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Several days ago I saw my first large butterflies fluttering around my garden. I think there should be more.

Perhaps I am just impatient or maybe the cool spring has yet to provide temperatures high enough to bring this cold-blooded beauty into action. Or more discouraging - some of the reports suggesting that butterflies are in decline are actually true?

Regardless of the reason, the garden is a good place to encourage future butterflies. To attract butterflies you need nectar plants. Any composite or daisy type flower is a welcome landing zone for butterflies. We have already noted that butterflies are cold-blooded so pick warm sunny spots for butterfly plantings.

One of the old favorite nectar plants for butterflies and aptly named is the buddleia or butterfly bush. I wouldn't hesitate to plant them, but one must be aware that they will reseed and without a watchful eye they can be quite invasive.

To successfully continue, the butterfly needs more than food for its brief adult life. A science review tells us that the butterfly's life is divided into four stages. Briefly, the adult lays eggs. The eggs hatch into little worms that grow rapidly. The mature worm forms a pupae or cocoon that protects the butterfly as it makes the transition from worm to adult.

In our gardens it is the worm part that gets the butterfly into trouble. Every time you see a colorful worm and run for a pesticide or squash it you have just eliminated a future butterfly. Sure they can chew up some plants, but a better solution is to plant enough for you and for them.

Some of the favorite larvae foods for future butterflies are milkweeds, wild violets, the weed horse nettle, willows, most herbs, Queen Ann's lace, spicebush and carrots. A bit of research could greatly expand that list for you. In other words, you need plants for the worms near the nectar plants to facilitate the butterfly population.

Unfortunately, it gets a bit more complicated than that since each species of butterfly larvae has a rather specific plant it feeds on. You can quickly observe that in the garden or get a butterfly guide that will list this information.

My favorite butterfly reference is the one from the Audubon Society.

Another garden feature that encourages butterflies is mud. Simply place a flat rock in a muddy area. It seems that the butterfly draws minerals from the soil. As a kid I remember how the butterflies would congregate around puddles in the dirt roads.

Perhaps this one makes me sound like an ecologist, but who is better to guard nature than those of us who have discovered the joys of gardening.

Right now I'm looking for a few permanent spots in my garden. I want to plant a few peonies and I fully realize that if left alone they may outlast me. You read that right. Peonies can live happily for many decades.

Sure, they can be divided and/or transplanted, but this action will greatly reduce or eliminate bloom for a year or two. Peonies grow from a large tuber that establishes slowly in the garden,

If you must transplant them, the end of August is the best time. That also would be the best time to add them to the garden. That can be done if you go the mail order route and get fresh dug ones.

The typical garden center will offer them in a pot grown from roots dug the previous August. Here, supply will be best in the spring. Buying and planting these should give you the same level of success.

With peonies you have lots of choices. Mostly you will find pink, reds and whites and bi-colored blooms. I've seen a yellow one that is still very expensive. You can find either double or single flowers. A catalog I like lists almost 100 varieties.

A recent introduction that I find intriguing is a fern leafed variety that has a deep red flower with, as you guessed, a ferny foliage. It is short, staying under 15 inches in height. This one will become a favorite if the price drops.

Then there are the tree peonies that consist of a shrub form found in China grafted onto a traditional root. The tree peony is very difficult to root, thus the grafting process.

When planting a tree peony I have three reasons to plant it rather deep. Get the graft several inches under the ground. First, this adds strength to the plant. If the graft breaks in the wind you will be left with an expensive regular peony. Second, you might induce the tree peony part to set a few roots on its own which will make a better plant. Third, if left too near the surface the mother root will tend to send up suckers which must be removed to protect the integrity of the desired plant.

Peonies need at least a half-day of full sun and will bloom better if planted in full sun. They won't expect much fertilizer. A little, every several years, is plenty. The ones I've had over the years made out well with none. They prefer a ph of 6.5, which will happen with no effort in our limestone soils.

The literature suggests watering well at planting time to set the soil around the root. With a potted one that is not an issue. It also suggests that in a drought year one good watering in the summer will enhance the next year's bloom.

If planting a bare root one or transplanting, set the crowns about two inches below ground level. If planting a potted one set the plant at nursery level. The exception is the tree peony that should be planted deeper for the reasons stated above.

Adding peonies will dig a bit deeper into your wallet than most perennials but get ready for decades of enjoyment. Right now I am waiting for the ones I planted ten years ago to burst into bloom. I'll also catch the plantings mom made in her garden over thirty years ago.

It's about time for a gut check of the season to date. As I write, a few drops of rain are falling. If the weatherman is correct, it will be his best offering in the last several weeks.

Even if that doesn't play out, this has been an exceptional season to make transplants in the garden. On the other hand, seeds have been a tad bit slower to come up. A good rain would ease our immediate fears that we might be looking at a dry season. Of course, a bit of restraint on the rain front compared to last year would be good.

The cooler and drier than normal spring has made planting very pleasant and spared our new transplants the additional shock that comes with high temperatures. Of course there are a few losers in every scenario. Plants that like it hot, like vinca, tropical annuals and vegetables like peppers, vine crops and eggplants, may be waiting for warmer temperatures before they jump into action.

As I look at my own beds I see the normal crop of weeds waiting to be pulled, together with a number of unfinished projects. I can't complain, because that always describes my garden.

But there are some notable highlights. One is a fringe tree that is blooming now. I picked it up at the Conard Pyle charity sale several years ago. I haven't heard much about that this year yet, but would bet that this Saturday will be another wild day for flower shoppers there.

The fringe tree is Chionanthus virginicus. It will get up to 10 to 15 feet tall and around. The stem structure offers winter interest. The flowers are greenish yellow white and seem to dangle. Blue berries that attract birds follow the flowers.

Another highlight is a limelight hydrangea whose flowers from last summer were attractive all winter. So attractive that they are still there. It was kind of neat to view last years tan flowers surrounded by new growth. I don't know what to do now but will most likely behave in my normal fashion and do nothing.

My guess is that the new growth will overgrow the old flowers and hide them by the time the new flowers appear. Limelight is a paniculata type hydrangea that reaches six to eight feet. Unlike most hydrangeas, this group will take full sun and our winter winds and be quite happy.

It is my guess that the wave of once a year or casual gardeners is about to recede at your favorite garden watering hole. On your next visit the staff may look a bit weary but the crowds will be smaller.

My guess is that plant selection will remain better than normal for this time of year as the season got off to a slow start. This will be a good time to ask the questions that didn't get asked because of the crowds in early May.

As and if the rains come, the serious gardener can settle into a long enjoyable season. For those thinking about perennials, the easiest way to build a perennial garden that blooms all season is to take your budget to the garden center or greenhouse and add a few blooming perennials each month throughout the growing season.

Your garden care may put mine to shame today but the rush is slowing and I will soon get there. Look out then, I have big ideas.

My son-in-law is one of the best read, if not one of the smartest people I know. His personal library is large and if you pick up a book it becomes obvious that he has read it. It's amazing.

Even more amazing is that he has an unbelievable collection of those books for "Dummies." You know the ones: home improvements, car care, computers...

Recently I was made aware of Gardening for Dummies and the stunning fact that two out of every three Dummy books sold are the gardening edition. Worse yet, one of the large horticulture companies is teaming with the publisher to release a group of branded plants with simple instructions and a dummy tag.

Now I'm not much for the branding idea but they may be on to something. I doubt that few of you outside the industry put any stock in brands like Simply Beautiful, Dutch Country, Proven Winners or the like. But Plants for Dummies may work.

Regardless, the toughest thing for the novice gardener is to get started. As Roosevelt said early in the depression "you have nothing to fear but fear itself." The number one fear is that the plant may die. Yeah, it happens.

Several days ago I was talking to one of the leading gardening experts on the east coast and was bragging that commercially I had only had major kills on two of the nearly 200 shrubs I try to grow. That's down from over a dozen a year earlier. He was impressed and admitted that he still loses plants.

If you are new to the gardening scene and can get past that hurdle, things get a lot easier. Really, that is a constant challenge regardless of your experience. I can still easily come up with a list of plants I wish I knew how to grow.

To be successful in the garden, start small and pick plants that are rather easy. If you are into vegetables, start with tomatoes or zucchini before you set your heart on celery.In the flower garden pick some of the common annuals or pick the perennials you commonly see in local gardens.

If you see a big price tag on a plant you can almost guess that it's not one of the easy ones.

When considering a plant, think about its needs for moisture and light. If you can't match them, don't buy it. Think about its size. Will it fit your spot or will you have a constant battle to keep it in the space you want?

I know you are expecting this, be conservative with the water and fertilizer until you have established the plant's need. I still maintain that love is the worst enemy of plants.

Start simply and build on your successes. You need only two goals. First, enjoy what you are doing. Second, vow that next year's garden will be better than this year's.

I can't wait to get a copy of Gardening for Dummies. I'm sure I'll learn something, I'm sure I disagree with some of their ideas. And most important - - I will have a Christmas gift for my son in law.

A common question I get comes from people looking for perennials that bloom all season. Someday I will get brave and tell someone "if you want continuous bloom plant annuals."

To me the whole purpose of a perennial garden is to reflect the seasonal change that comes from grouping plants that bloom at different times and for different periods of time. The challenge with perennials is to find a combination of plants that are happy in your garden and provide a colorful show all season long.

Of course there are perennials like coreopsis, re-blooming daylilies, scabosia, and gaillardia that are a basis for a long season of bloom. Several days ago I saw a statement that would suggest another.

It said that if you don't know what to plant at a spot plant a perennial geranium. Don't confuse perennial geraniums with the annual everybody calls geraniums. This is a huge group of perennials, long favored in England, which should be more widely planted in our gardens.

My experience is that the shorter (height) the geranium variety you select, the more extended the blooming season, and the more sun it will tolerate. Usually the geranium is thought to be an edge of the woods plant, but I have been quite successful with the short ones in full sun.

With geraniums expect a strong late spring bloom and regular but more sporadic bloom thereafter for the rest of the season.

The non-blooming spring shrub question came up again. This time it was a lilac. After fielding the question I went to check on the six or eight lilacs I have planted over the last four years. All were blooming well.

This takes me back to one of my common refrains. I planted them, watered a bit at planting, probably forgot the fertilizer and never pruned them. Before you think I am negligent, I did scatter a little mulch and have done a fairly good job of eliminating the weed competition.

The question asker had pruned last fall which is a sure fire way to eliminate flowers on spring blooming shrubs. For my taste, there was also a bit too much love with water and fertilizer. A wildly growing plant has little desire to bloom. Excess fertilizer and water causes excessive growth, which usually reduces bloom.

Lilacs like a fairly neutral soil so a bit of lime and no acid fertilizer may help, but they are quite adaptable so I doubt that this is an issue.

The final question for today is "Is it safe to plant?" Last week's effort to answer that question was shaky. The weatherman lied. He said nothing below 40 degrees in the next ten days and we immediately had two stiff and one light frost. I saw a low of 31 degrees. I had followed my advice and escaped with only a minor nip here and there.

For you traditionalists, Mother's Day is past so it's safe to plant, but to be honest, I'm still a bit jittery about the real tender ones until I see warmer temperatures.