Welcome to Indoor Gardening Guide by Archivex-Haiti
Kate Greenhouse Article
This is a selection made from among articles on Kate Greenhouse. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for future reading, click here.
Invite Butterflies to Your Garden.
from: Mary HannaBy Mary Hanna
Copyright 2005
With the huge growth that many cities and towns are experiencing we see the dwindling of Natural Meadows. With the absence of natural meadows, the habitat for butterflies, birds and other wildlife are dwindling too. Luckily butterflies are easily enticed back if you plant a garden where the caterpillar (pupa stage) has plants to eat and the butterfly has flowers to sip nectar. Butterfly gardens are easy to plant and will give you and your family a chance to see butterflies in their natural habitat.
The basics are an open space with tons of sunshine and a shield from wind. Pick a site with lots of sunlight with a few rocks or stones that can heat up on which the butterflies can bask in the afternoon sun. Try to place your garden near hedges or shrubs that will help shield them from the strong winds. If it is too windy, the butterflies won't stay around for long. The hedge or shrub could become food for the caterpillar. You can find out what the caterpillar likes best from your Nursery Garden Center. Butterflies love mud puddles where they can drink the water and soak up minerals. A patch of damp soil will make them happy. Most important of all is that the garden be pesticide free. Many people like to use pesticides to chase away unwanted pests, unfortunately it will chase away your butterflies too. Put your butterfly garden in a corner where there will be no chemical pesticides used. Better still, ask your Garden Center about organic gardening.
Flowers with nectar are a must for a butterfly garden. When planting these nectar sources try to put in plants that will provide flowers throughout the growing season since these are the source of food for the butterflies. Don't forget shrubs and wildflowers. Roses, geraniums and lilies have no nectar so plant them somewhere else. Keep your garden diversified to attract the most number of butterflies. Another component for the garden is a source for larva food. The caterpillar needs food to grow into a butterfly. If there is no food supply they will die. Plant some herbs for both of you. They like dill, fennel, and parsley on the menu. What they don't eat you can harvest for cooking with fresh herbs.
You could also plant a butterfly site in garden containers. Buy some pretty pots and plant them with flowers that have a wonderful scent as well as bright beautiful colors (available at your Garden Center). Petunias, daylilies or sweet alyssum will do the trick. Of course the butterfly bushes are a natural, or plant some hanging baskets with Impatients (you'll need some shade here).
Some gardeners like to make there own feeder and solution. And it is simple to do. Put 4 parts water to 1 part sugar in a pot and boil it until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool. Get a shallow garden container, saturate a paper towel with the solution and place it the garden container. Put a stone in the garden container so the butterflies have a place to perch while they are feeding.
Get the kids interested. Have them keep a journal of each of the different species that visit your butterfly garden. Let them look up the butterflies on the computer to learn all about each particular butterfly and it becomes not only fun, but a learning experience also.
Since there are so many growing zones in the United States you will want to talk with your Nursery Center for suggestions of what plants to use for attracting butterflies in your particular zone.
There is an old American Indian Legend about butterflies: "To have a wish come true you must capture a butterfly. Whisper to the butterfly what your wish is and then set it free. This little messenger will take your wish to the Great Spirit and it will come true." What a great legend.
About the Author
Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Gardening and Cooking. You can contact her at mhanna@gardeninglandscapingtips.com or visit her websites at http://www.gardeninglandscapingtips.com, http://www.gardeningoutside.com, or http://www.gardeningherb.com.
Kate Greenhouse News
August 2008 - New York Daily News
The Senate GOP just broke from conference and is on its way to gavel in, but will likely head back behind closed doors before long. The Assembly Democrats are still in conference. The shape of a deal is starting to emerge, but it's very preliminary ...
Read more...INDUSTRY NEWS & PEOPLE January 2008 - Business Travel Executive
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has added two new members to its international team: Ronald Kosmahl, director of global education and research, and Kathleen Brannigan, senior director of global communications. Prior to joining ...
Read more...Congregations aim to reduce carbon footprint - Globe Gazette
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Within most faiths is a call to members to be good stewards of the Earth. So calling on congregations to “go green” makes sense, say area coordinators of a movement encouraging faith groups to become more ...
Read more...Minnesota lawmakers roll out plan to cut greenhouse gases - KARE
Developer Resources. APIs & Developer Tools Everything you need to start your project, including developer guides, forums, and tutorials. Open Source Programs Find out about Google ...
Read more...Some are cool to DFLers' greenhouse gas reduction proposal - KARE
Two DFL lawmakers want to shape a pollution trading system designed to cut greenhouse gases, but they're running into obstacles. A key hearing is slated for Tuesday. The "Green Solutions Act of 2008" from Sen. Ellen Anderson and Rep. Kate Knuth has ...
Read more...Novelis Unlocks the 'Power of the Can' - CSR Wire
(CSRwire) ATLANTA, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Novelis, the world's largest manufacturer of rolled aluminum, announced today that globally the company recycled close to 36 billion aluminum beverage cans in 2007, nearly equivalent to all of the aluminum ...
Read more...New Analysis Shows Telecommuting Could Save Consumers $52 Billion at ... - PR.com
Telecommuting could reduce Gulf oil imports by 60 to 75%, reduce greenhouse gases by up to 101 million metric tons a year, and save as much as 12 billion gallons of gasoline each year. These findings are based on research conducted by Kate Lister and ...
Read more...