With all the rain and sun of the past week the flowers in the Butterfly Meadow have really popped into bloom!
The Cosmos have done the best of the flowers from the mix we sowed on the bare clay. Cosmos are a good source of nectar for adult butterflies. We have seen many Cabbage White butterflies flitting around the pink blossoms.
This small flower is called Self Heal. We did not plant it, but found it growing in the meadow. It's a member of the mint family, edible, and considered a useful herb in treating a variety of human ailments. The USDA cautions that it can be "weedy or invasive" but also notes it's "a valuable addition to a wildflower meadow or butterfly garden." (usda.gov) This touches on an issue we've talked to death among ourselves: What to kill? What to keep? In the end, we are keeping some non-native or even invasive species that are also food sources for beneficial insects.
A pink rose we pruned and are keeping, just for the hell of it.
Queen Anne's Lace, another species from Eurasia, naturalized in North America hundreds of years ago. One of my favorite flowers, and a food source for bees and butterflies, especially the Black Swallowtail.
Bush Morning Glory, supposed to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
We bought several species of clover from Knox Seed to sow in the meadow. Clover is a nectar source for bees and the leaves are food for some butterfly larva. Clover is a nitrogen fixer and helps build topsoil. This is especially beneficial in eliminating the bare clay areas in the meadow.
Flea bane, a native perennial.
Yellow dock seeds, nutritious for birds and humans.
I asked Brian Campbell, horticulturist at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens and instigator of the Butterfly Conservation Meadow, to list his top three must-have flowers. He listed butterfly weed, echinacea (or purple cone flower), and asters in general, especially late-blooming species so that insects and birds can have that food source for as long as possible.
We are propagating echinacea now, and are on the lookout for butterfly weed and members of the asteraceae family.
