Every summer we patiently wait in anticipation of the bloom of our lotus plant. We fear it did not survive the harsh New England winter and then we are greeted by that first distinct leaf which dwarfs the other standard day lily plants. This year was no exception. Then begins the long wait until the plant matures and forms a bud. We silently exclaim," please don't burst into bloom the week we are on vacation or the day we are attending an out of town wedding!" For part of the drama of the lotus is that it lasts for only 2 days. The first day you can see the emerging bloom in hues of luminous...

A few years ago we visited the Magic Wings Conservatory & Gardens, a butterfly aviary in South Deerfield, MA. We enjoyed viewing and photographing an array of tropical butterflies. However, the highlight for me was stopping at their nursery on the way out. As I had hoped, they sold many butterfly larval plants. We decided to add to our collection and purchased a hops (humulus lupulus) plant, which attracts the question mark, red admiral and grey hairstreak butterflies.   To increase the butterfly population in your garden, you need to provide food for the caterpillars. Each species feeds...