London yes, garden no. Only a balcony. Do you think I could have a micklmass plant on the balcony? I want to lure the nice butterflies in!
Miclemass daisies aren't that nice to be honest, just like them for the butterflies.:D
They take all summer to grow, and when they do finally flower they look a bit like a weed, here.
That's such a shame about the Large Tortoiseshell. It used to be everywhere. Red Admirals and Peacocks were relatively rare.
The small tortoiseshell is very common, but I don't think the large tortoiseshell has been common since Victorian times, and even then only in the south of England.
It's supposed to grow to around four feet, which isn't exactly dwarf but isn't as large as the more usual varieties. It would need quite a big pot, though, and might tend to get blown over on a balcony. It (and the butterflies) would prefer a sunny position.
Sedum spectabile is another good butterfly plant that could be grown in a pot. Some of the Michaelmas daisies are quite tall and probably wouldn't be great in pots, but some of the shorter varieties would be OK — if they're equally attractive to butterflies, and I don't know if that's the case.
It's supposed to grow to around four feet, which isn't exactly dwarf but isn't as large as the more usual varieties. It would need quite a big pot, though, and might tend to get blown over on a balcony. It (and the butterflies) would prefer a sunny position.
Sedum spectabile is another good butterfly plant that could be grown in a pot. Some of the Michaelmas daisies are quite tall and probably wouldn't be great in pots, but some of the shorter varieties would be OK — if they're equally attractive to butterflies, and I don't know if that's the case.
I might try those, thanks for link.:)
At the moment I have the old, traditional ones (at the end of the garden,) and I don't really like them at all. They take so long to flower yet they grow all summer and take up lots of space.
Will do an experiment, do butterflies like dwarf M. Daisies (ok, I always get the spelling wrong so have given up, buddleia as well. ).
Already got Sedums, don't like them much either but now I suppose I'll have to keep them.:D
I used to get far more butterflies in our London garden than we do down here, maybe there's too much choice, it being more rural?
They always catch weird shit. The worst was probably the time one of them caught a hummingbird and deposited it in the washing machine. It went on a boil wash with my whites, sadly........
I thought they were extinct in the UK? I know there were plans to reintroduce them at one stage, but I never heard any follow up to that.
That's the Large Blue.
This butterfly was first recorded as a British species in 1795 and, even then, was considered a rare insect. Due to the loss of suitable habitat, the endemic subspecies of Large Blue became extinct in the British Isles in 1979, the last site being on Dartmoor in Devon.
This magnificent insect has since been “brought back from the dead” through the dedication of several conservation organisations and many individuals. After its extinction in the British Isles in 1979, the Large Blue became the subject of a highly-organised reintroduction programme, using stock from Sweden. The estimated number of adults flying in 2006 was 10,000 on 11 sites, which is the largest number seen in the British Isles for over 60 years. This is a magnificent example of conservation in action.
The successful reintroduction of the Large Blue is made even more remarkable when one considers its elaborate lifecycle. The larva is parasitic in that it feeds on the grubs of a red ant, Myrmica sabuleti, on whom its existence depends. Although the dependence on ants had been known for many years, the dependence on a single species of ant, in order to maintain a viable population, was unknown to conservationists for many years until Jeremy Thomas discovered the association in the late 1970s. Unfortunately, the discovery came too late to save the native population. Today's reintroduction efforts focus as much on the population of ants present, as they do on the Large Blue itself.
Anyone wanting to see this species in the British Isles should visit the open access site at Collard Hill in Somerset. A “Large Blue Hotline” is usually set up each year that provides an up-to-date status of the emergence at this site. Details are available on the Butterfly Conservation website. In addition, Butterfly Conservation members and Somerset Wildlife Trust members have the opportunity to visit a private site, Green Down, each year, although places are limited.
Comments
Miclemass daisies aren't that nice to be honest, just like them for the butterflies.:D
They take all summer to grow, and when they do finally flower they look a bit like a weed, here.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=michaelmas+daisies&start=147&hl=en&sa=X&addh=36&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=hDpfNbKU_d-VRM:&imgrefurl=http://scriptorsenex.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html&docid=5CHIEytoUMlWkM&imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__qzX-0fL9Js/SqqCgoDDE7I/AAAAAAAATZs/-ZhP4m9wVco/s400/110909%252Bmichaelmas%252Bdaisies.JPG&w=400&h=300&ei=dVlnT7f8L4Xi8QOEg_S0CA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=95&vpy=220&dur=266&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=137&ty=106&sig=101766110222869723593&page=8&tbnh=129&tbnw=172&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:147&biw=1024&bih=600
It's not the best picture, but they always look more like this than the better, fancy pictures I saw on Google.:o
You could try a Buddelia in a pot/tub?
They will have them at your local garden centre, ask if you can grow them on a balcony.:)
http://www.thompson-morgan.com/dispatcher?search=buddleja+buzz
It's supposed to grow to around four feet, which isn't exactly dwarf but isn't as large as the more usual varieties. It would need quite a big pot, though, and might tend to get blown over on a balcony. It (and the butterflies) would prefer a sunny position.
Sedum spectabile is another good butterfly plant that could be grown in a pot. Some of the Michaelmas daisies are quite tall and probably wouldn't be great in pots, but some of the shorter varieties would be OK — if they're equally attractive to butterflies, and I don't know if that's the case.
I might try those, thanks for link.:)
At the moment I have the old, traditional ones (at the end of the garden,) and I don't really like them at all. They take so long to flower yet they grow all summer and take up lots of space.
Will do an experiment, do butterflies like dwarf M. Daisies (ok, I always get the spelling wrong so have given up, buddleia as well.
Already got Sedums, don't like them much either but now I suppose I'll have to keep them.:D
I used to get far more butterflies in our London garden than we do down here, maybe there's too much choice, it being more rural?
Oooops I really shouldn't have laughed there.
I thought they were extinct in the UK? I know there were plans to reintroduce them at one stage, but I never heard any follow up to that.
That sounds like the large blue (extinct c. 1970s, but now reintroduced from Swedish stock in some locations).
Its caterpillars begin life as vegetarians, eating various labiates, but then turn carnivore and eat the larvae of a particular species of red ant.
http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=arion
Interesting, thanks for the link.
Amen to that. Any lepidopterists lurking on the late shift?