Mother Earth's Garden

I love Monarch Butterflies. They seem to “arrive” in our area about this time of year and hang around until fall. I try to at least include some butterfly favorites in my garden and I keep my garden butterfly friendly by not using any chemical pesticides that could damage their delicate systems.
We always have plenty of milkweed, and thistle growing in our field to attract them. We also have plenty of butterfly weed, and a butterfly bush just for the Monarchs. The butterflies also love the bee balm, and Russian sage that are in full bloom this time of …read more

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The butterflies love the Russian Sage in my garden when it’s in full bloom, and I do to. It’s stunning tiny purple blooms blend together to look like a purple wave.

Whenever the Russian Sage is in full bloom I always see butterflies and humming birds hovering around the blooms.
Russian Sage is easy to grow. It enjoys full sun, and well drained soil. The plant gets a little bigger each year, but doesn’t spread so much that it’s overwhelming. It is a tall sprawling plant, so you’ll want to give it room to grow if you add it to …read more

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If you’re a Monarch Butterfly fan, LiveMonarch.org is providing free milkweed seeds, and complete planting instructions on their website.
Monarch Butterflies love Milkweed, in fact their life cycle depends on it. The spraying and mowing of fence rows, and side ditches has greatly reduced the number of Milkweed plants on the Monarch’s migration route. You can help by planting a little of their natural habitat in your back yard or meadow.
Just send a self addressed stamped envelope to the address at LiveMonarch.org to get your Milkweed seeds.
Image via sxc.hu

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I’m excited to announce we’re having another giveaway. This one’s courtesy of the new butterfly exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (SNMNH). They’re giving two lucky Mother Earth’s Garden readers a chance to win children’s gardening sets.
SNMNH is sponsoring this giveaway to commemorate the opening of its new exhibition, Butterflies and Plants: Partners in Evolution.
 
The Butterfly Exhibit opened in early 2008. It includes an up-close andunique look at butterflies, and a 1,200-square foot Live Butterfly Pavillion where visitors are invited to walk among more than 300 tropical butterflies, and discover for themselves how they …read more

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I love seeing butterflies in my garden all through the summer. We have a bike path near our home that’s loaded with Monarch Butterflies in the early fall. I love taking a walk and watching them float from flower to flower.
One of the most important plants for the Monarch is the milkweed plant.
If you want to have Monarch Butterflies in your garden plant milkweed. It is the native host for Monarchs, they lay their eggs on the leaves and stems. It’s said the butterflies can smell the milkweed plant from over a mile away.
Where can you find milkweed plants? Annie’s …read more

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