The first segment of “Volunteer Gardener” airs tonight on NPT at 7:30! It’s a short segment about fall gardening for butterflies. There are three things to remember about this time of year:
1. Keep the restaurant open! Continue watering and deadheading the flowers that are still blooming to provide nectar for butterflies. Butterflies such as Monarchs, Cloudless Sulphurs, and Common Buckeye are still migrating. You can put out the “Closed” sign after November.
2. Keep your yard as natural as possible. Do not cut plants off or rake up ground too soon – you might rake up next year’s butterflies! Butterflies such as Gulf Fritillaries are still reproducing in Tennessee.
3. Plan next year’s garden. This is the time to think about planting trees, shrubs, flowering plants and grasses for next year. Think about which hostplants for butterflies might work in your garden.
©Rita Venable 2011
