Butterfly bushes

One small disappointment this spring was that none of the lilac bushes bloomed. I thought that I had maybe pruned them back at the wrong time (it hadn't been done yet when we arrived) and had thrown things out of balance.



I was so excited when, about a week ago, the plants started to show a few blossoms. At first, I thought we had some serious late bloomers. As it turns out, we only have one lilac bush (out front), and all the rest are butterfly bushes which are all blooming like you wouldn't believe right now. I love them - they are low maintenance, deer resistant and, as the name suggests, these plants are serious butterfly magnets. What's not to like?

I was gathering together a bouquet to bring to a neighbour yesterday afternoon, and a big yellow butterfly followed me all over the garden because I had a few of these flowers in my hand - don't think I've ever been chased by a butterfly before (and it's really a lovely thing to have happen).

We like these bushes so much, we've already planted another one out by the back patio. It changes up a corner that used to have a birdfeeder (it was too close to the house for my liking...mostly because more than just birds ate out of it)...and turned it into a regular little butterfly haven.