Suffolk Argus 7, Mar 1996

Page 18

The Suffolk Argus

Butterfly Garden Nectar

Plants by Angie Steele

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March 1996

My favourite nectar source is my ten year old Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) which flowers (rom mid October to early November. This makes it an excellent foodplant for butterflies and other insects which need to attain good condition before hibernation. On 30th/31st October last year, between 12 and 20 Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) were seen feeding on the flowers together with a wide variery of bees. The ripened fruits from the previous year occur at the same time as the small bell-like flowers making it a very attractive tree. However, it is an evergreen (a member of the Heather family) and cannot be easily pruned and although some gardening books say that it is slow growing eventually reaching just 8 feet (I .84m), this Arbutus is already 15 x 15 feet (3m x 3m)!

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byDouglasHammersley

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RedAdmiral (Vanessaatalanta)

The

Suffolk Show 29th-30th May 1996

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It is amazing how the time goes, it is still Winter and we are talking about the Suffolk Show but it is only three months away on 29th and 30th May, not many shopping days! This is the one time of the year when we are on show and are able to make contact with vast numbers of people. Those who manned the stand at the show last year really enjoyed it. It is a great way of meeting people with similar interests. We would welcome more help, even if it were only for an hour or two. Don't worry there will always be someone with experience to support you . Last year we were able to grow some butterfly attracting plants of our own to sell and they were a great success. Unfortunately, we were not geared up to take more plants that were offered at the time. This year, we would like to grow all of our own plants. Would all members who would like to help do this, please ring Paul Gilson letting him know what plants you can grow and how many. Paul will be growing butterfly attracting Wildflowers like Knapweed, BirdsFoot Trefoil, Field Scabious and Oxeye Daisy. Bedding plants are always in demand at that time of year so Ageratum, Dwarf Phlox, African/French Marigold and Verbena would be useful. Also popular would be pot grown butterfly attracring Herbs such as Hyssop, Lavender, Marjoram and Thyme. There may be many more that are your favourites just let us know what you can do.

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