The Butterflies [Spring in the Cottage Garden]
First drafted 16 October 2022
This is the 13th entry from my draft manuscript, working title: Spring in the Cottage Garden. You can read the first instalment by tapping below:
Yesterday I had a milestone moment: I was sitting down the back of the garden, moving along with the last rays of the sun, when I spotted a kahukura/red admiral butterfly sitting on the sleeper edging the butterfly garden! It may seem a small moment but it feels bigger because it’s a reflection of my evolution, illustrating how much I have learned to listen to nature.
We have a really big garden so the easiest way for me to tackle it was to break it up into sections – the way I approach any goal that I’m taking seriously. This book, for example, is one quarter of a story that will span the year through the seasons, and each week I have aa word count to keep me on track and actually finish the thing!
So one section of our lawn would be a deep mixed flower border, and one section of this border would be the butterfly garden. I chose the spot as it was quite sunny and I could see it from the house. I didn’t realise that the spot was also quite windy, not did I take into consideration that it backed up against our neighbour’s driveway (which not only means vehicles, but also herbicides when they spray the weeds that pop up in their gravel chip). I also didn’t know that butterflies need evergreens to shelter in, which I learned through the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand resources.
I don’t think I ever saw a single butterfly there (unless you count cabbage whites, which I don’t).
So when I next attempted a butterfly garden it was two years down the line and I was able to take what I’d learned, combine it with my own observations, and do a better job. I found a spot based partially on where I could easily see it because this was still important to me – I want to see and enjoy the wildlife in my garden, not just provide a home for them! Primarily, though, it was based on where I’d seen butterflies hanging out before.
Around the butterfly garden is meadow, not mown lawn, which means there’ll be flowers to feed on and grass to rest on. It’s adjacent to the orchard so there’s also lots of tree blossom on a seasonal basis – I saw a kahukura/red admiral butterfly feasting on the plum that overhangs the butterfly garden just last month. Behind the butterfly garden is a mature horse chestnut tree where I’ve seen kahukowhai/yellow admiral and monarchs sunbathing in autumn, and there’s a moderately dense tree cover between the garden and our property boundaries. It gets sun almost all day and it’s become one of my favourite spots because the wind hardly touches it, unless its really storming outside.
So seeing that butterfly is a milestone moment; approval from the client for meeting the brief this time around!