All posts by Matt

Attracting Butterflies – Make Your Garden A Paradise

Wondering at the heading well this is called butterfly gardening and what is that you may ask. Well it simply means growing that sort of colorful and attractive plants so that butterflies will visit your garden. Your family and friends will be delighted looking at the dainty and wonderful creatures. But make sure you create a habitat that is safe for them. In case you have cats as pets then forget this as it is cruel to invite these lovely insects to death.

The garden you create to attract these lovely insects is a matter of personal choice. Some general things to keep in mind would be the size and types of plants and flowers you plan to grow. Choose that garden style that holds an appeal to you but also make sure it contains the types of flowers and plants that will attract the butterflies that you want.

It is vital to know the species or types of butterflies in your locality and then find out the kinds of plants that will attract them! You can find more information regarding this in your local library. For creating an environment that will appeal to them you also should keep water of some type. Birdbaths are useful in appealing yet keeping hem safely away from cats and puppies. A small dish that can be hung on a nearby tree or post will also serve the purpose.

While planting the garden carefully co-ordinate colours in the flowerbeds. This is not because the butterflies are finicky about colours but because you do not want a bad looking and ill coordinated garden with unrelated textures and colours. Butterflies are attracted more to nectar more than than pollen hence you can go for flowers like day lilies, lavender, yellow sage, purple coneflower, daisies, Valerian, summer lilacs, milkweed and honeysuckle.

Some people draw a detailed layout with colour so that they can have a preview of what the garden will resemble once it is done. Always remember that too bright colours like reds and oranges are showy and flashy. They are better against a greener background. Toned down Colours like purples and blues are cool and soothing and will work better against a white contrast for that look of brightness and freshness.

Enhance Your Walkthrough Garden With Wind Chimes

Whether oriental in design, or a Southwest festival of color and flora variety, you can enhance your walkthrough garden with the use of wind chimes.

Nothing more perfectly enhances the garden yard décor and stimulates the senses like a quality crafted wind chime that has been precision tuned. Appealing to the eye, and alive with movement, wind chimes catch the wind and harmonize with nature; permeating the surrounding area with a tantalizing yet soothing aura of peace and tranquility.

The charm of a butterfly garden created to capture the color and activity of gossamer wings is further enhanced by the use of a wind chime. Stagger groups of wild and cultivated plants that are especially appealing to butterflies. But like wind chimes, all butterflies are not the same.

Butterflies have different nectar and flower color preferences. For instance, while the elegant Viceroy prefers milkweed and aster, the stately Monarch prefers goldenrod and thistle. Other favored flora varieties include butterfly weed, pink azalea, purple coneflower, marigold, and rosemary.

For longer garden life and increased butterfly activity, mix flower varieties that bloom at different times of the year. Groups of flowers are more appealing and easier for butterflies to locate than single specimens.

A bird bath for water, surfaces for basking in the sun on cooler days, shady areas for resting on hot days, and a trellis with nectar-filled honeysuckle or jasmine will help round out and bring balance to the butterfly garden yard décor.

Your completed butterfly garden will not only delight you and flutter its way into your heart. It will help conserve the butterfly population that has been harmed by chemicals, and their habitats diminished by house and road development.

Connect your walk through garden to the home by including a wind chime as part of your home decorating. The quaint charm of a country home décor, especially, will be enhanced.

A low-maintenance type of walkthrough garden is a natural one. Natural gardens frequently exploit the benefits and tranquility of a lava rock waterfall, fountain, or garden pond. This creates a more humid environment for flora and will entice wildlife, drawn to an environment that meets their needs.

The addition of tranquil sounds made by wind chimes, pitched at a higher tone to compliment the sounds of gurgling water will increase feng shui.

Delightful, relaxing sounds made by visiting bees and birds will add to the melodic duet of the water and wind chime, to create an environment as audibly soothing as it is visually stimulating.

Purchase zone-appropriate plants that are native to the area – perennial and wildflower varieties. These will be hardy, require little care, and will prove the most prolific. Do not overcrowd plants as they will be more susceptible to disease.

A well situated sun dial, a garden bench under a tree, and birdfeeders complete the garden’s landscape design.

Wind chimes…a great way to add beauty to your walkthrough garden yard décor and put a song in your heart!