Hi, from a fellow Okie. I live in the Tulsa area, and yes, there have been masses of BFs with some new species sighted this year. This is being attributed to the summer storms in Texas. I will post a photo of my BF garden. I have several planted areas around my house, but this summer, I put in a large area that is bordered with stone. I have had a lot of BF action in this new garden. I can give you a list of plants if you want, but it will take me a while to put it together. Here are photos of one half of the garden:

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I also have pictures of BFs taken in the garden on the different plants.

Let me know how I can help you.

Sandy

Better homes Butterfly Garden Plan

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jsp?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/butterflygarden.xml

I have found that it's best to mix your host plants and your nectar plants. One of my first mistakes was to group all my host plants together.

Here is a link that might be useful: NABA butterfly gardens

Don't know if all the plants will work in your area but try the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hill Country Butterfly Garden

WOW!!! Thanks for such a great reply. The pictures are great butterflymomok and will be a great help. Is that yellow lantana in the front???? The websites are also very helpful. I don't know why I didn't find those when I searched.

Again, thanks to all of you who replied. I look forward to visiting here often and love the way everybody shares stuff.

Yes, there is yellow and lavender lantana across the front of the bed. Across the back of the bed are Buddleia bushes--all colors. In between are lots of perennials including native plants and some annuals, all are either host or nectar plants.

What are some of the native plants that you have used? I really want to start using more of these and share with the Master Gardeners here in Bryan County on using native plants. I don't know if the common orange or pink lantana is considered native here in Oklahoma but I have lots of it that comes back every year and the butterflies and hummingbirds love it. I also have a clump of Turks Cap that the sulphurs have flocked to this fall and the hummingbirds always visit during the last of summer and first of fall every year. I tried to transplant a native echinacea but don't know if it took or not and seriously doubt if it did. I will try again next year. I also have giant coneflower (Rudbeckia) that I transplanted from the pasture and it has done spectacular but I didn't notice it attracting any butterflies. I know the butterflies had a "field" day (pardon the pun) on the clover that was growing and blooming in my husband's hay meadows this spring (we have a 350 acre ranch).

Which Buddleia's do you have growing? I plan on purchasing some, but everything I have read says that the butterflies prefer the Davidii (I think it is a dark purple) and I was curious if you had that one or various ones and had noticed if one was more attractive than another to the BFs. (I am trying to get into the habit of all the abbreviations you guys use. It makes it so much easier on the typing).

May I use your pictures in my presentation to show to the Master Gardeners in November? It would be nice to have a real garden picture of a working butterfly garden to go along with the drawings that I have done. Just let me know. The presentation is part of my community service hours that I need to acrue each year in order to remain a Master Gardener. I get no remuneration of any sort. I might possibly present this to some of the local garden clubs, again accruing hours but no remuneration. So I would really appreciate the use of the pictures.

Well, now that I have typed a novel. I guess I will sign off.

I really enjoy hearing from everyone and look forward to a long association with this website and everyone on it.

Thanks,
Faith

Faith,

You are welcome to use the pictures.

Natives in my garden and yard include:

Purple coneflower
Aster Oblongifolius
Incarnata and Tuberosa Milkweed
Passiflora Incarnata
Aristolochia Tomentosa
Blackfoot Daisies
Liatris
Swamp Sunflower
Narrow-leafed Sunflower
Amsonia
Golden Crownbeard
Partridge Pea
Gallardia
Buttonbush
Verbena
Violets
Joepye Weed
Ironweed
Hyssop
Red Sage
Cassia Hebecarpa
Turk's Cap
Rudbeckia
Tithonia
Perennial Heliotrope
Dwarf Goldenrod
False Nettle
Pussytoes
Fennel
Parsley
Dill
Coreopsis
Cosmos
Leadplant
Plantain
Indian Grass
Purple top grass
Pawpaw tree
Vitex
False Indigo
Red Cardinal Lobelia
Spicebush
Tulip Tree

I know I've left some out, but these are the ones that come to mind.

I have pink, white, purple, yellow, red, and lavender Buddleias, 12 of them. The colors that get the most attention are the white, yellow, and red, in that order. The numbers are the number of plants. My Black Knight gets visited, but it is not the show stopper.

I'm sure I've forgotten some, but this is a good start. The plants that get the most attention are:

Lantana
Buddleia
Asclepias curassavica, or Mexican milkweed
Asclepias incarnata, when it was in bloom
Golden Crownbeard
Zinnias
Asters
Coneflowers
P incarnata
Turk's Cap
Perennial salvias in reds and blues
Pentas

Good luck on your presentation.

Sandy

Welcome to the Butterfly Garden Forum, Faith. I think that the extra rains did help the butterflies and caterpillars. Sure helped us poor gardeners that had to deal with several years of drought!

I think that this will be a wonderful program for the Master Gardeners. And, I commend you for wanting to include "native" plants as they always seem to do so much better.

I am hesistant to encourage you to dig up native plants. Would be better to gather the seed, trade for it, or find a native plant source. I have a friend, Marilyn from Seminole, that is involved with the Okla. Native Plant Society, and sells native plants at Farmer's Markets in the Spring. She has a list of wonderful native butterfly plants on her website that lists how tall things get, whether it attracts butterflies, host plant, hummingbirds as she is butterfly gardener, herself! Her phone number is on her website. She has such a vast knowledge of plants.
http://www.wildthingsnursery.com/

Another great resource for native plants with alot of information on Mary Ann's website:
http://www.pineridgegardens.com/
Both are highly reputable.

It would be hard to plan a master plan, as not everyone would have a blank space in their backyard to start from scratch. Still, I think that it helps to have pictures of blooming gardens for others to see what they could perhaps strive for to have in their gardens.

Sandy has included a great list. What is a great nectar source one year, may not be chosen in another. Last year with the drought and triple digit temps, my largest attractors where the Golden crownbead, hardy lantana, zinnias, Gregg's blue mistflower,Tropical milkweed, and Mexican Flame vine. This year, most of the golden crownbeard drowned out, though the ones still blooming have been a big major attractor. And, my Zinnias flopped over from all of rain, mildewed, and some never recovered!

Some nectar sources that I would add that should do well in your area:

Greggs' blue mistflower- draws lots of butterflies, but particularly the Monarchs when they are migrating.

Mexican Flamevine-another Monarch draw, as well as other butterflies

Salvia black and blue- gets to be a pretty good sized shrub- but loved by the hummers, and swallowtails

Salvia- Lady in Red (annual- reseeds- loved by the hummers, the yellow suphur butterflies, and my Pipevines are just going crazy over it.

Tall garden phlox- loved by the Tiger,Black, and
Pipevine swallowtails when in bloom

Verbena candensis is an early flowering attractor for the swallowtails

Hopefully, you could include about the large loss of habitat due to construction, and the major impact that it has on our butterflies, hummingbirds, and other migrating birds. There is alot of information on the Monarch Watch website on Monarch Waystations, and statistics of how much land is being lost per year. And, how every garden should have a small stand of milkweed for the Monarchs, as that is the only plant that they will lay their eggs on. Oklahoma is so fortunate to be right in the middle of their migration in both spring and fall.
http://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/

I have a website in progress that has a few plants and butterflies. I will try to add more pics of the garden next week. If you see any that you could use, I could copy them to a Cd, and mail it to you. I don't know how well copying small pics off of the internet would project onto a screen?
P.S. I won't be offended if this is not what you had in mind. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Butterfly website

Linda,

Checked out your website. It's looking great. You've got some awesome pictures. I'm curious about how you have set up you nectar plate. Do you have something covering it? Looks like you've put mesh or something over it. I've never had that many BFs at my feeder!

Sandy

Thanks, Sandy. It's window screening that you can buy by the foot. The screening is anchored with large paper clips. Helps to keep the flies out of the nectar. I got the idea from Mike C. on the FAQ. Thanks, Mike! :)

The feeder I found at Wally World. It is a wooden hanging birdbath with a plastic insert. I replaced the tiny screws that hook the chain to the wooden feeder with more substancial screws, as it can get quite heavy. I added a hummingbird "ant moat" above the feeder that I fill with water, as I have a problem with ants. I have alot of problem with wind, so it is much more substancial than a plastic plate.

I have a pecan tree just outside my kitchen window, and I have it hooked to a branch just outside my window, so I get to observe lots of activity! It seems to do better here in filtered sunlight. The butterflies have no problem finding it! The bfs seem to go to the "moisture". The feeders tend to dry out alot faster in full sun in the heat of the summer here. Even in shade, with triple digit temps, I find that I may have to add more liquid to the feeder, sometimes daily.

I really enjoy it. My DH is always looking to see what is out there, also. Just Tuesday, I had a MC, 4 QMs,6 RAs, and a RSP on it.

I have a butterfly feeder that I put the same concoction in, instead of the sugar water, and it works well, also.

I have tons of squirrels in my pecan tree, but they don't seem to bother them.

I never seem to get them covered before a rain, though. We got 2 1/2 inches, yesterday. No hail, thank goodness. I was so worried that I would be picking up dead butterflies off of the ground. Hope that the hail missed you, Sandy. They do not tend to come to it with rain diluting the mix, so I will need to scoop some of it out, and add more.

I do not have as good of luck putting out just bananas or watermellon. The ants, flies, and Japanese beetles seem to want to hog it up.

If you don't see the hanging bird bath at your local Wally World, I could probably pick one up for you.

Faith,I thought of some other plants.

Verbena bonariensis-gets alot of attention, reseeds

Porterweed- tropical, attracts alot

Salvia- Indigo spires- Monarch magnet, but requires alot of water

Ruta graveolens- Host plant for the Giant St.- needs morning sun or filtered light with good drainage

Hop tree-Ptelea trifoliata- Host plant for Giant St.- understory tree with good drainage

Here is a link that might be useful: How to make hanging bf feeder plate

Thanks, Linda

That was one FAQ I missed. I have the plastic bowl and hanger. I also saw them at Wally World and got 2. I just didn't have the screen on top. I will now!

Sandy

Hope that it works for you, Sandy.

Hi Guys!

thanks for the welcome, Linda, and the great pictures, advice, native plant contact, etc. Yes, I went directly to your website and had a wonderful lunch browsing through butterflies. I do want to clarify with you that the wildflower that I dug up were on my property and would have been mowed down by my husband as they were in the pasture. I agree that just digging them up is not necessarily the answer or the better approach. As a matter of fact, I recently collected seeds of a wild echinacea to sprout and plant in my garden in the spring, so I am right there with you on that.

As far as a master plan, I just wanted some plans to give the folks some inspiration of what could be done. I am also going to include doing some butterfly gardening in pots for those who have very limited space. I have included three or four different plans just to get them thinking. One of them shows placement of rocks and water for the butterflies as well as bushes, flowers, etc.

Again, to everyone, thanks so much for the info. This will really augment my presentation and make it so much more informative. I plan on sharing this website with those who attend the program and letting them know what great people frequent this site.

Faith

Just a follow-up. I did my butterfly gardening presentation this week (as I have already shared with Butterflymomok) and thanks to the information/weblinks/etc., that you so kindly provided. It was a great success with all who attended. I look forward to continuing association with this site in the future. It has such great people that are so willing to share their knowledge, experiences, joy and support with one another.

Ms. Faith

Glad that your presentation went well, Faith. :) Hopefully, alot went home inspired with new ideas to add to their gardens, and help the bfs out while they are at it.

Keep in touch. Congrats with finding your LT skipper. I would dearly love to have some show up in my backyard.