Coneheads: Butterflies love Echinacea
Painted lady butterflies love purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ). Look at the feasting going on this morning.
Their wings match the orange cone above the pink-petaled ballerina skirt. I wonder if that’s why they’re drawn to it? Did you read that study indicating that we prefer people and places that share our name, or even the first letter? If that’s really the case, how come I don’t live in Pennsylvania? No matter, maybe it works for butterflies.
Butterfly bliss
More coneheads. Purple coneflower is one of my cottage-garden favorites.
Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ is easy to love too. It requires afternoon shade in my garden or it’ll scorch and wilt come summer. It’s nice to see the coneflowers looking so fresh and happy as we enjoy another week of beautiful days with low humidity. Summer, feel free to hold off a little longer.
All material © 2006-2008 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Pam, I also grow that particular variety of Rudbeckia. It is wonderful, but is also the larvae food for some other butterfly. I can’t remember the name. Anyway, they eat the leaves until I have to squish some. Still it blooms and blooms.
I also grow the Echinacea. I’m trying some pink ones this year too.
Love your title of the post. Later.~~Dee
The Rudbeckia doesn’t get munched on by anything but slugs in my garden. I wonder which butterfly I’m missing! —Pam
Beautiful butterflies…must be a theme today!
Yes, I admired your larval monarchs yesterday, Lee. It reminds me that I must plant some dill for them. —Pam
Oooh, what stunning photos! I’ve got purple coneflower under my lights, started from seed. I just can’t wait to get them out in the garden and see them bloom!
Will they come back from seed in your garden, Amy? They are prolific seeders in mine. —Pam
Your coneflower season is so long, it is amazing. I didn’t realize the rudbeckia followed right along. Your garden is a delight, as is your blog. We had luck with some germination from seeds scattered from the dried seed heads last fall for the coneflowers and even the eryngiums. Do you grow those? They seem like they would fit in your style of garden.
The Rudbeckia usually blooms in April. More of an early bird, the Echinacea sometimes has a flower or two all winter and hits its stride in March or early April. I don’t grow eryngium, but I remember your post about it and had bookmarked it back then for future reference. —Pam
How gorgeous! Extraordinary shots, too.
Thanks, Nancy. —Pam
Beautiful pictures Pam. Just can’t get the eyes full enough of such beauties.
Thanks, Lisa. It was hard for me to look away too. —Pam
Wow, butterflies already? How lovely! I can’t wait to start seeing them flitting through my gardens. They’re so wonderful. I chose many plants specifically because they were supposed to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to the garden.
I’m sure they’re heading north, Cinj. I hope you see some soon. —Pam
Ok How come you have Rudbeckia in April and mine is still green shoots? No fair.
Because I live in the furnace, and it’s been warm here for a while? It’s still comfortable as yet, but the fire will be stoked in a few weeks or a month. I hope you look forward to pleasant summer weather, wherever you are, Chris. Thanks for commenting. —Pam
Beautiful and with butterflies, too…Pam, your photographs are wonderful. We won’t see these blooms for another month or so…Tennessee Coneflower might do well in your garden.
Thanks, Gail! I’ll have to look up Tennessee coneflower. Do you get seeds? (Oops, I broke Carol’s rule!) —Pam
I’m eagerly anticipating the arrival of both the coneflower and the butterflies!
Stunning pictures as usual.
I’ll bet that says summer to you, Robin, while here it says spring. —Pam
It’s incredible to see your Echinacea and Rudbeckia blooming when mine haven’t even formed green shoots yet. Your photographs are delightful – the painted ladies know how to show off their beauty to great advantage.
Thanks, Kate. Yep, the painted ladies were showing off for me. —Pam
Your pictures are perfect. Nothing is more beautiful than butterflies and flowers, (in my opinion) 🙂
It’s hard to go wrong with that combination, isn’t it? 😉 —Pam
Pam, The bees LOVE the Echinacea too. I planted purple coneflower for the first time last fall… they are doing their best to come back to life after I over watered and the shade took over. I’ve moved them 3 times and then also sowed some seed recently… surely something will show up for me eventually. I’ve also sown some Rudbeckia (Triloba- I think it is a smaller variety) seed for the very first time- mostly because I keep reading about it on so many blogs. Our garden centers don’t sell it so it makes me wonder how well it will do. Seeds are not as big of a risk so we will see.
Your photos are wonderfully enticing. Thanks for all the eye-candy in this post. Oh, and I am in love with the painted ladies– also fabulous shots.
Meems @Hoe&Shovel
Thank you, Meems! It was an eye-candy kind of day when I noticed all the butterflies and coneflowers. I’m glad you enjoyed them too. —Pam
I will see about the seeds and I didn’t notice any rule breaking! Gail
Ha! Thanks, Gail. —Pam
Hi, Pam–How inspiring. I love rudbeckia but haven’t had it in so long I can’t remember when. I will add this year and think of your garden in Austin. I’m sure it will do well here in ZONE 17! [Thanks to Colleen for asking this week, forcing me to learn!]
Zone 17? That would be hot. Doesn’t it just go up to 11? Did you mean Zone 7, Kathryn? —Pam
Pam, Rules are made to be broken, right? I am looking forward to the days ahead when I’ll have some coneflowers
blooming in my garden. But I don’t want that to be too soon, as I want to enjoy spring awhile longer!
I know just what you mean, Carol. I never want spring to pass either because summer is my least favorite season in Austin. —Pam
Pam , In my search thru the internet to identify my new butterfly photographed yesterday i was trying to see the differences in the Painted lady and the American lady butterflys and i came across your photo of the butterfly . I found another photo in which the person calls your same butterfly an American lady because of the white spot in the orange area
Could your Painted lady be an American lady ??? Saundra
Hi, Saundra. I really don’t know butterflies all that well. I thought this one was a painted lady, but who knows. I mainly just admire them. Good luck with your ID. —Pam