The last few days the same female monarch butterfly has been visiting the garden. You ask, how can I be sure? Well, this beauty has seen better days and has very distinct torn wings.
She is truly incredibly to watch flutter about. A few times she flew by extremely close, almost as if she was saying hello.
Every time I see her she is stopping by one of the five potted zinnia plants, going from flower to flower. Once she has enough nectar she will fly to the giant milkweed, sometimes laying eggs, other times just resting. The photo below shows her resting next to a monarch caterpillar who was busy eating.
My giant milkweed has exploded with monarch caterpillars again. They look to be close to their final instar, if not the final instar. Their gorgeous green chrysalsis will be appearing soon.
I’ve been working pretty much nonstop on the garden for three days. I have to admit, I am in love with what has transpired so far.
I think of my garden in two phases, the first which is closer to my front door and the second which expands the length of my house to the right of my front door.
The first phase looks completely different from what it did when I first planted everything, as I worked from a clean slate. It was only yard at one point.
The only thing that remains is the wishing well my husband built, which now has bromeliads – the only plants that have survived in the space. Believe me, I tried multiple different butterfly plants.
The space around it now has a complete pathway that you can enter from three different points. I have three trees in the space- a bahama cassia and two giant milkweed that are much taller than I. They are pretty impressive. I have sprinkled in many other host plants and nectar plants in this section of the garden. I dug up and replanted many other plants to new spaces, or in pots my daughter has painted over the years.
Although I have experimented with many plants, native is definitely the way to go. And, well, not all plants do well in the direct sunlight.
The second phase is underway this week. I will be trimming plants, replanting, and hopefully add new plants to the space. Also, a new pathway, this one rocks, different from the bricks in the first phase, so we can stroll through this section of the garden.
My favorite part is adding the mulch, as it cleans up the space and definitely adds the finishing touches.
Here’s a zinnia, an all time favorite. A great addition this Earth Day, a butterfly attractor.
