Butterflies & moths

After a very slow start to the year, July & August have produced a bundle of butterflies.  I've been planting & encouraging nectar plants for butterflies for a while.  Just got hemp agrimony which is a bee & butterfly magnet. I've also got nettle patches around the garden for peacock & others to lay eggs.  Recently realised that it's good to cut them down so that there's new growth as they prefer this for laying.

It's prompted me to look into other plants for caterpillars.  I don't grow cabbages, but sometimes have had nasturtiums.  None germinated this year, but must think about some for next year.

Another one to try is birdsfoot trefoil which is a wild plant but looks attractive.  Will just need to find the best bit of the garden to grow it in.
 
I have been letting some of the grass grow to seed,  but need to be a bit more systematic with this I think as I don't know what varieties we've got & whether I'm managing them correctly.

I'd also like to get some more buddleia bushes - the orange bobbly one for example.  Recently discovered that moths like to visit the buddleia at night - had lots of migrant silver Y about this year. 

We had a swallowtail in the garden on my birthday a couple of years ago I think it was, be good to get one of them again, as well as a hummingbird hawk moth which I've never seen.

Hope the sun continues well into September so the butterflies & moths can continue to thrive!