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Who would not want to have Butterflies, Bees and Hummingbirds in their gardens? Well you can if you plant the correct plants.
One such plant that the Monarch and Swallowtail butterflies, bees and hummingbirds dearly love is the Asclepia tuberose or the Butterfly Flower which is a vivid orange flower that will grace you summer garden. This plant produces 2 inch flower heads that will profusely bloom practically all summer. It survives droughts and does well even in poor soil. The deer hate it and it loves sun doing well in zones 3 to 9.
If you have a stone wall or a tree trunk or a fence you want to cover then consider the Hummingbird vine because when it bursts into glorious orange-red, trumpet shaped 3 inch flowers the hummingbirds will flock to it. These grow 20 to 40 feet in height, so think before you plant them because they are hardy and do well in zones 4 to 8.
I do love the Gaillardia as much as the butterflies do and they come alive with fiery bring yellow on pink flowers in early summer and stay on through to fall. They do well in any well drained soil and like the sun. The deer also do not like these flowers. They do well in zones 3 to 110 and when you plant them space them about 18 inches apart. They will grow to about 14 inches tall.
One year I planted some Verbascum and I discovered the butterflies loved them. I liked them because they tolerate drought real well and they grow to about 18 inches in height blooming from early to mid-summer in zones 5 to 9.
When you want to keep the birds and bees a little longer plant some Moerheim Beauty Helenium because this is a long living perennial that takes hardly any care and produces 2 to 3 inch blooms with flowers that gradually change from bright vermilion to burnt orange as they bloom from summer into the fall. These are tall flowers going as high as 36 inches. They make great cut flowers, the deer hate them and they do well in zones 3 to 9.
A garden is an investment and investments take time and money so when you want to bet on a perennial to attract the birds, bees and hummingbirds seriously consider the Fantasy Monarda which is truly an exotic eye catcher. Yellow and purple and green flowers and leaves bloom for weeks and fill your garden with fragrance, not only growing in full or partial sun, they adapt to difficult or wet soils yet survive droughts. Growing 24 to 28 inches in height, they do well in zones 4 to 9 and should be spaced about 2 feet apart.
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/
To see Arlene’s Gardens and to read her gardening diaries or click on Arlene’s Books where you can download or buy her gardening & cook books. Arlene says, “All my royalties from the sale of my books go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and I thank you for visiting my site.”
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