Note to Michele: The Spring Butterfly and The Easter Tablecloth

Hi Michele, 

Even though my world is still a palate of browns and grays,  I think I accidentally tricked this butterfly into believing I have a garden in full bloom! A few days ago, I draped my Easter tablecloth over the deck railing to dry, yet unwittingly attracted a butterfly. It's a bit early for butterflies here, so I was surprised.

Then it landed on the tablecloth and started looking for nectar the way butterflies do. I do believe this poor creature thought it found the mother of all early spring gardens. As you can see the tablecloth has bright tulips and daffodils on it, as well as blue butterflies. And this poor thing thought it was the real deal. A butterfly's dream come true!

 

So, I put my Easter Lily on the rail, hoping it would see the flowers and go for some real nectar. It didn't work. The butterfly was so interested in this tablecloth, it ignored the beautiful REAL flowers nearby. I wondered how long the butterfly would ignore the real blossom for the tablecloth. But, I felt pity for it, so pulled the tablecloth inside. Later in the week, I put it outside again, just to see what would happen and before long I noticed a bee buzzing around the tablecloth.

Which has me pondering. If a gardener would like to attract more bees and butterflies to the garden when real flowers are in need of pollination, could a tablecloth like this be useful? Or would they just ignore the real flowers for this fake garden?

Mahatma Gandhi said, "An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it." Tell that to the butterfly!