As you search the web, talk to people and ask the specialist, you will get all types of answers concerning insects and their role in the environment. You come across such things as beneficial insects and then all the others. Don't let these terms scare you. They are usually related to certain groups and how they make a living. For example, the farmer needs bees to pollinate his crop making them a beneficial insect. The person who is allergic to bees sees them as a problem.

Now we have the butterfly, an odd insect that seems too fragile for the environment, but continues to float around some of the plants in our gardens and flower beds. As we watch them, they prefer certain flowers over others and sometimes appear to be just sitting on the wet ground. People create Butterfly gardens to attract them; others have a large enclosure where you can visit and see them up close.

When I was a boy, along time ago, in the 1950's, I was fascinated by butterflies and insects that visited Granny's flower garden This was an enclosure in the front yard with a straight path through it to her front porch. She had it fenced to keep out the chickens and probably us kids. It was amazing to sit on the porch (No AC or TV) and watch the insects at play. Always, the butterflies were the moving pictures that held my attention. They seemed to move slow enough that I could catch them. Notice the word seemed,I failed a lot. Since childhood I have learned more about the butterflies and their place in the environment. For example, we sell citrus trees at the nursery and customers call about the worm (which looks like bird droppings) that is eating the leaves on their citrus trees. Guess what? Citrus trees are the host plant for citrus swallowtail butterflies.

Many plants provide a place for the eggs of butterflies to grow up while others furnish the correct type of flower for their dinner plate.

You can add certain flowers and other plants to your orchard, garden and flower bed to attract these beautiful moving pictures to your yard. You will have to go outside to see them or place them in a bed near a window. May I suggest you take a moment and a child and go outside and see a moving picture and a real smile.

Don't forget the wet pot or mud-puddle in your garden. They need a place to drink.

Plants that we sell that butterflies enjoy are:

Buddlela-Butterfly bushes

Milkweed

Blueberries

Pentas

Citrus trees (satsuma, lemon, kumquat, grapefruit, oranges)

Parsley

Dill

Fennel

Strawberries