There are some plants that just LOVE to be hot (FULL sun!) and DRY!  With more emphasis on sustainable gardening, here are a couple plants to add to that list:

Butterfly weed

Lavender

ONCE ESTABLISHED (after the first year which does require paying attention and watering regularly!), these can almost be neglected!  Both make great cut flowers, are good pollinators, and the butterfly weed is actually in the milkweed family so it is a host plant for the caterpillars of monarch butterflies!!

In West Michigan, certain lavenders do better than others.  There are basically three kinds– English, French, and hybrids.  I will be posting more info soon about lavender!

Here is the easy way to get rid of whiteflies organically!  You can buy these traps already made, but this the ‘recipe’ for the DIY gardener:

Take a sturdy piece of plastic or thick cardboard, cut in a rectangle about 3×5″, punch a hole near the top to hang from a post, paint both sides with bright yellow paint (that is the color that attracts whiteflies) and then coat each side with a product called ‘tanglefoot’ (check garden center!).  Place all around in garden so that the sticky card is just above the plants.  As they get used, replace with fresh cards.

Have a great time gardening!!

#butterflygardening #sustainablegardening #monarchbutterfly #organicpestcontrol #whiteflycontrol