Wings and Things
It’s dreary and rainy here today, pretty typical weather for December in Atlanta, so I decided to dig out some photos from last summer. I was looking for some colorful reminders that spring is coming, and I found these pictures.
You might recognize the yellow and black butterflies as Tiger Swallowtails , the state butterfly for Georgia. The glowing-orange flowers are Tithonias, planted from seeds I found at a hardware store. I didn’t pay attention to the variety I was buying, but I’ll be more careful next time. These plants grew over 6 feet tall! The blossoms were pretty and drew lots of winged visitors to my yard, but the stems were so tall and lanky, the Tithonias eventually fell over and became something of an eyesore. But I will definitely plant a shorter variety next season. They’re great for coaxing butterflies to stop by.
Want more ideas for drawing winged creatures to your garden? Don’t miss speaker Karen Garland, from the Environmental Education division of the Georgia Conservancy, when she talks about “Butterflies & Butterfly Gardening” at 3:30 pm on Thursday, Jan. 29, at the flower show.
green blessings,
Lynn
www.LynnCoulter.com
Tags: butterflies, butterfly gardening