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Note for anyone in the UK or Europe: summer lilac (a type of butterfly bush) is highly invasive and spreads easily. In the UK consider planting native alternati

Note for anyone in the UK or Europe: summer lilac (a type of butterfly bush) is highly invasive and spreads easily. In the UK consider planting native alternatives such as gorse which flower for most of the year. When gorse doesn’t flower, lavender will. For butterflies consider cow parsley.

klondike_klive 2y ago
We've let the garden go wild this year (and last) because we're concentrating on other things. I can't help but notice how much the bees love the cow parsley that's sprung up, as well as the purple toadflax. Haven't seen butterflies on them unfortunately, they've declined to such an extent that now just seeing one is an occasion to point them out to my family.
james-bcn 2y ago
> highly invasive and spreads easily If that were the case you would expect to see large growths of it in the wild, right? Whilst I do see it in the wild, I've never seen any situation where it looks to be taking over. I just see individual plants occasionally.
- rob74 2y ago
  My reference for "highly invasive and spreads easily" is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impatiens_glandulifera#Invasive_species https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impatiens_glandulifera#Invasiv..., which has by now completely taken over most clear and shady areas in and near forests where I live. Summer lilac is definitely far from being that bad. (I live in the South of Germany, but the UK, where it was originally introduced in the 19th century, seems to also have a huge problem with it: https://www.cabi.org/invasivespecies/species/himalayan-balsam/ https://www.cabi.org/invasivespecies/species/himalayan-balsa...)
  - james-bcn 2y ago
    That is not summer lilac. This is: https://vibrantgardenblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/buddleia-butterfly-bush-summer-lilac-easy-going-beginners-perennial-shrub/ https://vibrantgardenblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/buddleia-...
- jibbit 2y ago
  fwiw the railway verges in london seem to be predominantly this - which also incidentally - i've never heard anyone call Summer Lilac before
- pvaldes 2y ago
  > I've never seen any situation where it looks to be taking over. I just see individual plants occasionally. Each one of those individual plants can produce 40.000 seeds each year, so give them a decade alone and you will see. Is very invasive on river beds and disturbed soils.
hoseja 2y ago
I really don't think gorse needs any help getting planted.
justmedep 2y ago
UK belongs to Europe?
pvaldes 2y ago
Ceanothus and the mophead relative Hydrangea serrata can attract Butterflies in summer or spring, but Buddleja is still wonderful in this sense. The hunt for the elusive sterile Buddleja stills keeps going. Lots of promises in that sense with very complex hybrids, but they still didn't stuck with the market or didn't deserved the hype. Gorse in a small garden can be complicated to manage. Too spiny and it reseeds itself. Rosmary or Leptospermum can take that job.

klondike_klive 2y ago

We've let the garden go wild this year (and last) because we're concentrating on other things. I can't help but notice how much the bees love the cow parsley that's sprung up, as well as the purple toadflax. Haven't seen butterflies on them unfortunately, they've declined to such an extent that now just seeing one is an occasion to point them out to my family.

james-bcn 2y ago

> highly invasive and spreads easily If that were the case you would expect to see large growths of it in the wild, right? Whilst I do see it in the wild, I've never seen any situation where it looks to be taking over. I just see individual plants occasionally.

rob74 2y ago
My reference for "highly invasive and spreads easily" is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impatiens_glandulifera#Invasive_species https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impatiens_glandulifera#Invasiv..., which has by now completely taken over most clear and shady areas in and near forests where I live. Summer lilac is definitely far from being that bad. (I live in the South of Germany, but the UK, where it was originally introduced in the 19th century, seems to also have a huge problem with it: https://www.cabi.org/invasivespecies/species/himalayan-balsam/ https://www.cabi.org/invasivespecies/species/himalayan-balsa...)
- james-bcn 2y ago
  That is not summer lilac. This is: https://vibrantgardenblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/buddleia-butterfly-bush-summer-lilac-easy-going-beginners-perennial-shrub/ https://vibrantgardenblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/buddleia-...
jibbit 2y ago
fwiw the railway verges in london seem to be predominantly this - which also incidentally - i've never heard anyone call Summer Lilac before
pvaldes 2y ago
> I've never seen any situation where it looks to be taking over. I just see individual plants occasionally. Each one of those individual plants can produce 40.000 seeds each year, so give them a decade alone and you will see. Is very invasive on river beds and disturbed soils.

hoseja 2y ago

I really don't think gorse needs any help getting planted.

justmedep 2y ago

UK belongs to Europe?

pvaldes 2y ago

Ceanothus and the mophead relative Hydrangea serrata can attract Butterflies in summer or spring, but Buddleja is still wonderful in this sense. The hunt for the elusive sterile Buddleja stills keeps going. Lots of promises in that sense with very complex hybrids, but they still didn't stuck with the market or didn't deserved the hype. Gorse in a small garden can be complicated to manage. Too spiny and it reseeds itself. Rosmary or Leptospermum can take that job.