Flutter By Garden

 We have a lovely flutter by garden in the front of our home outside of the bay window in the living room and also easily enjoyed from the front deck. We call this lovely garden the flutter by garden because each day in the warmer months the humming birds, and a rainbow of butterflies stop here to shade and feed themselves before fluttering by.

It's not unusual to see 6 to 8 varieties of butterflies at a time dancing on the summer breeze in the flutter by garden.

When creating a flutter by garden, the possibilities of what to include in your flutter by garden design are endless. Below are some suggestions to help get you started when designing your flutter by garden plan. They are designed to spark the creative process of your mind and get you started on your way to creating a lovely and well-suited flutter by garden.

Before you begin your flutter by garden, find out which species of butterflies are in your area. Consider taking an exploratory hike around your location with a butterfly identification book to find the butterflies that dwell close to your property, or call your local extension office. This may take a little extra time and some research on your part but the results will be worth the effort.

 After you have compiled your list of local butterfly species, be sure to write down in your flutter by garden plan what these particular species of butterflies use for nectar and food plants. An excellent resource for information regarding individual species preferences is here. 

Be sure that your flutter by garden plan includes a location that provides at least six hours of sunlight per day. Butterflies are cold-blooded creatures and do better where they are warm and sheltered.

Wind can be a butterfly's worst enemy. Be sure to have plenty of wind protection in your flutter by garden design. You can plant tall shrubs and other plants in order to create a wind break. Some excellent choices for taller plants would be the bottle brush tree (a favorite with humming birds), Hibiscus, butterfly bushes, and Mexican sage.

Keeping the above points in mind, choose a suitable location to have your flutter by garden. The best of all worlds would be a flutter by garden placed on the south side of your home with windbreaks on both the west and east sides. You may also wish to be sure that you are able to view you flutter by garden from inside your home as well as provide seating outside from which to observe the antics of the butterflies and humming birds.

Adding plants to your flutter by garden to attract humming birds is easily done. All you need to know is the types of plants to use and some basic instructions on care. Any type of plant or flower that is rich in nectar is a great choice. such as Azaleas, Mimosa, Morning Glory Vines, Four-o-Clocks, Hibiscus, Rose of Sharon, and Fuchsia. 

Not only will these plants attract the hummingbirds but will also provide amazing beauty to your landscape by offering deep, rich colors with delicate blooms. Hummingbirds are attracted to these types of flowers for their color, rich nectar, and unique tubular shape.

The humming bird's diet is very high in sugar, consisting   mainly of nectar and tree sap. Hummingbirds feed throughout the day, at intervals as often as every eight to twelve minutes.  They need to consume almost two thirds of their body weight in food each day. 

In addition to the flowers mentioned above you will need to include humming bird feeders in your flutter by garden to maintain your humming bird flock. Place your feeder in a relatively quite location.   Especially when you are first trying to attract them to your garden.  Once you have them coming around on a regular basis you can move the feeder closer to where you are so you can enjoy them.  They love bright colors such as reds and oranges.  This is why most commercial feeders are made of brilliant red plastic. 

You can make your own food by boiling water and mixing one part sugar to four parts water.  You shouldn't add food coloring to your homemade food and change the food daily to prevent it from fermenting.  Unused food can be stored in the refrigerator until needed. 

Placing the feeder above the orange and red flowers in the garden will help to ensure the humming birds finding your offering. It is also a good idea to have at least two or more feeders in your yard, spacing them out as much as possible.     Humming birds are territorial and will guard  a good food source, running off any competition.  By having at least two feeders, in different areas of the yard, you will draw more humming birds.

The beautiful flutter by garden will not only increase the curb appeal and perceived value of your property but give you hours of relaxing pleasure as you watch nature come to your door in the form of an amazing and delicate aerial ballet of colorful butter flies and humming birds.