Yellow Swallowtail on a Mexican Sunflower bloom - this particular plant is a favorite in Southern Missouri gardens for butterflies and bees. Photo: Colleen Hargis
Bees and butterflies are in danger and need our immediate help. With the wonderful old-growth of the Phelps Grove Neighborhood and its plentiful yards and garden together we can make a difference.
Plant a bee and butterfly garden and enjoy nature at its finest. You'll be helping not only these endangered pollinators, but also helping yourself. You see the food we eat owes its very existence to pollinators such as these. Without them, many of the foods we enjoy simply would not grow.
You don't have to dedicate that much space and effort either. A small plot of flowers will do the trick nicely, but ensure they're right flowers to best help. Here's a great article from Gardeners.com that will give you some great ideas. Another way to get great ideas - simply Google "butterfly gardens Missouri" and read to your heart's content.
But please, take some time to plant flowers that support bees and butterflies, and one final note, many hybrid flowers are dead to these pollinators providing very little nutritional value, so look for flowers that are not hybrid or genetically modified for best results.
In one local Phelps Grove bee / butterfly garden at least 7 subspecies of bees were observed over the summer months. Photo: Colleen Hargis
The Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus, is an amazing site just before they head south toward Mexico in their annual migration. Photo: Colleen Hargis