Saturday, August 2, 2008

Butterflies LOVE Echinacea

These are some of the echinaceas (coneflowers) growing in my gardens. You might say I have an echinacea feish...and you'd be correct. ;-) I LOVE them because they begin blooming in late July and continue on until late September -- if I remember to remove spent flowers. PLUS they attract butterflies.

Here in my USDA Zone 4 garden (sorry for the fancy garden-speak but if you're a serious gardener you know Zone 4 means my growing season is short), butterfly bushes -- the REAL butterfly magnets -- are just NOW beginning to bloom.

So for me, the echinaceas do some of the advance luring of butterflies into my yard. YES!!
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14 comments:

  1. MaryAugust 2, 2008 at 7:43 AM

    They are lovely! Somehow, I didn't realize they came in yellow, too. I guess I haven't read any seed catalogs in along time...

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  2. KyaniteAugust 2, 2008 at 8:47 AM

    Another season I must buy some as they are lovely & I need to attract more Butterflies.
    Are they perennials?

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  3. ShammickiteAugust 2, 2008 at 9:02 AM

    I have the pink/purple ones, but no yellows. They are on my shopping list for 2009!

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  4. dotAugust 2, 2008 at 9:31 AM

    Not only did I learn something new today (echinacea) but I enjoyed seeing some beautiful flowers too. I caught a couple pictures of the same flowers yesterday in a park. I'm going to plant some of these next year( I think I say that every year lol)

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  5. DarlaAugust 2, 2008 at 11:36 AM

    For whatever reason, I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly here at the mt. house. I could be that we haven't planted much. There are wildflowers in our rather forested area tho.

    Darla

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  6. Small City ScenesAugust 2, 2008 at 11:44 AM

    So beautiful. You captured it all.
    How do you make a collage? MB

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  7. WillardAugust 2, 2008 at 10:28 PM

    A lovely series! It makes one want to be their with the camera!

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  8. Pearl MapleAugust 3, 2008 at 2:37 AM

    Beautiful photos, when your season is shorty every day is special.

    Thank you for sharing and your kind comments on my blog for Sky Watch Friday.

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  9. LouiseAugust 3, 2008 at 12:24 PM

    I would never tire of looking at such beautiful things.

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  10. me ann my cameraAugust 3, 2008 at 3:58 PM

    Exactly my thoughts for growing coneflowers also!!! I love them

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  11. Kerri FarleyAugust 3, 2008 at 7:41 PM

    Oh this is such a FABULOUS collage! I LOVE LOVE LOVE these flowers!

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  12. RoseAugust 3, 2008 at 10:15 PM

    Wow! These are lovely...and you know what? They are just what I need in my yard cause I don't have a thing that is blooming now. I don't know why I hadn't thought of them...they are blooming all over here too right now.

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  13. Rambling WoodsAugust 4, 2008 at 4:03 PM

    Our growing season is short too. Love the coneflower and is that a tiger swallowtail butterfly?

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  14. EG CameraGirlAugust 4, 2008 at 5:20 PM

    Rambling Woods,
    Yep. it's an eastern tiger swllowtail. I have yet to get a really good photo of one...but I keep trying!

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