The butterfly potager is one of my favourite gardens in my yard. It is enclosed on all 4 sides by fence, house and garage so it has a special, protected hideaway kind of feeling to it. I also try to stick to mostly hot colours in this area, which tend to "advance" and therefore make the space feel even more intimate. Plus the reds will hopefully attract humingbirds and many of the purples attract butterflies.
Since I grow more veggies and annuals here than in other areas of the garden (this year the boxes were planted with spinach and chard) and thus this garden fills in later in the season, I've gradually added a few elements to add interest even before the plants get big, such as the bench, trellises and garden art. Here's a look at it in 2010, including what is blooming when:
Above: by early June, there are still just little seedlings in the veggie growing area, although the crabapples (planted last year) are in bloom and so are some daffodils in another area of this garden. This spring I will be planting asparagus in the two little raised beds.
Above: later in June things are finally taking off. Ornamental alliums, chives, violas, centaurea, calendula, martagon lilies, pulmonaria and lilacs are in bloom in this garden.
Above: by late July, the chard is fully grown and poppies and delphiniums add colour in this area.
Above: ornamentals such as peonies, delphiniums, honeysuckle, roses, dianthus, violas and calendula are also in bloom. The poppies self-seed everywhere but are easy to recognize in spring and it's easy to pull up the extras you don't want.
Above: by mid-August the lilies, dill, hyssop and bee balm are also blooming.
Above: in August there are also 2 different clematis, daylilies, nasturtiums, and roses in bloom.
Above: here's a longer shot in September, giving you a bit more perspective on the whole garden.
Above: eupatorium (joe pye) about to bloom, plus clematis, roses, nasturtiums, thyme, monarda (bee balm), hemerocallis (daylily), hyssop (agastache), violas, calendula and zinnias.
Besides planting asparagus in the raised boxes and probably adding a scarlet runner bean teepee where the dill was last year, I don't plan to make too many changes to this garden this season. I'm just looking forward to watching it mature.
To see what this garden looked like last year, click here.
To see other areas of my garden, check out:
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