It’s About Thyme
by CHRIS WINSLOW
I received an e-mail over the weekend from Blaine and Ruth Fehenbacher. They want to know more about plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
They already seem fairly expert in this subject. From reading a local magazine they knew about phlox, penstemon, monarda, buddleia, coreopsis, sedum and shasta daisy. These perennials are certainly a good starting point.
Are there any other plants that would attract butterflies and hummers (not the SUVs!) to their garden? This was their question.
With butterflies, there are two plant groups to consider: host plants and nectar plants.
Hosts are ones that attract mature butterflies as a source of food for their larvae or caterpillar stage.
They will lay their eggs on these hosts. The larvae will hatch. They will then consume the host plant until they’re ready to form a cocoon and transform themselves into a glorious mature butterfly.
Parsley, fennel, dill and butterfly weed are all good hosts. The swallowtail butterfly caterpillar can readily be found on dill, fennel and parsley. Monarchs prefer butterfly weed.
Often in the nursery we will find these plants loaded with caterpillars… and these are often the ones that sell first!
Nectar plants provide an important food source for mature butterflies.
Some of my favorites are lantana, bougainvillea, chrysanthemum, penta, butterfly bush, purple coneflower, rock rose, yucca, black-eyed Susan, Turk’s cap, verbena, yarrow and Gregg’s mistflower.
With hummingbirds, the attraction is color and nectar, and there is a long list of possibilities for the Hill Country.
Some of my favorites: desert willow, chitalpa, hummingbird bush, red yucca, the penstemons (Gulf Coast, Hill Country and rock), plumbago, Mexican honeysuckle, Mexican firebush, columbine, Turk’s cap, cigar plant, shrimp plant, Texas betony, and salvias greggi and coccinea, big red sage, and cedar sage.
With this group of plants, there will be no need to fill a feeder anymore. Also with the amount of hummingbirds and butterflies that these plants will attract, there’s probably no more need for that wide screen TV anymore!
Happy gardening everyone.
If you have a question for Chris, send it via email to iathyme@yahoo.com. Or mail a postcard to It’s About Thyme: 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748 www.itsaboutthyme.com
