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- A pipevine swallowtail drinking nectar from the flowers of Japanese holly
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- A cabbage white butterfly on Brazilian vervain/verbena
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- A tiny least skipper is attracted to catmint
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- A silver spotted skipper is deep into the flowers of purple beard tongue
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- A silver spotted skipper on catmint
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- A silver spotted skipper on Brazilian vervain/verbena
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- A great spangled fritillary on nine bark flowers
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- A great spangled fritillary on dianthus
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- A great spangled fritillary on arrow wood viburnum
There has been an explosion of flowers in late June and the butterflies now have a much wider choice of flowers. This group of nine photos illustrates some of that variety in our yard in Boone, NC, and nearby.
Some flowers are natives and some are non-invasive exotics. It is very difficult to provide a season-long buffet of flowers and fruits for wildlife without blending these two categories.
I wish all of you success with your gardens and at least a small proportion of the fun that Margaret and I derive from our yard plantings. If you pick plants primarily for their benefit to wildlife (especially butterflies/bees and birds) you will receive a double bonus from the “flying flowers” or “leps” that will be attracted to your gardens, and the activities of birds that will visit your plants.
