Garden reimagined

I have to admit, my garden took over the space I created, and flowers replanted where they wished. My path now pretty much nonexistent.

To be truthful that’s why I love native plants, they fill in the spots left untouched. So, Im slowly creating a walkway again, replanting plants in areas around the walkway and in pots. Next will come the mulch and hopefully the much needed Florida rain showers once again.

I have been visiting other local butterfly gardens recently, which inspired me to reimagine my space. My daughter and I started our first butterfly garden in May 2020. The space now triples what we started with and invites many, many more species to the garden. It’s a labor of love, designing, and redesigning spaces.

So, here is the beginning of a a long haul of calming work.

The little . . .

The cassius blue, lycaenidae/gossamer wings, is starting to appear constantly in the garden. I was beyond thrilled when I witnessed this little beauty laying eggs on my plumbago yesterday.

Its wingspan is only 15-22 mm. The egg is flattened and blue. The butterfly will lay the egg on flowers, flower buds or the developing seed pods of the plumbago. I have yet to find the eggs, or the caterpillars. I can only imagine the size of the caterpillar and chrysalis.

Chomping away

A walk through the garden was a treat this morning. There’s caterpillars on almost all the host plants, including these gulf fritillary caterpillars on a maypop passionvine.

Good spot

The orange barred sulphur picked an ideal spot to start its chrysalis – right outside the front door. The chrysalis is really need. It has a silk pad and a silk girdle. Once the chrysalis is finished it will either be a green, or pinkish color.

The right kind of nectar.

The gulf fritillary butterflies are abundant in the garden this morning sipping on a variety of nectar.

The blanket flower, which I love because it reseeds itself everywhere and it’s such a gorgeous flower.

The plumbago, another great flower, was also a stop for nectar. This plant is a fast grower. I’m constantly cutting it back, promoting great bushy growth.