I got a butterfly bush for my birthday!

Faithful reader and wonderful mother-in-law Ruth surprised me with a butterfly bush for my birthday.  She knew I was bound and determined to attract butterflies and she thought this would help.

It's a Black Knight butterfly bush which will result in purplish blooms.  We debated on putting it in the yard but are always worried what Russ will get into plus he seems scared of bees.  And we decided not to put near our front porch for the same reason...didn't want to attract bees.

I have longed wanted a splash of color beyond our back fence and this fits in nicely.  Plus, that is where the action is for hummingbirds and butterflies.

Fern was nice to offer some of here chicken wire/netting to protect the bush from critters.  So I thought I better get it into the ground.

Here is the bush a few days ago.  The blooms looked a little dry from the trip to Des Moines and my wait in getting it outside.

 

I watered the bush and I'm going to build on this promising sight...

 

 



I went out last night with my wagon of tools, wire, stakes, zip ties...whatever I thought I needed. 

 

 

 I cleared an area with an L-shaped weed whip.

 

 

While I was out there, I put a quick protector around my sole milkweed plant...

 

Ready to plant...

 

In the ground (hard to see)...

 

 

First piece of wire (I used stakes from an old volleyball set to hold down)...

 

Here is a picture looking over the top of the bush back at our house to give you an idea of placement...

 

 



Close-up of a healthy bloom...

 

Here is the bush with a 2nd "layer" of wire...

 

 

Here is a view of the finished project from the house...

 

 

Another shot from this morning...

 

And one more of my milkweed cage...

 

Thank you Ruth!  And yes, you will see updates in the future...