Butterfly+Garden+Plants

Here are the plants that are currently in our Butterfly Garden. You can check here before you go so you will know what to look for. and be able to identify weeds. This is our first year and it is important to remember that the garden will not look fully developed. A garden grows and develops as we tend it. In a manner of speaking --- the garden will tell us over several years what will work and flourish in this space at this time with the attention we give it!

This is a great and exciting opportunity for all of us to be part of the real experience of life-lonng learning. Some of us have never gardened, but want to learn. Some of us have gardened in other parts of the country, and are learning about different soil and water requirements in Tennessee. Some of us are experts and can share that expertise with our friends here at school.

We are in a creative endeavor with our children! What an exciting time for Westmeade!!

Bee balm flowers are brilliant additions to late-summer herb gardens and flower borders. Butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and other nectar-seeking creatures covet the tubular flowers on the plant's rounded flower heads, and the leaves and flowers can also be made into tea. Other common names include horsemint, wild bergamot, and Oswego tea.
 * **Bee Balm**

Bee balm is susceptible to powdery mildew disease, so select resistant varieties. Under favorable growing conditions the plant can become invasive.

**Care**
Apply a thin layer of compost each spring, followed by a 2-inch layer of mulch to retain moisture and control weeds. Water plants during the summer if rainfall is less than 1 inch per week. Remove spent flowers to keep plants looking tidy. After the first killing frost, cut stems back to an inch or two above soil line. Divide plants in spring every few years or when you notice the center of the plant dying out. || ||
 * [[image:Butterfly_Bush.jpg width="436" height="297" link="http://landscaping.about.com/cs/forthebirds/p/butterfly_bush.htm"]] || **Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)**

This perennial plant is a native to China.The clusters of tiny flowers form form atop spikes sometimes reaching 15' tall. The fragrant flowers may be purple, pink, blue, white, or red. The leaves are long and course. The butterfly bush will grow in almost any soil. Plant in full sun or light shade. The blossoms appear in late summer.

Plant Care for Butterfly Bushes :
Mulch butterfly bushes (//Buddleia davidii//) in the fall, then prune the plants back to the ground in late winter. This perennial will re-emerge from its roots in spring. Blooms tend to be larger and more prolific on butterfly bush's new growth, giving you incentive for pruning it. You essentially want to treat butterfly bush plant as if it were an herbaceous perennial rather than a shrub. || The common Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a most versatile, sturdy perennial plant. A wildflower native to the central and southeastern United States, it produces colorful blooms in midsummer when many other flowering plants are idle. While it requires moist soil at first, it is fairly drought tolerant when established. It is an excellent plant for attracting butterflies, that visit often and linger long. Purple coneflower is cold hardy, surviving winters as far north as the Canadian border.
 * **Cone Flower**

Purple cornflower is also known as Echinacea and is reputed to have therapeutic value. It was a medicinal staple for many Native American prairie peoples and its roots and leaves are ingredients in several over-the-counter herbal preparations currently available in drugstores and health food stores today.


 * Size**: Purple coneflowers grow from 3 to 4 feet tall on straight, coarse, hairy stems. Some newer types are only 2½ feet tall. The plants grow in clumps that spread 2 to 4 inches every year.

DEAD head, Dead head, Dead head -- this is crucial to keep them blooming -- and it is the blooms that attract the butterflies.
 * Propagation:** These are easily shared by division. || [[image:Purple_Coneflower.jpg link="http://www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/coneflower.html"]] ||
 * [[image:Coreopsis.jpg]]
 * How to grow:** Coreopsis species are happy in almost any well-drained garden soil in [|full sun]. They are drought-resistant and an outstanding choice for hot, difficult places. Deadheading and frequent division keep plants going strong.
 * Propagation:** By division in spring or from seed. || **Coreopsis**

The old-fashioned carnation name pinks comes from the serrated flower edges, which look as if cut with pinking shears. And the name of the color pink is said to come from these perennials have been popular in gardens for hundreds of years. Flower size ranges from less than an inch to several inches wide, and height ranges from just a few inches to several feet tall.
 * Plant with Salvia- stunning contrast between yellow and purple/blue**
 * [[image:Salvia.jpg width="212" height="199" align="right"]]Salvia is a kind fo sage!** ||
 * ===Facts about Cosmos flower===
 * Cosmos are herbaceous perennial flowering plants.
 * Cosmos flower plants grow to 3-6 feet tall.
 * The leaves of Cosmos plant are simple, pinnate, or bipinnate, and are arranged in opposite pairs.
 * The word **Cosmos** is derived from the Greek, which means a **balanced universe.**
 * Cosmos flower blooms twice a year and only once in the season.
 * Cosmos regrow the following spring if seed falls on bare ground.
 * Cosmos seeds are miniature pine needles.
 * Cosmos seeds are one of the easiest seeds in the world to grow. || [[image:cosmos.jpg]] ||
 * [[image:Dianthus.jpg width="414" height="278" link="http://www.justgardeners.com/hrsc/articles/art_dianthus.html"]] || **Dianthus sometimes called pinks**

Most Dianthus are very fragrant smelling like carnations. ||
 * Joe-Pye Weed, is native to the Eastern and Central United States. It is a coarse, clumping perennial with a whorled leaf arrangement bearing 3-6 lanceolate leaves at each node.

This will be an experiment for us. Because lavender's happiest habitat is sunny, dry, sandy soil that drains quickly --- AND because our soil is mostly clay -- our lavendar may not survive.
 * In nature, they will reach 4-6 feet (1-2 m) in height by about 3 foot (1 m) wide. Grown in a container, they usually reach 2-4 feet (60-120 cm) tall. Grown outdoors, they are a very showy tall border plant and are hardy in USDA zones 5-9.
 * Blooming Time:** In late July to early September, the plants are adorned with light purple flowers in terminal corymbs. Individual corymbs may reach up to 8 inches (20 cm) across. The flowers are lightly scented and they are very showy when planted in mass plantings. || [[image:JoePyeWeed.jpg]]
 * Joe Pye Weed** ||
 * [[image:Lavendar_Bush.jpg width="352" height="396" link="http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/lavender-000260.htm"]] || **Lavender**

We are trying two different varieties to see which one will prove viable. This is an extremely rewarding plant to grow and is used in teas and many other recipes -- besides its attraction for the butterflies. ||
 * **Rudbeckia -- common name BLACK Eyed Susan**

One man's weed is another man's flower. In Nebraska this is considered a weed -- because it quickly invades the wheat feilds...

Rudbeckia are true workhorses, with very few problems. The flowers are daisy-like and can be single, semi-double and fully-double. You can tell them apart from coneflowers by their coarse-textured, hairy leaves.

They are usually annuals -- but we have purchased the Perrrenial varieties. They readily re-seed themselves. || || Sedums are succulents, which means that they can take low water and maintenance. There are dozens of species that range from large garden flower hybrids to tiny species that creep along the ground and intermingle with their neighbors. Our grandmothers had these in many forms, one of the most common was hens and chicks.
 * [[image:Sedum.jpg width="401" height="380"]] || **Sedum**

 Hover flies are not house flies - they eat aphids most of the time but when their preferred meal isn't abundant, they feed on the pollen of sedums and other plants with small, pollen-rich flowers. This keeps them resident in your garden, so they'll be on the prowl the next time the aphids make a play for your most favored hybrid tea rose.  If you'd like to learn more about [|hover flies] or other beneficial insects you might find in your garden, [|The University Of Wisconsin's Department of Entomology] has a very nice site set up that you would no doubt enjoy. They had mercy and used small words most of the time, so your kids might like it, too. || Flowers heads are flat and 2" to 6" across on 2' to 5' stems. Colors include white, yellow, gold, pink and red. The aromatic foliage is green or gray. Yarrow is an undemanding plant that thrives even in poor soil but does best in a sunny position with good drainage and light soil. Yarrow grows well in zones 3-8 with some cultivars extending to zone 10. Plants are susceptible to disease in humid areas. Propagate from seeds, by root division or from woody cuttings taken in autumn or spring. They can take a year or two to establish themselves from seed. Place the plants 1-2 feet apart and divide the clumps when they become crowded. Taller cultivars may need to be staked, especially if grown in very fertile soil.
 * **Yarrow**
 * Growing**

Yarrow has been valued since ancient times for its ability to stop bleeding, hence its folk name "nosebleed." Today, yarrow is valued for its ability to fight off colds and flu. It is also an ingredient in many herbal cosmetics. Dried and cut [|flowers] are used in arrangements. || ||
 * || Zinnia ||
 * Hollyhocks ||  ||
 * || Hyacinth Vine ||