I feed them seeds and nuts, along with suet sometimes, but I saw this article, and thought I'd share, since I know many here enjoy birds and other creatures. http://www.birdsandblooms.com/blog/...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
When we see the occasional Baltimore Oriole, we nail half an orange to the tree, and that is simple enough.
Thank you Diane. I usually leave over ripe pears, plums and apples for butterflies but your link is a much nicer way
I have an old clothes line out back that I've replaced (with the leftover sisal from when I re-did the cat scratching posts), and I hang suet cakes on there sometimes, so I'm going to try this with the orange pieces, and then maybe once they get used to that, I can entice them to come closer to the house. Haha Val, It does look nicer than what I usually do, too. Sometimes I just toss the pieces out back, if I'm too tired to walk out to the clothes line. I'm sure they don't mind, as long as they get a treat.
My husband is the gardener in the family and he has several lime plants in the yard. He said that the lime's mortal enemy is the butterfly which lays eggs on the leaves that eventually hatch and become caterpillars. Once neglected, one caterpillar can eat more than 20 young leaves and buds.
I've seen posts on a lot of gardening and nature sites, complaining about everyone planting butterfly bushes, and not focusing on the entire life span of butterflies, so maybe lime plants are the answer. I wouldn't mind planting one here. I tried out a dwarf lemon tree when I first moved here, but it ended up not doing well, and got mowed under eventually. Citrus trees do well in this area, though, and I don't need that many limes, so maybe that would be good for both the butterflies and me.
I usually just put bread out for the birds and squirrels, I just put an apple out for the insects or butterflies. I will have to try putting out fruit more often.
I don't have a garden, but if I did, I'd make sure to leave plenty of overgrown places. Nettles, for example, make for a great little mini ecosystem.
That reminds me, I need to look up nettles. I saw them mentioned on a cooking site, and I really have no idea what they are. I believe they were mentioned in regard to cooking or tea, so that should be interesting. If I like what I see, maybe I'll end up with some in the backyard. http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-nettle.html Hmmm, used to treat allergies, sounds like something I definitely need.