The butterflies haven’t arrived in droves yet, but I’m hopeful that by the end of July they’ll be here. I walk the garden every day to turn leaves over and look for caterpillars. So far I’ve found none. I may have spotted a couple of swallowtail eggs on the rue; I’ll keep a close eye on that.

Meanwhile, the garden is in full bloom. Most of the flowers I planted serve as nectar sources for butterflies and bees; hummingbirds drink from them, too. The caterpillar host plants aren’t as pretty, so I haven’t photographed them, but I have five different kinds of milkweed for the monarchs, lots of dill, rue, and parsley for the eastern swallowtails, and a spicebush for the spicebush swallowtail. I hope they’ll all visit this summer.