Buddleias

I'd intended to mention this in my recent travelogue, but forgot. That's a buddleia bloom to the left. They're commonly called butterfly bushes because they supposedly attract butterflies. Problem is, until Saturday, I'd never seen a butterfly on one. We stopped at One Log House in Piercy on Saturday. As I was sitting at a picnic bench out front, I noticed a budleia between my bench and the gift shop. What got me to notice it was a large yellow butterfly fluttering around it, and it stuck around. Maybe buddleias do attract butterflies after all? This about.com page tells about butterfly bushes and why many don't recommend planting them. That fits with my own experience as I don't know how many times I've been hired to remove them or cut them way back. They're fairly invasive plants, but most airhead gardeners don't think about the consequences of what they plant. Like the wife years ago: She got a buddleia somewhere, came home and asked me to plant it in the flower bed in front of our front porch. I told her they usually get out of hand quickly so we shouldn't plant it anywhere. She'd have none of that and insisted.As I expected, by the next year it was getting too big and she insisted I remove it, leaving the hard work of digging it out and disposing of it to me. I did that quick enough and lay the whole thing on my front yard. An airhead gardener friend came by and wanted it to plant on his property near Fortuna. I warned him of the consequences but he'd have none of that. But, at least he got rid of it for me. He moved some years ago so now that plant is someone elses problem.