plants for Bees and all Pollinators - USDA Hardiness Zone 5
Bee Balm (monarda)
download a pretty butterfly garden design plan free
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Shasta Daisies - Many varieties |
Cone Flowers (Echinacea) |
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Asiatic, Oriental, Siberian and Border Lilies
Download this pollinator garden design plan
Sweet Pea Vines and bee
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Giant Hibiscus attracts many pollinators at
once, due to
their size. |
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Hydrangeas - Several types of pollinators love to visit all day. |
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Red Giant Hibiscus |
Butterfly Weed - Magnets for bees and butterflies |
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Ruby Clethra "Summersweet" |
Butterfly Weed |
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Rose of Sharon - Blooms july-oct.
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Foods: just about any overly ripe
fruit and sugar water.
I freeze bananas for smoothies, but
over-ripe bananas can also be frozen with or without the skin, then left out
to defrost. Use the potato masher, and what you get is very mushy pulp and this is great for the
butterfly feeder.
Another way to easily store food for the
butterflies is to use different types of overly ripe fruits and toss them
into a blender. Set the blender on a coarse chop or a setting that doesn't liquify it.
Or pop it into a food processor and just give it a pulse or two. pour into
freezer containers or bags, and you'll have a good supply to keep your
feeder full.
You can set up 2 separate areas - one
for birds and one for butterflies. The bird area can contain feeding
stations lots of berries and grains and nuts as well. The feeders for the birds can be placed higher up but out of the reach of
squirrels. if there is such a place i haven't found it yet. Nor have i found
a place that bees won't find....
A pretty butterfly feeder that serves
also as a landscape element can be easily constructed using one of those
Gazing Globe stands and purchasing an inexpensive shallow bowl to place onto
it. they come in different sizes and styles and are not very tall, so
butterflies are likely to notice it, and it probably won't attract ants. any
planter stand without the planter can be outfitted with a terra cotta bowl
or deep dish glass pie dish. It can be relatively inexpensive. Also
inexpensive are those pillar-type fake-stone resin decorative columns that
you'd place a planter on top of. Purchase different heights and shapes,
outfit them with inexpensive but pretty bowls and you have a feeding
station. Squirrels will probably leave them alone, as there's not a good
foothold on the columns. They can drop out of the trees, though, so place it
where it's inconvenient for them.
A note about bowls - Dollar and discount
stores carry the outdoor picnic plastic colorful bowls, and large platters
with an inch or two of lip and not very deep. the colors of the bowls
attract the butterflies, they're cheap, and if you find the party platters
with sections, you can arrange an assortment of fruits for a Butterfly
Buffet.
Remember to
clean out your feeders frequently, and occasionally use a disinfectant
non-toxic spray cleaner or diluted bleach.
To view and download easy bee and pollinator garden design plans free, click here. Butterfly Garden Plan. Click pic below to download free.
Articles andphotos © 2008-2020- Mary Hyland format illustrations of Butterflies--> Quick Links |
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