It’s the first Saturday of the month, which means it’s time for the Saturday on the Farm – The View From My Front Porch.

Looking off to the left, there is a lot to see. Starting in the lower left corner, you can see part of the Wild Rose Bush, and a few falling down Glads, and some Hostas along the front. Heading out into the yard, towards the driveway, are two hardy Hibiscus. A pink one, and a white one. You can see a part of the big Mimosa tree by the corner of the roof. Coming back into the front yard, is a purple Butterfly Bush.

While siting on the porch, looking straight ahead, is my huge white Butterfly Bush. Over on the back left of the picture is the front bulb garden. It did have a Glad blooming, but at this time of year it is always full of weeds, as the rest of the bulbs are spring bulbs. And I’m afraid of poison ivy, so I only weed it once a year. (bad gardener! lol) That’s a butterfly house in that garden.

Here’s a better shot of the Butterfly Bush. To put a little perspective to the picture, that’s a double seat bench, and a video game chair in front of the bush. Last week, I shared more information about the Butterfly Bush.

Looking off to the right, you can see my Mandevilla. on the porch post. Along the front of the house, is a bed with Hostas, Wild Roses, Glads and WEEDS. Just keeping it real. I have weeds. sigh. The tree at the end of the house is a Holly Tree that my husband transplanted from the woods on top of the hill. Farther out in the yard, is a small Mimosa tree, and the mound is a wild Blackberry patch. And you guessed it, weeds!

Fun FYI, my father in law lives in the brown house, and my mother and brother live in the tan house across the street. We have our own compound. 🙂 And my kids can’t get away with much, because someone is always watching. lol

Here’s a closer shot of the Mandevilla. It has four buds on it that will be opening this week.

Thanks for stopping by my front porch for a visit. Come back real soon!  🙂

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The Butterfly Bush is a large shrub that is easily grown and blooms from mid-summer to fall. They grow best in full sun, and can be grown in Zones 5 and above. They don’t usually fair very well in colder climates.

I’ve had two for several years now, and the only regular maintenance is pruning in the fall. And that pruning isn’t absolutely necessary. The flowers are produced on new wood. If you don’t prune, the bush will get very large. We prune ours back in the fall, and they still end up over 15 feet by the end of the next summer.

I always thought that the Butterfly Bush and Lilacs were in the same family. Turns out, they are not. They have similar little flowers, though. The Butterfly Bush does not have as much scent as Lilacs do.

Butterflies, moths, bees, all kinds of flies, and hummingbirds are regular visitors to our Butterfly Bushes. It is so relaxing and such a joy to sit and watch the butterflies. They fly from flower to flower and from bush to bush. We’ve even seen many Butterfly fights. Yes, they fight and chase each other. One never thinks of Butterflies being aggressive in that manner, but they are.

Here’s a butterfly hanging upside down on our purple Butterfly Bush.

Then the Butterflyy cooperated by righting itself for another picture. It’s an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. And very beautiful.

We have several different varieties of butterflies that visit our bushes, but I haven’t identified all of them yet. Of all the other creatures that visit the butterfly bush, this one is the scariest looking. It’s a large brown and yellow bee/wasp looking thing. I haven’t been able to identify it yet. I took a couple of pictures of it today. This picture is really bad, except for the wings.  I cropped the picture, and added my name, but other than that, the picture is unedited. In all the other pictures I took, the wings are just a blurry spot, as the are always moving. This must be a picture miracle, as I have no idea how I got it. I am fascinated by the wings, though.

For some reason, when I took this picture, the flash went off. The creature didn’t like it at all. It started chasing me! I screamed and ran, and it finally left me alone. lol Apparently it didn’t like it’s picture taken. Or it really liked the red shirt I was wearing. lol Either way, I will be much more careful if I ever take it’s picture again!

If you want to identify butterflies and moths, Butterflies & Moths of North America is a great site with lots of images.

You can find Butterfly Bushes are most nursery & garden centers. Or in gardening catalogs. You can even buy Butterfly Bush on Amazon! (affiliate link) I found out you can even buy seeds to start your own Butterfly Bush!

EDITED to Add: After I posted this, my husband found out that the above was a Hummingbird Moth, or a Clear Wing Moth. I’m still not sure why it charged at me, but I guess running and screaming is not necessary. lol

*Disclosure: The Amazon link above is an affiliate link. If you click the link and purchase something, I will receive a commission.
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