Everyone should have a milkweed plant in the garden. Certain shrubs, flowers and weeds attract pollinators, creatures that are important for garden success, and milkweed is the queen of them all luring Monarch butterflies to lay eggs on the underside of the long leaves. Swamp milkweed with its clusters of pink flowers provides the sole food source for Monarch larvae. No milkweed, no new Monarchs.
Besides butterflies milkweed can attract bees, wasps, moths, flies, even some hummingbirds, all pollinators moving from bloom to bloom. And all of these creatures attract birds. Eventually you will have your own natural habitat.
Where can you get started in adding milkweed to your garden, or to the sunny field edge of your property? You can buy seeds from Nebraska Monarchs, an organization dedicated to saving the population of Monarch butterflies. Seeds you buy this year should be planted in the fall so they spend the winter under snow and emerge in the spring. It’s easier to plant small milkweed plants that you obtain from your local nursery. These will grow this year, probably not produce flowers, but they will be ready to bloom next summer.
And be creative with family activities: count pollinators charting which plants they visit; take pictures; make signs “Bee kind” for your garden; bring home books about butterflies and bees from your library. Enjoy those flying garden helpers.
Resources:
http://www.nemonarchs.com (Nebraska Monarchs)
http://www.fws.gov/pollinators (US Fish & Wildlife Service)
In Nani’s Corner we shop local small businesses, so check in at your favorite garden store for plants and supplies:
- Beaver Valley Farm & Country Store (Pelham)
- Delahunty Garden & Landscape Center (Windham)
- Lake Street Garden Center (Salem)
- Springlook Farm Garden Center Nursery (Derry)
FULL LIST OF ALL GARDEN RESOURCES HERE
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