Butterfly Garden Nectar Plantl

Butterfly Garden Nectar Plants

by Angie Steele

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)!

/ I

i I

by Douglas Hammersley