WHY LAVENDER MATTERS-THE SMALL TORTOISE SHELL BUTTERFLY

by Andrea ( Bea )Vonk • 30/06/2014

Photo's : Andrea ( Bea ) Vonk  Styling: Andrea ( Bea) Vonk

                                                                            LAVENDER MATTERS

This month I had the plan to write a short post about lavender and how great it is to use in as filling in small ( needle) cushions . And that it's a really 
problem free plant, especially if you have a sunny corner in your garden.
 
And also to urge you pick your own lavender as soon as you can so you will have a good supply of gorgeous smelling dried flowers for all your arty / crafty projects. ( For instance, to make your own lavender water and other things like lavender sugar ) .
 But seeing these small tortoise shell butterflies yesterday descending en masse  and feasting on the open lavender flowers has given me pause for thought.

I wish you would have been there .You could hear their wings flap slowly while they were drinking and  they were going from flower to flower, sometimes hanging upside down , just to get the nectar out of the buds.It was just such a a life affirming experience.and to think if I would not have planted the lavender, and would not have left the flowers on, I would never have lived to see this happen.

Last year I picked my lavender as soon as the flowers opened, dried them ,and
have had a great supply of dried lavender. 

I would , by all means, still  urge you to plant loads and loads of lavender.It's a really easy plant and you can even grow it in a big pot on your terrace if you live in the city.

But keep some flowers on the plant for the butterflies.It seems more and more butterflies seems to disappear and become extinct. There's a  really good article about why butterflies matter here on the Butterfly Conservation website.

A few good reasons which you can find there, for me at least are :

Conserving butterflies will improve our whole environment for wildlife.
Conserving butterflies will enrich the lives of people now and in the future.
 
The life cycle of the butterfly- from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis is one of the wonders of nature.

Butterflies are beautiful.
People love butterflies.

So keep on planting your lavender- but keep some flowers on if you can ! And leave a whole patch of nettles as well ( as I do as I am not that tidy ) as this seems to be attractive to them too.