Put the Welcome Mat Out!
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
A beautiful garden can be a tranquil retreat from the hustle and bustle of the outside world – a place for quiet contemplations and joyful celebrations.
SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel have written about Ocean Friendly Gardens, low-water use gardens, colorful gardens and gardens made up of native plants. But, if you want to make your garden even more lush and vibrant, be sure to put out the welcome mat for butterflies and hummingbirds
Floating free of time
Butterflies and hummingbirds
A sense of wonder
SurfWriter Girls Haiku
In addition to adding color and energy to the environment, they will help your garden to thrive by pollinating the plants and enabling fertilization and reproduction.
If you fill your garden with blooming plants, you can attract butterflies and hummingbirds from the summer through late fall.
Plants that attract butterflies include:
Asters, Delphiniums, Hollyhocks,
Lavender, Marigolds, Sages, Zinnias
Plants that attract hummingbirds include:
Begonias, Dahlias,
Geraniums, impatiens,
Lilies, Petunias, Sages, Yuccas.
In addition to your choice of plants, other steps you can take to make your garden inviting include:
A hummingbird feeder – just make sure the liquid mixture is right and that the feeder is kept clean.
An assortment of plants – with overlapping blooming periods for a year-round source of nectar.
A garden layout that provides shelter – shrubbery, walls and trees for your visitors to rest and nest.
A minimal use of pesticides – to avoid endangering butterflies and birds and their food sources.
With a little care and planning, you can add life to your garden…and enjoy the beauty that butterflies and hummingbirds bring.
In Loving Memory of
Josephine “Jay” Kishel
1916 – 2015
She loved nature, whether it was stopping to smell a fragrant flower or eating a wild raspberry. A Pennsylvania miner’s wife and mother, she enjoyed family picnics at Harvey’s Lake and walking on the Atlantic City Boardwalk feeling the ocean breezes.
Please post your comment below. Comments will appear the next day.
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.