When choosing plants for your garden, it’s always important to consider the pollinators. Providing nectar and pollen in your garden for a variety of pollinators is not only a responsible thing to do, but it can also be beautiful!
Butterflies
Monarch Migration in 3 Simple Steps
The incredible 2500-mile journey of a monarch butterfly happens twice a year. In spring, as the weather warms, the roosting butterflies of Mexico spread their wings to fly north.
Gingers for your Houston Garden
Gingers are a real treasure here in Houston summer gardens. Gingers we grow here can range from large specimen plants to short ground covers and offer up a variety of bloom colors and fragrance. While there are too many types of ginger for us to highlight here, we thought we’d share a few of our […]
Plumbago: A butterfly oasis in blue!
If you love the color blue…and you love butterflies, then we have the perfect plant for you! Plumbago auriculata, also known commonly as Blue Plumbago, Cape Plumbago, Cape Leadwort and Skyflower, is a root-hardy perennial in our Houston gardens. This small rambling shrub offers up a bounty of blue flower clusters irresistible to both butterflies […]
Chaste Tree, Vitex; A Favorite Texas Blooming Tree
As summer approaches, so does a bounty of blue and purple-flowering summer perennials and annuals, such as salvia, scabiosa and scaevola. Plants that flower in the purple color range attract butterflies to the garden, making for a lively show. But purple is not just for herbaceous perennials and annuals: One of our favorite blooming trees […]
4 Easy Ways You Can Help Pollinators
National Pollinator’s Week is this week (June 20-26). Where would we be without pollinators? It’s important to recognize the vital role they play in our ecosystem. Pollinators are the birds, bees, insects, and animals that move pollen from flower to flower and that’s how plants produce fruit and seeds. Facts About Pollinators There are about […]
The Nose Knows
Gardeners smile when flowers are blooming in their garden beds. But it is the nose that delights in the sweet fragrances of the garden. With virtually year round gardening available to us in Houston, don’t forget the importance of adding fragrance in your garden. Our sense of smell is our most primal sense and it […]
Creating a Butterfly Habitat Garden in Houston
In Harris County, butterflies (Scientific Order: Lepidoptera) can be seen almost year round. About a hundred different species of butterflies regularly occur in Houston and surrounding Southeast Texas neighborhoods. From swallowtails to monarchs, these butterflies dance about our gardens in a visual symphony that is joyful to watch. The life cycle of a butterfly occurs […]
Monarch Butterflies at Buchanan’s
Monarchs know where to find the goods – at Buchanan’s. With truckloads of Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias currasavica) (also known as Mexican Milkweed) arriving at Buchanan’s, these butterflies have been seen laying eggs on the plants out for sale in the nursery. If you don’t have a milkweed plant in your garden, please consider adding one. […]