Swallowtail Season (July 2025 - Mid August 2025)
- chende2292
- Aug 13, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 27, 2025
Wasn't that nice of him to pose in front of the moon? The rain continues here with brief moments of sunshine. It has curtailed the blossom production on our lantana hedge. I'm glad that we have other nectar options available like the butterfly bushes.
This border garden has several nectar options for pollinators: butterfly bush, Black and Blue guaranitica sage, Autumn sage, Echinaceas,Jacob Cline and Raspberry Wine monardas. In my garden the preference of the hummingbirds is Jacob Cline monarda, Autumn sage and the Black and Blue sage. Hence the old adage that they love reds. They will visit the butterfly bush and the Raspberry Wine monarda, but not very often. The variegated bushes are Mardi Gras abelia.
We seldom have Zebra swallowtails visit this bed. I was lucky to have a sighting of one feeding on the butterfly bush in July. They also like Chaste trees. They are almost always in motion. This photo is blurry at the top of his wings due to the constant fluttering.
This summer hummingbirds and butterflies were feeding on the blackberry lilies in the front yard. I have seen them demonstrate interest in past years, but I didn't think they were getting nectar. Perhaps, they had to use these since we had very few lantana blossoms available in the front yard. The heavy rain kept flattening the hedge. We have had fewer sunny days this summer.
After feeding on several of the blackberry lilies he took a break on the nearby forsythia bush. I love his crescent moon markings near the tip of his tail. If the light is right you will see a band of metallic blue on this butterfly. In retrospect, I should have referred to the markings as half moons.
It's not the best photo, but look closely and you will see the hummingbird feeding here, too.
The meadow style garden next door has fared well with the exception of the lavender bushes. Two have died. This bed gets a lot of sun, but the drainage is poor. North Carolina red clay soil is just below the surface of this garden bed. In most years, the lavenders would have been fine, but we've had an extremely wet summer. In the future I need to plant these at the top of a bank to get the best drainage.
Phlox Jeana has been a great addition to this garden bed. As the garden nurseries promised, it is a wonderful plant for pollinators. These plants performed beautifully until we had a brutal heat wave. They have died back. I hope that the root system is still alive.
The zinnias are starting to bloom in this garden bed which will attract more pollinators. Even though it's mid-August we should have two or more months of blossoms and pollinators. So, more to come!
Happy Gardening!
This has been a challenging Summer because of the rain here too. The clay is our nemesis as it is yours. But some of the potted plants have fared well. What are the forecasts for the hurricane impacts to your area?