On Friday night we ordered dirt from Jet’s Black Dirt and Road Gravel (John Lutheran Jr., Owner/Operator). He delivered three yards the next morning — he is prompt and reliable. Before ordering from Jet’s Black Dirt, I shopped around for dirt delivery and spoke with three other businesses. Jet’s Black Dirt was the best deal in town. I highly recommend him.
We built another butterfly garden box, tilled around the base of the previous box and filled each up with dirt. We also tilled around the front of the house. We lined the tilled ground with Suncast Lawn Edging (USA made, recycled plastic). You can get a similar Suncast product here: Suncast Composite Edging

Here is a list of the Butterfly Garden plants we planted today. Latin name is followed by common names:

  • Rudbeckia fulgida, (Black-eyed Susan, Brilliant Coneflower, Eastern Coneflower, or Orange Coneflower)
  • Anethum graveolens, Dill
  • Bandana Pink Lantana
  • Asclepias speciosa, (Showy Milkweed)
  • Asclepias incarnata, (Swamp Milkweed, Rose Milkweed, Swamp Silkweed, and White Indian Hemp)
  • Echinacea purpurea, (Eastern Purple Coneflower)
  • Heliotropium arborescens, (Marine Heliotrope, Garden Heliotrope)
  • Verbena bonariensis, (Purpletop Vervain, Tall Verbena, Clustertop Vervain, or Pretty Verbena)
  • Not sure, verbena x hybrida? (Label says: Quartz Merlot Mix)
  • Aster x dumosus, (Woods Blue, Hardy Aster)
  • Tropaeolum majus (Garden Nasturtium, Indian Cress or Monks Cress) side note: Nasturtium literally “nose-twister” or “nose-tweaker”.
  • Tomorrow we plant the vegetables! The dirt has all been used up. And now pictures of the butterfly garden:
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