Let's start with butterflys. Most of us already have bright colorful flowers in the gardens and the adult butterflys do stop by for a meal, the trick is in making your gardens a place they want to make a home, not just a stop over and the best way to do that is to plant for the catapillars. And this does mean that you will be planting plants you know will be eaten. First step, find out what the catapillars of the particular butterflys you want in your gardens eat. In my case, I have fennel and rue everywhere to feed the catapillars of my favorite butterfly, the swallowtails, got them everywhere, can't go a day without seeing them. I also allow milkweed to colonize along my fence rows for the Monarchs, as well as other plantings, won't go into the whole list.

Second, know your catapillars, what may look like the ugliest pest might someday be a winged beauty. I never dispose of a catapillar until I have identified it. Through the years I have learned most that grace my gardens, but my book of catapillars is still always in reach.

Third, you can't spray insecticide. When you do that, you not only kill the bad guys, but you also kill the good guys that keep the bad guys under control. You'll also miss out on some of the most charming birds that eat the insects, I adore my house wrens, such bold little birds, but also insect eaters.

Fourth is a list of little things, a shallow saucer filled with pebbles and water for them to drink, a small area always left muddy for them to get minerals and of course, bright colorful flowers to attract them in the first place.

Now on to toads. I am lucky that I do have a natural pond for them to breed in, through the years I have learned the songs of the various frogs and toads. I leave for work at 4am and while walking to the car, I can tell who's being frisky. But even if you don't have that, toads, being terrestrial as adults, can be tempted into anyones garden and hosta gardens seem to be to their liking. First give them a home. Take an old terra cotta pot, paint it up cute if you want, turn it upside down and break off a chunk of the top, now bottom since it's upside down, for the toad to get inside and put it in a nice shady spot, under a large hosta is perfect. Sink a few shallow saucers, large drip pans that go under pots work great and keep those full of water. Use a mulch that is light, not large wood chips, for them to bury in, I use leaf mold, works as a mulch but then rots away to feed the soil. And then give them names and tell them how beautiful they are, lol. Sorry, had to throw that in. Toads are territorial and I have had some in certain areas so long we know each other personally.

Hummingbirds are easy. You can plant red flowers that have a trumpet shape, trumpet vines, salvias, fuchias, or just put up a feeder. Might take them a while to find the feeder, but they will. One thing to remember is that while the adults do live on necter, they feed the babies insects and line their nest with spider webs, again, another reason not to spray. And never ever put honey in the feeder, it will kill them.

Wonderful pic of a net winged beetle. Not sure which net wing, maybe a banded, but still lovely to look at. And don't worry, the young feed on decaying wood, they won't hurt you hostas so enjoy them in your gardens. Isn't it so much fun to come across a interesting visitor to the gardens, that's the biggest joy for me.

Sorry if I preach too much on organic gardening, I'm not trying to tell you how to garden, just how I do it. It's not an easy road, but the one I prefer. And because I have been doing it so many years, nature has created her own balance in my gardens, even I am amazed at what little pest problems I have. And it has been so much fun for me to watch, never fails to amaze me. Every year, without fail, I will have a plague of some sort, but I ride it out, I have found that for each over population of a pest, there will be a over population of what ever eats it and the following year, the problem is gone. While I do plant with man made plants, I also am lucky enough to have enough room to allow the wild to grow as well.

Now turning off the 60's music, taking off the love beads and climbing off my soap box. Hope I was informative enough without being too preachy.