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Thanks for the comment!

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks. And this year has been pretty good for wildflowers, with winter/spring being wetter & cooler than usual.

Thank you kindly for visiting my site and leaving a comment. Much appreciated! And good luck with your gardening!

I saw one in my yard a week or two ago, but not so friendly that it would sit on my hand! In what part of the country do you live?

@@southerncalnativeplantgard3777 Texas

Hi. My first choice is Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano because they're open Monday through Saturday & they have the largest selection of California natives, possibly in the whole state. Second, Grow Native Nursery at the California Botanic Garden in Claremont. In spring it is open Friday through Sunday & they have a good selection. It's probably not as large as Tree of Life's, but they do carry some items that Tree of Life does not. Third, Fullerton Arboretum has occasional native plant sales. Their prices are competitive with Tree of Life and Grow Native Nursery, but their sales are only held two or three times a year. Fourth, the local Armstrong Nursery in Fullerton has a small but growing selection of California native plants. The advantage is they are close and convenient. The disadvantage is their selection is limited & their prices are higher than any of the other nurseries. I hope this helps.

Good suggestion. I'll try to incorporate it in the future. Thanks for visiting!

Thanks and good luck!

By the scientific botanical name, I don't know which varieties attract gulf fritillaries and which don't. But if it doesn't have caterpillars AND there is no evidence that the leaves have been "munched" on, I would say that it is a variety that does not attract gulf fritillaries.

Thank you!

Glad it helped!

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for commenting.

Thank you kindly. Good luck with yours!

Thanks for the suggestion. We have been there to walk the nature trail over to the redwood groves, but I haven't been there recently. I'll have to check it out.

Yes, I am always a little surprised to see what will grow in the decomposed granite but the wildflowers are well adapted to it.

My pleasure, thanks for visiting.

Down south in San Juan Capistrano is Tree of Life Nursery, in Claremont is Grown Native Nursery, & in the San Fernando Valley is Theodore Payne Nursery. Many other nurseries sell generic wildflower seed but these three (& probably other nurseries that specialize in California native plants) have quality California wildflower seed so you know you're getting seed for California wildflowers. They have packets of several different seed mixes or seeds of individual wildflowers such as, for example, California poppies. Now, (late fall) is a good time to plant wildflower seed. Other good times are in late winter to early spring. So good luck!

Well, thank you very kindly.

Blue-eyed grass blossoms late winter through spring. By the end of spring it is dying back. It will either die back to dry leaves and stalks, or some varieties simply disappear. So pruning per se isn't necessary, but you may want to remove the dead stalks and, in the process, save some of the dry seed for replanting in the fall.

I'm glad they're of some help to you. Good luck!

Yellow butterflies or orange butterflies? If it is a medium sized yellow butterfly, it sounds like it's in the sulphur family. A medium sized orange butterfly would be a gulf fritillary, and it would be attracted to the passion fruit or passion vine. The numerous cloudless sulphur butterflies in my backyard are attracted to cassia or senna. Having said all that, I have to admit that I know very little about the types of butterflies found around in AZ and how they are distributed. But I suspect that most common butterflies are found in both Arizona and Southern California. Good luck!

Do you have an established garden or is it bare ground, or something in between? The wildflower mix, how many different types of wildflower seed does it have? When we redid our front yard 7 years ago we started with a lot of different types & sizes of perennials. Then we added wildflower starts & seeds among the perennials & at the front of borders (because wildflowers are typically shorter & look best at the front of borders.) So I used the wildflowers as filler for spring color. Then each year in fall or early spring I've added more wildflower seed. There are some wildflowers that are perennial & have a long bloom season. But most are annuals, blooming in spring but dying back in the heat of summer. So these annuals look spectacular in springtime but don't "show" well in the other seasons. That's how it has been in my garden. I'm only 30-30 miles from the coast but still our summers, especially August & September, are quite hot. I hope this helps. If you find something that works well, please let me know.

@@southerncalnativeplantgard3777 I have a box of mixed seeds that says butterfly mix and the other box is for birds. Right now my lawn is dead and the edible plant that took over is considered a weed. The seeds screw into the ground. So it needs to be weeded. I like your filler idea!

One thing you might try is this: Cover all of the dead grass with layers of newspaper. Over the newspaper, put down a layer of bark mulch. The newspaper will suppress both the lawn and the weeds. The bark mulch will hold the newspaper in place, while making a better appearance. Decide where to make paths & open areas & where you want to locate your flowerbeds. Put short perennials at the front of the beds, medium sized in the middle, and taller plants toward the back. To plant them, dig holes through the newspaper, plant the perennials and water them in well. Toward the front of the beds & in between the perennials, dig various pockets and plant your wildflower seed in them. To make sure the seed germinates, water the wildflower pockets every day & sometimes twice a day when it's hot. If you don't, the wildflower seed won't germinate. This is just a sketch of this technique, but you can find TH-cam videos showing you step-by-step how to do it. It might be better to start this project in October. Your plants will probably have a better survival rate if planted in the fall. But it might be possible to do now before the summer heat really hits in July. Personally, I'd probably wait till October. You can plant the wildflower seed then. It will be well watered over the winter & the wildflowers will bloom next spring. Good luck with whatever you decide!

To clarify, you may want to wait until fall to plant. But it would be a good idea to put down newspaper and bark mulch right now. That way it will completely kill off all the grass and weeds so you will have less problem with weeds when you plant in the fall.

You are right. I can't even remember whether it was my wife or I who planted the sweet alyssum about eight years ago in one spot by the southeast patio. It stayed put there for a few years but this year, especially with all the rain, it has started to migrate to the south and the east, and if I would let it, It would try to spread into our meadow at the front (north) of our property. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to remove but still, I can confirm its invasive properties.

Thanks much!

You're welcome. With all the rain we've had recently this coming spring looks like it might be a great year for wildflowers. That's the way it was the last time we had lots of rain-- we had a bumper crop of wildflowers. I haven't planted any new seed yet, but if this rain will stop for a while, I'll plant something in the next couple of weeks.

Thank you!

For Southern California, Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano has a great selection and helpful staff. Grown Native Nursery in Claremont also has a good selection but they're closed in the summertime and will reopen in October. Theodore Payne Foundation in the San Fernando Valley, like Tree of Life, has a very good selection and helpful staff. You might also check your local Armstrong Nursery. Mine has a buyer who is a native plant enthusiast and therefore they offer a selective amount of native plants. But I am not sure that's true at all locations. It's usually a good idea to wait until mid October or November to begin planting natives (unless it's a desert plant avoid planting in summertime). Good luck!

@@southerncalnativeplantgard3777 thank you

They have a reputation of not responding well to too much summer water. I planted mine on a gentle slope (so water does not pond) and the location is equal parts sun and shade. Mine seem to do very well in that location. They've been there for 4-5 years and so far they are tolerating my summer water regime. There is a cultivar that is supposed to be more garden friendly and not quite so temperamental about watering. You might look for that one. I have planted some of that which has been in the ground less than a year. So far so good.

@@southerncalnativeplantgard3777 Thank you so much! My entire front yard slopes gently toward the street. Not so great for getting out if the car on the sloping driveway, but I hope it will work for wooly blue curls. It is all on drip irrigation, so I should be able to control the water. I think I know the cultivar you are talking about and a couple sources. Thanks again!

I check my butterfly book and the male dogwood is very distinctive above and completely different from the cloudless sulfur. But like you say, it hardly ever lands with its wings open and so you hardly ever see the distinctive upper wings. I've never noticed the California Dogwood in my backyard or area. They may be here, but I haven't seen them. I suspect you are right: you probably have two different butterflies but when the underside of the wings is all you see, they're very difficult to identify or tell apart.

Glad you enjoyed it. It's worth it to make the change. Good luck with all future projects!

Very good suggestion. I'll try to do it.

You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it!

Your Calylophus belandieri is very similar to the 'Sundrops' I planted & my experience was about like yours. I bought many from Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano which is one of the largest Cal native plant nurseries in the state. But they don’t strictly limit themselves to Cal natives & I didn't learn till much later that ‘Sundrops’ is Southwestern. But I think that you & I should get at least partial credit because the first three letters of its botanical name are - wait for it - CAL!

@@southerncalnativeplantgard3777 good word joke. I will try to remember to emphasize those first 3 letter.

Thanks very much!

Yes, Heath's butterfly book is very good. Thanks for watching!

Thank you for your comment. I had not heard about this particular virus.