h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There's a Monarch butterfly sipping nectar from the purple asters next to my porch right now. There may have been more butterflies.

Asters and goldenrod are recommend flowers for the Fall southern migration. I have *both.*

On behalf of the flutterbies I say

I am still waiting for my Michaelmas daisies (asters) to appear as I planted them over a month ago. Goldenrod wildflower sounds like a great plant for attracting butterflies and bees.

http://www.bigbutterflycount.org/

due to habitat and climate changes, our butterfly "populations" are going through a bad patch as such

Are you growing them from seed, Rosa? If so, you won't get blossoms from them until October of next year.

Asters rarely bloom the same year they're planted -- with one exception. I planted some New England Aster seeds in April 2016, and they bloomed at the end of December that year.

Since I saw the butterflies, only honeybees have visited the asters. I'm thinking that the morning sun is what draws the butterflies there.

Paul, no, I got them as a plant. The elder bush was laden with berries but they have all gone. I have had quite a more bees visiting my back garden than butterflies. I have a planter which filled with lavender, rosemary, bleeding heart and Jacob's ladder flowers.

Your garden sounds awesome, Rosa.

Now there are bumblebees in my asters. They will come back again and again, as there are still hundreds of buds yet to open.

Thank you Paul for your kind compliments. I recently bought two bird nesting boxes, one for specifically for sparrows and the other one is specifically for starlings. I found out that the nesting boxes that I have got were the wrong type and in the wrong place. The new nesting boxes that I got have got a lovely pine smell, all I need is a handyman to put up my bird boxes 2 to 4 metres underneath the eaves.

The bees and butterflies that I have seen always seem to be very busy as they do hone on their favourite flowers.