You see butterflies struggling to find food along roadsides, but pesticides and cutting have reduced roadside flowers drastically. Few areas around our town are left uncut and uncultivated to bloom freely, and native plants are nearly gone from this vicinity. It’s better out where we go for pictures, but even there you see roadside cutting and spraying where it’s not needed for any good reason.
If you are tempted to cut your garden flowers now for the sake of neatness, I beg you to leave them as long as they’ll bloom. The butterflies, bees, and other insects are hungry and out and about on these warm afternoons. The insects’ presence is good for the birds, too. 💖 🐝