Have you ever thought of building a garden that will become home to dozens of beautiful butterfies? All it takes is a little know-how and patience. Your reward will be a blaze of color, fragrance and butterflies.

Plant your flowers in a sunny section of the garden, butterflies love light and sun. You will want plants that grow at different heights. That will assure that your visitors will find needed shelter from heavy rains. Male butterflys, however, will welcome the wet soil from the rains, the mud provides certain essential salts which is necessary for reproduction.

Plant flowers in colorful patches since butterflys are drawn to an abundance of color. Ask your garden shop expert which flowers are the most fragrant.

The flower list* below attracts many butterfly species. Choose several that are easy to grow in your own area:

Aster
Black-eyed Susan
Butterfly weed
Coreopsis
Daylillies
Goldenrod
Hibiscus
Lavendar
Lilac
Marigold
Orange-eye
Butterfly Bush
Oxeye Daisies
Phlox
Pink Azalea
Purple Coneflower
Redbud
Rosemary
Verbena

I am sure that there are other flowers that will attract butterfliess, you just have to do your homework. Your garden shop is just one source for information. Visit your library, browse book stores and don’t forget the Internet.

See the related links below for more garden information. Very often informational sites will list other sites and sources for additional data.

• The Garden Helper: Growing Zones USA
• Yankee Gardener: Flower Planting Chart USA

Once your garden is abundant with flowers, fragrance and butterflies, be sure to share your treasure with friends, family and neighbors. You may also want to Attract hummingbirds to your garden

*Source: University of Kentucky Department of Entomology

Article from Work & Family at BellaOnline with author approval.

 If your teen is heading for college this year be sure to check out a college book rental site called Chegg. These people rent books to students. They rent your books online, they can track your books as well.

The site promises quick purchase turn around. They return the books to Chegg for free. They can even sell books to them.  So what is the down side? Well… your kid cannot use highlight markers in these books.

As always read the fine print should be read before signing up for or agreeing to the policy, etc. However, this seems to be a win-win situation. I can remember the high cost of my books many years ago, no one let me in on the “buy used books” secret, so I paid full price. This is an inexpensive way to get the books your child needs. Bank the allocated book money.  

When your son or daughter gets the college/university book list, check out Chegg first.  Oh yes, they even plant a tree for ‘each’ book you rent.

I first saw these disposable plates in the September issue of Fast Company magazine. I was so intrigued that I went to Whole Foods to buy a package of eight for $6.50. As a single person living alone and a new greenie, these plates would be a God-send for me if I did not like eating off of the china dishes I found at a flea market years ago. However, I have a friend whose dishes are those eco-unfriendly Styrofoam plates. These dishes were made for people like her. And anyone else who uses disposable plates but wants to do their ‘green’ share. They are definately eco-friendly and good for parties as well as “limited” daily use.

VerTerra plates are beautiful, stylish and have a good weight to them; and they are supposed to last through about 20 uses and washings. Plus you can put them in the micro-wave and the fridge. I have not washed one of these plates 20 times, nor I have micro-waved one, but I will continue using and testing them.

Believe it or not this dinnerware is made from sanitized, steamed and shaped fallen leaves. How is that for eco-friendly? Once you see the plates you will get past the picture that may be dancing in your head. Visit the VerTerra site at VerTerra.