First garden bed needs work | #butterfly #hummingbird #pollinatorgarden 🦋🐛 |Texas Gulf Coast Zone 9b

The very first garden bed we installed in the backyard for our pollinator garden needs work due to plant loss. We had a water main break from contractors digging along the road and when the repair was completed, there was a bit of sediment that flowed through the water lines. Unfortunately some of our drip irrigation got plugged and plants in our north bed did not get watered properly in the heat of summer. We unfortunately had plant loss from this.

[@HoustonKeith72]

It's always exciting to have garden plans. Looking forward to seeing your progress on the North bed! I'm very happy it's time for alyssum. I've read it attracts pirate bugs which predate on thrips. My first year with roses can be summed up in one word. THRIPS. ha! So I plan to buy probably a whole flat of alyssum. haha! I saw some dutchman pipeline at a nursery here on the NW side. I have an area where I plan to choose a ground cover, so maybe I'll choose that? I've also been considering frog fruit, though I hear that can take over. I love your staging area! It's actually comforting to see even experienced gardeners have these. I worked a lot in my garden yesterday, but walked out this morning and it looked a mess. Felt a little deflated, but I keep telling myself it's a work in progress. Lot of lessons learned this year. And a lot of plans. Thank you for sharing as always!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Good morning! 😊 Alyssum does really well for us in the winter, and it smells so nice too. It cannot take our summer, but it more than does its job in our "non summer" time! lol. Oh dear - sorry to hear about thrips on your roses. 😕 If you do end up getting a Dutchman's Pipevine, be sure NOT to get the Aristolochia gigantea as it is toxic to Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars and kills them. I have seen nurseries carry this vine which is zoned 10-12. Try to not get discouraged in your garden and just take it a day at a time. Our gardens can look kind of tough after our brutal summers. But it is amazing how much life they do sustain even when they are in their "not the most beautiful" phase. And it seems like I am always learning in my garden and trying to improve things. Oh, and frog fruit I know does well here, and it is also a native and host to a small colorful butterfly that flies most of the year here ... the Phaon Crescent. 👍🦋🐛😊

[@jennifergreene8891]

Good morning neighbor 😊 Jen in Lake Jackson here.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Good morning neighbor! Isn't this cooler weather wonderful!!! 😀

[@jennifergreene8891]

@@ButterfliesNBirds Oh yesss... I love it!! You have a wonderful week my friend. 😊

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you! I hope you have a wonderful week too! 😊

[@AndreaHartman-l5g]

Just wanted to ask if you have the Pagoda (cleradendrom) plant in Texas? Mine has survived summer heat and humidity here in Florida, plus 2 hurricanes. My swallowtails are feeding all over it, sometimes 3 at a time on one huge cluster! I highly recommend it, so easy ro propagate from a clipping, too!

[@marleneegan-hm7lr]

Hi Crystal, I’m excited because I planted dill, fennel, and rue today( I think I’ll replant the rue in a container because I’m reading it doesn’t like clay). But I was happy to garden today although it’s still so hot out! I have a question , is Barbados cherry a host plant for any Texas butterflies? I bought one thinking it is but I’m not seeing much info about it. Thanks! Your garden is looking great as always ! And lucky you for making a trip to enchanted 😊

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I am excited for you!!! Planting dill, fennel, and rue will definitely be a draw for the eastern black swallowtail butterflies. Also, giant swallowtails will use the rue plant in a pinch (they lay their eggs on citrus tree leaves). I have had both butterflies lay eggs on rue and it will nurture both types of caterpillars. The barbados cherry is a really pretty flowering small tree! I don't see that it is a host plant to butterflies that are listed as "common and notable species" in our area from my butterfly field guide, but if you look at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center's Website for natives in Texas, it does list four butterflies that it hosts: www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=magl6#:~:text=Malpighia%20glabra%20(Barbados%20cherry)%20%7C%20Native%20Plants%20of%20North%20America . Scroll down the page, and you will see pictures of those butterflies. Also, the flowers attract pollinators and the fruit it produces attract birds! 👍