Monday, July 8, 2013

Butterflies in motion

When I planned the circle garden in the back yard it wasn't with the specific intention of having a butterfly garden.  It just turned out that the best flowers for a hot, full Texas sun, low-water garden are also loved by our local butterfly population.

Over the last two summers I've shown plenty of butterfly photos like the one below.



Most evenings I enjoy visiting the butterflies in the garden while they flit all around me.  Whenever I try to capture this active scene in a photo it turns out rather static like the one below.


Nice showing of the butterfly on the right.  But by setting the same camera on video I can bring last evening's Queen butterfly show right to your screen without you having to experience our summer heat.  Just click the video below to experience just a minute of my little butterfly world.  (Click the screen icon in the lower right to watch in full-screen mode)


  It's so much fun to sit mesmerized for a few minutes each day.

22 comments:

  1. That area really has filled in nicely! Perfect plants for that spot.....and the butterflies:)

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  2. What a lovely video! Seeing butterflies in the garden brings me so much joy. I only wish I had more full sun in my garden to plant more butterfly plants:)
    PS Love the Pride of Barbados and Gomphrena 'Fireworks' combo:) Stunning!

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  3. Oh, Shirley, that video was a lovely treat! Thanks for making it. I have loads of hummingbird plants, but not near enough butterfly ones. I need more. What was that plant with the pink flowers?

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    1. The pink flowers are Gomphrena 'Fireworks' and they are amazing. Those are from one 4" pot planted in spring of 2012.

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  4. Wow, that's a lot of butterfly activity! The video was a great way to start my day! Also love the orange and purple color combination! Thanks!

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  5. I loved standing in your garden and being surrounded by the butterflies...it was magical. Your circle garden is amazing!

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  6. What a treat: sitting in my cool basement studio and watching the best Texas has to offer. Thanks!

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  7. Sweet! We've just been through a heat wave, too. I know it's nothing compared with your 90s and 100s, but high 80s is hot enough for me to turn on the air-conditioning and spend more time inside. I'm looking forward to a cool-down in the next few days. Thanks for sharing the beautiful butterfly video! I saw a lot of Queens and Monarchs when we were hiking this weekend. They sure were busy flitting about!

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    1. When it's high 80s here we spend more time outside. We do keep the air conditioner on though.

      The Monarchs are all up north now but we'll start to see them again soon.

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  8. Lovely! I have found that when I have more varieties of host plants I have more butterflys of all kinds.

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    1. I just noticed a new group has arrived this morning, I think they are painted ladies but will need to look it up.

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  9. Great footage of that pollinator interaction! Mine are on the wane, and I can see why with summer in force. You gave them the plants they need...

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    1. Even though the Queen butterfly is waning, I see some new types of butterflies and moths have turned up.

      I enjoyed seeing your take on my garden today David.

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  10. I have a pot of gomphrena, too, and the butterflies love it. I don't have 'Fireworks' but will add it to my list of plants for next year. Love the video!

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    1. It's a gorgeous color for summer.

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  11. Replies
    1. It's so different in video, I just had to show it.

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  12. Looks like you have lots of happy queen butterflies. I have not seen that many at one time yet. My biggest showing of butterflies will be in the fall when the garden comes back to life.

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    1. My garden is quickly heading into summer dormancy too. At least we had a few extra weeks of good weather this year.

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  13. That video is a fine idea, an enjoyable show that demonstrates perfectly the pleasure that comes from planting for butterflies; they have brought delightful movement and energy to your garden.

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  14. That's great!!!! Neat idea with the video and perfect!! There are butterflies all over the place - and bees and birds- it's wonderful. Supposed to get some rain- we shall see....

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  15. A lovely garden with lovely visitors...our butterflies are missing with all the rain

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