What's Happening in New Jersey Butterfly Gardens Right Now?
Submitted by NABA member Mary Anne Borge, June 27, 2009, Hunterdon County, NJ (southern NJ)
This Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) hosted a dazzling Summer Azure, offering the nectar of its blooming flowers as refreshment, and its buds as a place for the butterfly to lay her eggs. While I watched, a Red-banded Hairstreak also took advantage of the nectar offered by the flowers, but was a bit shy about being photographed.
Gray Dogwood is a member of the Dogwood family, but unlike the more familiar Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida), it is a shrub, growing to a maximum height of 12-15 feet. The common name, Gray Dogwood, refers to the color of the bark, which is usually a light gray. Blooming for a period of a few weeks in late May to early June, its delicate creamy white flowers grow in convex clusters that are as tall as they are wide. Flowers successfully pollinated by butterflies or other insects will produce a round white berry-like fruit (a drupe) on bright red stalks later in the season, providing visual interest beyond the bloom period.
This shrub can be used as a hedge, or in any location where a good sized shrub is appropriate. Gray Dogwood adapts well to many conditions. It prefers moist, well drained soil, but can tolerate poor, compacted soils, and drought conditions. It can also tolerate shade.
Not only is Gray Dogwood a great plant to host butterflies, but it is also very desirable for birds. The mature fruit is attractive to many species of birds, particularly in the fall. Birds that like to nest in the shrub layer may utilize Gray Dogwood when looking for a safe place to make a home.
Submitted by NABA member Mary Anne Borge, June 19, 2009, Hunterdon County, NJ (southern NJ)
This little Summer Azure took advantage of a recent sunny afternoon, visiting the flowers of both Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) and Gray Dogwood (Cornus Racemosa) for nectar. As I watched, she visited the buds of both of these shrubs to oviposit! A Red-Banded Hairstreak also visited the flowers for an afternoon snack, but unfortunately was less co-operative about being photographed.
Ninebark is a deciduous, usually multi-stemmed shrub whose gracefully curving branches can grow to a maximum height of about ten feet. This member of the rose family has many small white flowers that grow in a round, umbrella shaped cluster. The delicate looking flowers have five petals, a yellowish center, and are dotted with cheerful red anthers. The leaves are generally three-lobed and slightly toothed, a bit like the leaves of Red Maples. 
Usually blooming here in late May or early June, the bloom period lasts for a few weeks. After the flowers fade, the fruit begins to develop, starting out as an eye-catching reddish-brown, almost cinnamon color. The fruit persists on the shrub throughout the fall and winter, fading to a light tan as the fruit matures and the exterior becomes papery.
Ninebark is named for its exfoliating bark, which peels off in layers as the branches age. The visual interest provided by the bark in winter is complemented by the ripening fruit. This shrub can make an effective hedge when planted on its own or in combination with other shrubs.
Submitted by NABA member Jane Hurwitz, June 12, 2009 in northern New Jersey
The cool, wet weather of June has not encouraged many butterflies to visit the garden. Nevertheless, it is still a good time to garden in anticipation of better weather. One garden task that I perform now for the Monarchs that will visit later is to "'pinch back" any asters in my garden.
When pinching back asters, the top few inches of growth are snipped off which encourages the plant to create more shoots. More shoots now, more flowers later. It is a simple technique that will create a sturdier plant in the fall with many more blooms. Asters can often require staking to prevent them from flopping over onto neighboring plants and I find that pinching back lessens the need for staking.
New England Asters (Aster novae-anglae) provide a month of vibrant color and butterfly nectar in my garden every fall, with the strongest flush of blooms from late September to l.jpg)
ate October. Also planted with the asters are various goldenrods (Solidago species) whose yellow flowers contrast nicely with the purple-blue asters.
Monarchs are the primary butterflies that visit the asters, although Cabbage Whites are also fairly common visitors as well. As the weather cools in October, only a few butterflies continue to visit the asters, or the garden at all for that matter. But the asters continue to bloom and provide sustenance for other important pollinators at a time of the year when pollen and nectar are in short supply.
Submitted by NABA member Mary Anne Borge, June 1, 2009, Hunterdon County, NJ (southern NJ)
Ok, it’s not a butterfly, but this gorgeous Promethea Moth is what’s happening on Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) now! While looking for Spicebush Swallowtail chrysalis last fall, I spotted three Promethea Moth cocoons on one Spicebush. After keeping an eye on the cocoons all winter long, I was lucky enough to spot this Promethea Moth clinging to its cocoon while drying its wings one afternoon last week. As I watched, the wings suddenly began to vibrate, and the moth took off. A few days later I discovered eggs for the next generation of this spectacular moth on a leaf next to one of the other cocoons on this same Spicebush.
A host plant for both Spicebush Swallowtail butterflies and Promethea moths, Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is a great addition for the garden or backyard habitat. A woodland shrub, it blooms in mid-April, about the same time as Forsythia. Lovely during its brief blooming period, Forsythia is far surpassed by Spicebush in providing year-round interest. The small yellow flowers of Spicebush emerge before the leaves, like tiny floating beacons of yellow light, providing food for early pollinators. Next the leaves unfurl, while successfully pollinated flowers are replaced with developing fruit. Spicebush Swallowtail butterflies, named for this host plant, are attracted to the shrub in late spring and summer as the perfect location to lay their eggs, and for their caterpillars to develop and feed. When fully ripe in fall, the bright red fruit is very attractive to migrant and resident birds. The easiest time to spot a cocoon or chrysalis is winter, after the yellow fall leaves drop.
Spicebush grows to a maximum height of about 10-12 feet. It is often multi-stemmed, but can also be single-stemmed. As an understory shrub, it tolerates shade well. Spicebush gets its name from the fragrance of its leaves, and especially its branches. Rub a fingernail along a twig to sniff the spicy aroma.
Submitted by NABA member Mary Anne Borge, May 28, 2009, Hunterdon County, NJ (southern NJ)
To entice butterflies to your yard, make sure you have a mixed habitat that includes deciduous trees. The Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) is a favorite host plant for Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, especially if there are nectar sources nearby. The butterflies can be seen flitting through the leaves of this tall tree with its long straight trunk.
Blooming now, the bright creamy yellow, orange and green flowers of this Magnolia family member really resemble tulips. Throughout all the seasons, the tree displays something that resembles a tulip. In addition to the flowers, the leaves are tulip-shaped. Throughout the winter, the dried bracts of the flowers remain persistent and visible after the leaves fall, upright brown ‘tulips’ on the otherwise bare branches.
I’m lucky enough to have a few of these trees in a wooded section of my back yard, mixed with some White Ash (Fraxinus americana), Dogwoods (Cornus florida), and Black-haw Viburnums (Viburnum prunifolium), among others. The lower branches of the tree will shed as the tree grows taller, making room for the understory trees and shrubs. Birds may also use the bark of some of these branches for nesting material.
Submitted by NABA member Mary Anne Borge, May 14, 2009, Hunterdon County, NJ (southern NJ)
This lovely lavender-pink gem, Wild Geranium (Geranium Maculatum), is a source of nectar for butterflies while it blooms for a period of some weeks beginning in early May. Throughout the summer the elegantly cut, deeply lobed foliage will stay fresh, while the plant may continue to bloom sporadically. Another common name for the plant, Wood Geranium, will tell you that it does well in partial shade, but it will also thrive in a sunny border. It will grow to a height of twelve to twenty-four inches.
If the flowers are successfully pollinated, the fruit of this plant continues to provide interest when the bloom period is over. The closed erect fruit capsule resembles a Crane’s bill, and when it is ripe, the five sections of the capsule curve back gracefully from a central column, releasing the seeds.
Wild Geranium is very attractive combined with other May blooming perrenials, such as Spreading Jacob’s-Ladder (Polymonium reptans), Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia) and Wild Phlox (Phlox divaricata).
Submitted by NABA member Jane Hurwitz, May 9, 2009 in northern New Jersey
Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) is another new plant in my garden this spring. It is a native plant caterpillar food source for the Black Swallowtail .
Golden Alexander is only 12 inches tall in my garden and is providing a vibrant yellow color in a bed of spring blooming perennials that includes bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) which are the purple flowers in the photo, columbine (Aquilegia species) which are the tall, red flowers in the photo, and Persicaria bistorta 'Superba' which is the pink flower in the garden.
The only possible downside that I can see so far with this plant is that the flower color is identical to the color of dandelion flowers and could be confused from a distance, particularly when the flowers are just starting to open.
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Submitted by NABA member Jane Hurwitz, April 30, 2009 in northern New Jersey
Pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia) is a new plant in my garden this spring. The two plants that I purchased last August are still small but growing vigorously. It is the caterpillar food plant for the American Lady butterfly which I see in my garden most summers.
Even though it is a low growing ground cover, it has beautiful grey-green leaves which will compliment just about any plant that it is in front of.
Submitted by NABA member Mary Anne Borge in early April 2009, Hunterdon County, NJ (southern NJ)
Although my garden is showing signs of life, nothing is blooming yet, except this lovely Red Maple (Acer rubrum). To my surprise, a Mourning Cloak butterfly stopped to take advantage of the flowers, spending several minutes among the blossoms.
This tree sits outside of my kitchen window, providing beauty and entertainment throughout the year. In every season, it shows the color red. During the winter, the rounded buds are red, hinting at the color of the flowers that will follow in the spring. As the days lengthen and the temperatures begin to warm, the buds swell, eventually opening to these lovely blossoms. After the flowers bloom, the leaves unfold, showing their red stems. The spectacular red color of the fall leaves of this Maple are well known. The luscious color seems to deepen day by day. Throughout the seasons, this tree is also a haven for the neighborhood birds – Chickadees, Titmice, Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, and even the occasional Sharp-Shinned Hawk. The Mourning Cloak has chosen a good place to visit.