May 2024 Backyard Garden Tour | Part 1 | pollinator garden🦋🐛 | Texas Gulf Coast Zone 9b

May is when the magic happens along the Texas Gulf Coast! It isn't too hot yet, and garden plants are thriving and loving their lives. Join me today and tomorrow (for part 2) as I bring you along on my backyard garden tour.

[@pc1189]

The little praying mantis was so precious when it noticed you and turned to look at you 😍

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I know! I was so stunned to see it. I don't think I have ever seen one that small before.

[@unit_10]

I would really like to see a night time yard tour!!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

You have a really good point here ... night time lighting! I should really consider putting it in so I could enjoy the garden views longer.

[@tsackerman4139]

I love your presentation style. Very relaxed. Lovely pace. And no distracting music. Just sounds of nature. Thank you, too, for talking about your pollinator plants and showing all the life forms!!! Butterflies 🦋 Caterpillars 🐛 Praying mantis ❤❤❤ So many people show their gardens but not all the beautiful beings living there!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

What a wonderful and kind comment - thank you! 🥰 I am kind of a garden nerd in that I grow plants/flowers to attract life. The beauty is a bonus. 😍

[@tsackerman4139]

I can’t grow a pollinator garden myself right now so I’m loving all the gardens that others are creating. Yours is gorgeous! 🦋🐛🌺🌸💐💕🪷

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you! 🥰

[@melaniemohler3634]

My Supertunia Vista Bubblegum in containers that were planted in March 2023 in Zone 9a in northern Houston (Kingwood). They survived our summer heat and drought with supplemental watering. They also survived winter without being covered. They are in full bloom in large cobalt blue glazed pots. It outperformed the Wave petunias. It is truly a keeper!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Wow - that is good to know. I had a Supertunia Vista Bubblegum in a container with drip irrigation last summer in full sun and it hated the full blazing sun. But last summer was brutal. This year I purchased one plant on Feb. 19th because a gardener and I were talking at my favorite nursery and she talked me into getting one for the pop of color at a time when there isn't much color in the garden. I'm very glad I did because it has been such a wonderful performer. It is living up to its reputation. Thanks for your comment!

[@christiem5856]

Gorgeous! Looking forward to part 2. Those pipevine cats 😂

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you! 😊 I know ... when we counted roughly 100 pipevine swallowtail caterpillars I about died. I couldn't believe the females laid that many eggs. Thank goodness we still had the wooly dutchman's pipevine for them.

[@tammiedunbar6166]

WOW you are receiving your tangible blessings from the gifts you give to the other life forms. I have a established Bronze Fennel also in my Pollinators Garden. I've only had Black Swallow tailed Butterflies lay eggs and I protected them because just before they become chrysalis the pest eat them all. I was in a funk !

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

For some reason in my garden *so far* the predators have left my Eastern black swallowtail caterpillars alone. Last year I couldn't keep one in the garden and this year they have the run of the fennel! lol. I have noticed the more of a host plant I have, the better success I have with the caterpillars maturing into butterflies. I totally understand protecting your caterpillars because it just hurts the heart when they get eaten/killed. The first time I saw a wasp tear apart a monarch caterpillar I was horrified. I used to protect caterpillars in outdoor enclosures (last spring I released 108 monarch butterflies from my enclosures). But after I have had animals breach them to eat the chrysalis, I stopped using enclosures this spring. I now am using the strategy of using more host plants together for lots of food, therefore lots of eggs, and this offers more protection. Of all the host plants I have, the ones where I have multiple plants is when I have more of the butterflies that lay eggs on that host plant. Caterpillars are at the bottom of the garden food chain, and it is a numbers game with them. The more you have, the more robust your garden will be (nature in equilibrium having food), and the more butterflies you will eventually have. I have gone from protecting them diligently to now trying to get them in abundance. I still hate it that they are killed though. You protecting yours is fantastic ... you will ensure they become butterflies! 🥰🐛🦋

[@HoustonKeith72]

I have somehow never had mystic spires. It is definitely the most talked about salvia.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

It really is! It grows really well with what Houston throws at it. I do like it. I think my favorite salvia though is Amistad.

[@goldengirl65]

It's looking gorgeous. I have to say I really find your videos so relaxing. You're so calm and I love watching them after a hard days work in the garden or a stressful day because of your calmness and quieter speaking. I have subscribed to a few channels on gardening just to see what others are doing and this is my favourite channel due to the calmness. Some other channels I just turn off part way through because they are practically screaming at you while others you can't hear what they are saying. I always know yours will not only be gorgeous plants and garden but be relaxing too. Thank you for that. My wishes salvias are flowering really well still. I put the four in one big pot and they are all growing into each other and the various colours look gorgeous. I had planted poppies around the outer edge and I knew one had a bud but yesterday I had to go searching for it and I found the poppy flower had grown all the way up and was flowering just above the salvia. So pretty. I hope the others flower ok now the salvias have grown so much. The yellow salvia buds have spread apart more as well so the flower head looks bigger now. It's probably about two inches above the first set of leaves and the actual head I'm guessing would be about four inches across the widest part and more than that in height. We just had three beautiful sunny days and I was hoping it might open before the cold and rain hit again but it's really making me wait. 😂 I have a white buddleja standing next to it still in its small nursery pot I haven't got to repotting yet and it's absolutely smothered with buds but they are still small so doubt they will be flowering at the same time as the yellow. I just can't believe it's got so many buds when it's in such a small pot and I would assume root bound. Just amazing isn't it. Look forward to watching part two tonight.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

What an absolutely uplifting and sweet comment!🥰 I guess gardening calms me. I have been impressed with my Wishes salvia (I have three different types). I absolutely love the different colors. When I purchased them the information showed they will not survive a freeze though. How do yours fare in freezing temperatures? Your yellow salvia is sure making you wait! 😄 I find I get impatient for mine to start flowering in the fall. They usually start at the end of Oct. for me.

[@goldengirl65]

​@@ButterfliesNBirdsthis is my first time growing wishes salvias so I have no idea how they will go over winter. I have them out in the open on my driveway Infront of Bougainvillea in pots, also new this year. I put the Bougainvillea closest to the garage door then salvias and I have other plants in pots around them just to see how they will go over winter. So I will have to let you know in a few months if they survive. We can get frosts and go down to minus 5 Celcius. Not sure what that is in farenheit for you but we don't get a lot of minus 5. We can get a few minus 2. I'm going to just leave them out there and see what happens. Hopefully they will be ok. I might shuffle the pots around a bit and put something else near them that might help shelter them a bit more. That's what I was thinking yesterday anyway. Will have another look over the weekend if it's not raining. I have my yellow one out there too so I hope it survives ok. I have a couple of other new ones in flower now too. One is called magenta magic if I remembered correctly and it's a long curving head of tubular flower in a beautiful colour. I've had honeyeaters (birds) visit it which was exciting. I happened to be sitting in the car at the time so got to watch them. They were the bigger honeyeaters though so they did bend the stems a bit but nothing broke on that one. I have found broken bits of greggii though. The other just opening is semiatrata. Hope I spelt that correctly. It's keeping me waiting too. I had no idea it was about to flower. I have three of them. The first one had grown into a pot I had it sitting on and when I pulled it out so I could get it out of its actual pot I had to really disturb those roots that had gone through and then when it came out of its own pot most of the dirt fell away. I was concerned it would die but after a few days of looking awful the leaves started to pick up and I really didn't expect flowers at all so go a lovely surprise when I was watering the pots and found a flower bud and when I looked at the rest of the plant it's got quite a few. Must be a strong one to survive the disturbance and then flower. The other two I put in a pot with a greggii salvia or two. I have to check. I've kind of lost track of how many I put in what pot because some have three and others four and one has two. Anyway one of those semiatrata was broken and looked awful too but I've seen a couple of buds in that pot so that's exciting too.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Yes, please let me know how your plants (salvia) do in your winter. Usually we get to -2 degrees Celsius if we freeze at all, but the last two winters we have gotten down to -7 degrees Celsius. 😕 I think our winters are fairly similar though. This year we only froze one time but it did get down to -7 degrees Celsius.

[@goldengirl65]

​@@ButterfliesNBirdsI had no idea what zone my area was in. I actually hadn't heard people talk about zone numbers until I started watching videos from your country. We always used to say cold, temperate, tropical etc. But yesterday I saw a chart that showed my area is zone 9 so yes we are very similar.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I thought that was the case by your descriptions. Are you typically humid or drier?

[@HoustonKeith72]

Those super petunias are famous performers. I’m not a big petunia fan. But the new varieties are impressive.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I am not a petunia fan either because down here they don't really attract anything in my yard, nor do they last in our summers. I purchased this one Supertunia Vista Bubblegum on Feb. 19th for a pop of color when there wasn't much color yet. I have to say I have enjoyed the color it has provided (and the monster size! 😁)

[@HoustonKeith72]

@@ButterfliesNBirds that bubblegum variety is a star for sure.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

It didn't like our summer last year though. I don't believe they do well in our summers, so I will see this year. Last summer hopefully wasn't "normal" for us.

[@JosTXGarden]

Whoa! That’s a LOT of caterpillars!! The cardinal climber looks so lovely! Yep. Mystic Spires for the win! It’s like, if you started a new gardener with it, you could lure them into gardening without even trying! 🤣 What is your favorite nursery? I love how floaty your shrimp plant is in those pots! So pretty! Thanks for the tour!!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I am so surprised the birds have not found the caterpillars in the fennel this year. It is nice and thick and some caterpillars even have made their chrysalis on the fennel. My favorite nursery is Enchanted Gardens in Richmond. The family also has Enchanted Forest which has a little different vibe. I have been to both and like them both, but I regularly go to Enchanted Gardens. 😊

[@nicholasryan5401]

Greetings from Ireland, You have a beautiful garden, Its the bees knees. Looking forward to part two.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Greetings from Texas to Ireland! Thank you for your comment! How is your garden in Ireland at them moment?

[@nicholasryan5401]

@@ButterfliesNBirds We have half of our perennial flowers blooming and expect more to bloom in the next three weeks.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Very nice! This is such a fun time of year in the garden.

[@HoustonKeith72]

As much as I’m enjoying my sun loving plants, I wish I had an area of shade in my yard. So beautiful and lush. And frankly less stressful keeping alive in this heat! LOVE the chartreuse color coleus.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I totally know what you mean. I absolutely love looking out at all the gardens multiple times a day, and I find my eye is always drawn to the shade garden. Even when I go out in the heat of the day, the shade garden provides shelter from the blazing sun.

[@HoustonKeith72]

@@ButterfliesNBirds my parents yard was almost entirely shaded by beautiful live oaks. Truth be told I have much more experience with shade plants. So this sun blasted yard is definitely more challenging for me. I do love being able to grow roses and many blooming plants but the stakes definitely feel higher. Ha! Wonderful that you can enjoy both!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Do you have any trees planned for your landscape? I remember when we planted our trees in our yard .. we were thinking someday we would have shade. Now we do! 😊

[@HoustonKeith72]

@@ButterfliesNBirds I don’t yet. It’s a small yard which tends to make me indecisive on these things. Ha!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Having a smaller yard can make tree selection a little tricky. Now that we see what our trees have done, we would have planted differently if we could go back in time. lol!

[@tammiedunbar6166]

Have you seen any Monarch Catapillers on your butterfly weed host plants yet? Also does the shrimp plant become dormant during the winter in your growing zone and returns in the Spring? I've never seen hummingbirds feeding at my putunias do they visit your putunias? Do you overwinter your Wendy's Wish Saliva in a protected space to protect the crown. I have planted two in my garden and mulched the crowns but they didn't reemerge this Spring. Your May Garden is Magnificent!!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I had monarch caterpillars in March and April. I haven't seen any now in May. My shrimp plant does flower less in the winter, but I will still have a bloom here and there. I pruned one this early spring and left the other one to see what the difference would be. Hummingbirds never visit my petunias. I think it is because they have so many other flowers in my yard they prefer (they do like shrimp plants by the way). I only have the one huge petunia, and I got it for a pop of color in very early spring. When I purchased my Wendy's wish salvia, it said it wasn't cold tolerant, so I planted it in a container and took it into the garage during our freeze.

[@jennifergreene8891]

Good morning neighbor 😊 How exciting to find the butterflies and caterpillars. How can you tell thats a female? So cool! Your garden looks beautiful 😍

[@jennifergreene8891]

I love hearing the dove 😍

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Good morning neighbor! It was exciting. My husband actually found them very early in the morning and was so excited that he came and got me right away. Butterflies bring such happiness! I could only tell the one was a female because she opened her wings once, and I could see the blue spots, which indicates a female. Incidentally, I think the other one was a male, because later in the day I saw two newly emerged butterflies in the yard on flowers - a male and a female. (You can tell they are newly emerged by how saturated their colors are).

[@goldengirl65]

We can get humidity. There are days during summer when the heat is lovely to be out in, hot but a drier heat and then there are days when you walk out the door and start sweating before you even pick up the spade. I think you might be more humid just going by some of the plants you've said get affected by it. I can't remember which ones you have said in videos don't do well due to your humidity, I would have to watch them again, but I remember thinking at the time oh that still grows here. There are some plants though I've noticed this year that have flowered better during autumn than summer.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Yeah, we have LOTS of humidity. Even my adult son who no longer lives in the area will mention the humidity when he visits. He lives where it is drier and prefers it. This morning it was 95% humidity and the sweat starts the minute you are outside. And you just keep sweating large amounts because it doesn't evaporate off to cool the body. It isn't fun at all.

[@goldengirl65]

​@@ButterfliesNBirdswould you believe last night I discovered the seed place I buy from has cardinal climber seeds. I was just looking to see what they had in stock at the moment and couldn't believe my eyes. I've never seen them before. Thought I might get some and try it in one of the big pots on an obelisk. Do you think just one plant would be enough to wind around an obelisk about seven foot high or would two be better? I saw someone said in reviews they are very delicate so be careful when handling the vine to wrap it on anything. I am curious to see if the honeyeaters like it as much as your hummingbirds.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

That is awesome! They definitely are a warm season annual. When you get ready to sow them in your spring time, be sure to soak the seeds for at least 24 hours so they⁶ germinate in 2-3 days as opposed to 2-3 weeks. One plant would probably be enough, but I would plant at least 3 seeds so you can get nice thick and dense plants on your obelisk.

[@goldengirl65]

Thanks so much for the tips. I just placed my order. Now to wait for spring.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Fantastic! I bet your honeyeaters will like them!

[@wesleyhackney]

NW Florida here. I’m getting to look at your new videos a little late but impressed this episode with the bed featuring the phenyl and other plants and how many caterpillars & butterflies you have there. You mentioned one bed was your first to ever plant think it featured milkweed. So how long ago did you do that and get started in this type of gardening. Coleous coming along nicely. Noticed your cardinal climber starting to bloom. Mine is doing same thing which I enjoy seeing

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Good morning! Yes, the fennel is always so beautiful and lush, especially in the spring time. I decided in the spring of 2021 that I wanted to attract butterflies to the yard. My husband said, "you want to do what?" lol. Prior to that the gardening was a little haphazard. But early spring 2021 I just became focused on first butterflies then hummingbirds, birds, and native pollinators in general. In the past I would feed birds for a time until the squirrels became a huge pain. We would plant cardinal climber years ago for the hummers, etc. I even had a veggie garden in the early 2000s. But I have been focused for 3 years now and just love what the backyard has turned in to. It brings such joy each day that I am glad I did it. I started out with just that one north bed when our backyard had 3 trees, three bushes, and just grass. I focused more on monarchs then, but quickly realized I wanted the butterflies that are native to our area frequent the yard. LOL - sorry for the long reply. 😂

[@wesleyhackney]

@@ButterfliesNBirds great story. Your dedication shows. Thanks for sharing these details

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

😊

[@elsahickman3379]

Beautiful garden! When do you cut back your salvias for another bloom?

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you! That is a good question because I'm not very good at cutting them back. I let them flower continuously. I need to do better though. I just find it difficult to cut back flowers when the pollinators are on them daily. I do prune the dead flower stalks though.

[@kathrynion]

Your superbena looks great in the hanging pot. I have three, all in ground, though. I was wondering what happens to your hanging pots in the wind (I'm in the same Houston area s you)? How do you keep them secure? Beautiful garden and butterflies! This year, I have more passionvine than ever and more fritillary caterpilars than ever! I love your stand of fennel....I will have to try that myself at some point. Do you think it would do okay in the shade?

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Hi neighbor! 😊 That is a great question, especially after all the thunderstorms we have had with wind! So far I haven't done anything, as they have just swung in the wind. (We also didn't get as high of winds as some parts of Houston did). If it is too windy, I will take them down and put them up next to my house on a protected side of the house (depending on the wind direction), or I will take them into the garage if the wind is really bad. That is fantastic about your passion vine! 😍 The more of a host plant you have, the more caterpillars and then butterflies you will have. It is so fun! Fennel will do great in some shade. I wouldn't put it in heavy shade though. Mine gets sun, then dappled sun, then shade throughout the day.

[@GlendasTexasGarden]

Where did you buy your blue butterfly Clerodendrum

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I purchased it at Enchanted Gardens in Richmond, TX (SW of Houston).

[@GlendasTexasGarden]

Do you have blue butterfly Clerodendrum in the sun or shade

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I have it in a sunny area that does get some shade during the day from my cypress tree.

[@HoustonKeith72]

Do you use cedar mulch?

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

No I don't use mulch (gasp!). The soil I use has larger mulch like pieces in it, which filter to the top of the bed and provide a mulch-like surface. I get the soil from Costco in the spring (Miracle Grow Organic Raised Bed Soil with Compost). I have not found a mulch yet fine enough. If you have a good suggestion, let me know. I would want one that breaks down and conditions the soil over the year.