Lady of the Garden

  While visiting Darling Daughter the other day, we decided to take our conversation to her front porch. While sitting on the settee that overlooks her lovely garden, I noticed a butterfly flitting about the place.  "Look, a Painted Lady!"  I said to which she responded "Ohh!  I wondered what they were called.  I love those!"  We talked about the butterfly and how to attract more.  Elizabeth is new at this gardening thing and seems to have a natural knack for putting together gardens.  One of her favorite plants is the Celosia or Cockscombs.  She has them dotted in among the Salvias and Coleus which makes for a great splash of color.  It seemed that not only was the Celosia a favorite with Elizabeth, but it was a favorite of the Painted Lady also.

  The butterfly bounced from one plant to the other and seemed to be as happy as can be.  The Painted Lady is so called because of its highly detailed pattern and coloring.  It is a small butterfly that is found nationwide which gives it another common name.  Because of its wide distribution, the Painted Lady is also called the Cosmopolitan Butterfly.  Not only is it common in all parts of the United States but is found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica.  It is actually the most widely distributed butterfly in the world!  Who knew???

  Elizabeth and I were happy to see this beautiful (albeit very common) butterfly visiting her garden.  Right then and there, we decided she should plant more flowers to draw more butterflies!  A garden can never have too many of either.