Wednesday, July 30
29 comments:
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The butterflies are loving it, I think I need to get a buddleia.
ReplyDeleteWe have a couple in the garden and a whole row on the plot, Jo - a consequence of the fact that they take so easily from cuttings.
DeleteBeautiful! I had to dig several of these up though, as they seeded in the bit where the house joins the ground !!! Yikes! So lovely to see the butterflies finally returning {mine are still not that plentiful so far} and such a variety too!
ReplyDeleteThey do seed about easily Deborah - I've seen them growing on rooftops in the gutters of derelict buildings.
DeleteDon't they just love it. Mine has already gone over and is a mass of ugly brown flower heads.
ReplyDeleteOurs are just at their best, Elaine but I will dead head to try and get more flowers later.
DeleteYou must have some patience Sue, those photos must have taken ages to take - and they are truly stunning! Aptly named post made me smile !
ReplyDeleteNot long at all, Jane - the butterflies were all there at the same time, It was more a case of waiting for them to stay still, open their wings and come near enough to get a good close-up.
DeleteI do love buddleia, I have one out the front which goes mad every year so hopefully at the end of this year I am going to move it to the bee plot so it can have free reign to do whatever it wants!!
ReplyDeleteThey do benefit by being hacked down to about a foot of the ground each year Tanya - they are really easy to grow from cuttings so you could have more than one.
DeleteI love buddleia, I have one that I am going to move to the bee plot at the end of this year so it will have more room to grow!!
ReplyDeleteI love that one with the blue spots. Very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat's a peacock butterfly, Daphne.
DeleteThey are a bit thuggish but are great for attracting butterflies, which you have captured really well on photos. This week I have seen loads of them. I have a white one too which is less significant in every way.
ReplyDeleteA fellow plot holder has a white one, L but the butterflies don't seem to be attracted to it. Does the white have a strong perfume.like the purple ones?
DeleteAll gardens should have at least one Buddleia. Mines has been blooming for weeks now and the butterflies have only started to appear this last 2 days. I'm religiously dead heading so I can extend the flowering period. The mild winter and perfect summer has meant it is flowering early.
ReplyDeleteGood to see yours is attracting so many pollinators - fascinating to watch them all.
The photos were actually taken on Ludborough station, Angie whilst waiting for the steam train to pull off, Angie but ours are at a similar stage and also attract the same variety of butterflies. The flowers have come good at the right time for the emergence of the butterflies. Do you cut yours hard back at the beginning of the year?
DeleteA lovely collection of butterflies you are so lucky all we seem to get is gatekeepers
ReplyDeleteThese aren't actually ours, David but taken whilst waiting for the steam train. I usually find something else to photograph whilst waiting for some action. We do get the same variety of butterflies though so could have been taken on our plot.
DeleteBeautiful. Buddleia is magical when it comes to butterflies isn't it.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is CJ
DeleteMade my day this has. Stunningly beautiful pictures.xxx
ReplyDeleteGlad to oblige, Sniwbird
DeleteBeautiful. As I was out watering last night I caught sight of a marjoram plant, absolutely alive with bees and butterflies. It's been a really good year for all of them, thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to see more tortoiseshells this year, Jessica
DeleteGreat pictures Sue, I have about seven different Buddleias including a white seedling growing out of a stone wall so you might say that I am an enthusiast! Their flowers comes at just the time of the year that some colour is needed and of course the number if insects they attract is phenomenal. I double prune mine cutting them back by about a third after flowering to minimise any Winter damage and then take them down as low as possible in the Spring. An interesting thing that I had never thought of until it was pointed out to me is that hard pruning keeps the flowers at head height where they can be more easily admired.
ReplyDeleteI have three or four colours, Rick. Two were cuttings taken from but if buddleias on a plot neighbours compost heap. I's always liked the plant and he dug them up and I spotted them being composted and thought I had to rescue some bits, The darker the purple the later they seem to flower. I trained one as a standard but the flowers are far too high to be appreciated as it is small tree height. AS you say hard prining encourages them to flower right down to the ground. I lightly prune as flowers finishe to try and keep the flowering going and then one hard chop in spring. Some branches are quite thick now so I can;t manage as low as I would loelike. A plot neighbour was horrified when she saw that I had chopped down all our buddleias and I don't think believed me that they would come back bigger and better.
DeleteWhat a lovely purple flowers! The butterfly must be enjoying the nectar!
ReplyDeleteThe flowers have a very strong honeylike smell, Malar and so must be very rich in nectar. The bees love them too.
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