I’ve been skipping about today because the sun is shining and we have gorgeous butterflies in the garden. Butterflies feed on lots of different types of plants but seem to love these nectar rich flowers in particular. They cluster together on our Buddleja shrubs which have thousands of tiny flowers full of nectar.
I saw Peacock butterflies, Small Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals and plenty of White Butterflies too. If you want to see some butterflies in your garden I can heartily recommend a Buddleja bush. 
It’s best to buy a small Buddleja shrub because they are inexpensive and will grow really quickly. Alternatively if you have friends with a lovely Buddleja in their garden you could ask if you can take a few cuttings when it’s finished flowering. Here’s a simple guide to show you how it’s done and the second photo link will show you the results.
Growing a couple of different types of Buddleja should extend the flowering period for you. I grow Black Knight which has deep purple blooms and dark green foliage. It flowers first usually a couple of weeks earlier than the others in our garden. This lovely lilac flowered cultivar which has much more silvery leaves and keeps on going long after the Black Knight has finished.
Do you have plants for butterflies in your garden?
Hope you are enjoying the lovely sunshine today too. Happy Gardening Gillian 🙂
Beautiful post Gillian.
Thanks very much Christine. Nice of you to pop by!
Always a pleasure visiting your site.😊
Lovely happy post Gillian! I saw a Jersey Tiger butterfly (well, moth actually) today. They are amazing!
Oh Wow Cathy! You are so lucky, I’ve never ever seen one. A close encounter with wild creatures is so amazing, even if only for a few seconds it has a big impact on me. Wouldn’t it be great if there were loads more butterflies and moths about for everyone to see?
It is a really bad year for butterflies this year in my part of the world. It is sad to see just a few cabbage whites on the Buddleja. How lovely that you have such an abundance. Lovely photos.
I’ve heard people say that around here too Liz. It’s very worrying isn’t it? I think we’ve been jolly lucky to have such a crowd of gorgeous butterflies here in our garden. Butterflies can’t fly or feed when it’s windy or raining so lots of still sunny days and plenty of flowers are essential for their survival. I’ve been garden visiting this afternoon and sadly didn’t see any butterflies at all anywhere in the huge garden even though conditions were suitable and the garden was a mass of blooms including Buddleja! There were hundreds of caterpillars though so perhaps there will be a late population explosion.
Gillian maravilloso post. Preciosas fotos de mariposas. Este año como no he podido plantar flores no vienen a mi jardín casi ninguna mariposa. Alguna blanca si viene. Polillas más. Lo que vienen son muchas abejas a la lavanda a comer. El año que viene plantare un arbusto de Buddleja para las mariposas. Gracias tus consejos. Saludos de Margarita.
Thanks Margarita.
I haven’t skipped about in years, but I’d be happy to try if those beauties were in my yard. 🙂
Me neither Judy! I was just so delighted to see so many lovely creatures… perhaps they sprinkled a little fairy dust over me!
Great photos. I think now there has been a bit of rain we will see more butterflies. Yesterday I saw a huge metallic green dragon fly but unfortunately did not have the camera with me
Thanks Steve. Nice of you to comment. We’ve been watching dragonflies hawking up and down a hedgerow this evening. There must be loads of tiny insects around for them to eat there. We didn’t take any pictures either. Sometimes it’s just good to stay still and watch quietly!