September is the most beautiful month in my garden, with October a close second, and one of the reasons is all of the butterflies and moths. They capture my imagination and draw me out into the garden every day. This post is for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day hosted by Carol Michel each month. Thank you, Carol! I often write about butterflies in September. Male Queen butterfly on Gregg's mistflower, Conoclinium greggii. Male Queen butterfly on Gregg's mistflower, aka palm leaf mistflower. Ventral view of male Queen butterfly. See how it looks similar to a Monarch? It is a much smaller butterfly, and the marking are different. It is also a bit darker. Queen butterfly male. I've been in love with Gregg's mistflower, Conoclinium greggii, all summer. I love its leaves, and I appreciate its blue flowers that bring in Queen butterflies. Before planting it, I didn't have so many. The...

Feed hummingbirds the easy way. By Dick Daniels (http://carolinabirds.org/) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11438244. I didn't have any hummingbird photos, and this one is allowed to be used with attribution. I appreciate it. This female ruby-throated hummingbird is drinking from coral honeysuckle. Below are ten flowers to naturally attract hummingbirds to your Oklahoma yard. Hummingbirds remain a delightful part of the Oklahoma landscape until the females finally leave in October. Hummingbirds arrive in my garden in late March through early April, and my garden is ready for them. It isn't difficult to attract hummingbirds. To attract hummingbirds, you simply plant those flowers they like best. Although hummingbirds love tubular red flowers, they are also attracted to plants with flowers in other colors as long as they provide high nectar content. 'Tangerine Beauty' crossvine with 'Dropmore Scarlet' honeysuckle. I lost 'Tangerine Beauty' to last year's record cold, so I...

At my Little Cedar Garden, it's hot, hot, hot, but it's also beautiful butterfly watching today. I returned home from an appointment and walked around the property looking for butterfly photo subjects. Butterflies and moths make me so happy, and my garden is all about them this time of year. Red Spotted Purple puddling on the driveway. I first saw a Red Spotted Purple butterfly fluttering around the garage. I'd never seen one here before, or I don't remember one. It finally landed on the driveway and sipped minerals and water from a puddle. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Phlox paniculata in my garden. Grow dill and fennel for their caterpillars and don't be upset when they devour it. Ventral (bottom) view of the same Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are among my favorite butterflies to photograph. They are pretty easy, and they sip nectar for a long time. If...

I guess I'm a generalist gardener. What does that mean? Male Monarch butterfly on 'Bluebird' aster. In my generalist garden, pollinators come first. No real gardening agenda except I want to help pollinators including butterflies, native bees and hoverflies, along with my honey bees. In fact, I'm speaking on pollinators at Bustani Plant Farm on September 10 and 11, 2021, at their fall festival. If a plant doesn't help pollinators or other creatures in some way. I won't plant it anymore. Although I still love my Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight,' I wouldn't plant another one because its bloom is sterile, and there is no nectar for butterflies and bees. H. paniculata Little Lime® is also sterile. On the other hand, H. paniculata Quick Fire® is covered in pollinators the entire time it blooms. Fireflies really love Quick Fire®. Want to read more about growing hydrangeas in Oklahoma? Check out my post,...