The last few days I have been watering newly planted milkweed, as the heat is extreme, and the rain has not been falling as often. The best time to do this is about an hour before the sun goes down.
It appears this is the best time to stroll through the garden, as the last few days there have been monarchs feasting on nectar. Tonight’s dinner, the nectar of a Mexican sunflower.
I loved watching this monarch’s determination of extending its proboscis, finding the opening of the flower, and sipping the nectar.
The best things happen when you slow down enough to witness nature at its finest.
A while ago I purchased zinnia seeds from the Dollar Tree and was pleasantly surprised on how easy they were to grow and how many butterflies the flower attracted. After reading up on the zinnia, I found out that there are certain types you should plant in your butterfly garden. That type has yellow disk florets in the center, as the butterfly can sip nectar from this area.
I found a great website, Joyful Butterfly, that sells both plants and seeds. This is where I purchased my last batch of zinnias, zinnia elegans seeds, and they continue to reseed themselves quite a few times, and not in the same spot. They are now volunteering in other areas of the garden. It is definitely a plant that keeps giving.
It’s best if they grow in full sun, and really in any type of soil, as long as it is well drained. I have some in pots, and some in the ground. The one’s in the ground do much better.
The gardens have been a monarch paradise these last few weeks. The garden has every stage of life from eggs to butterflies.
For the Sunshine State, they are seasonal in Northern Florida with low numbers during the spring before exploding by the millions during the late summer and fall. In central and southern Florida, the monarch butterflies breed all year.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, the monarchs are broken down into eastern and western populations divided by the Rocky Mountains. It states that the eastern population is the largest. This population migrates northward. In the spring they leave Mexico and migrate north into Texas and the Southern Plains, through the Northern Plains, Midwest and into the Great Lakes area. And by late summer the monarchs expand into Canada, eastward from its central migratory corridor of the United States through the northeast and southeast states.
The National Wildlife Federation states that the late summer, last generation of monarchs that emerges will delay sexual maturity for migration. This migratory generation can live up to eight months, compared to the typical few weeks.
It’s fascinating to learn about the monarch’s incredible migratory patterns. In Southwest Florida we are blessed with these beauties visiting the garden daily during the winter months as the weather never dips to unbearable temperatures.
Today, similar to many others, the nectar plant of choice is the red penta. We also had a female monarch emerge in the butterfly house, the one that is on the same milkweed plant as the monarch caterpillar.
They say butterflies appear when angels are near. I am convinced.
My daughter and I first spotted a male monarch in the garden, and almost immediately after a female monarch butterfly. She instantly named both of them with two very special names. I love how sentimental a 7-year-old can be, how she says the first thing that comes to her mind. She instantly brought tears to my eyes, as well as a huge smile. My kind, thoughtful girl.
It’s not only amazing watching their lifecycle, but also touching when you stop and think about how much they come to mean to you.
The first photo is of the female, second one a male. The male has two black dots on its lower wing. The final photo is of the pair, male on the left, female on the right.
When you begin a butterfly garden the list of “favorites” seems to grow as the hours go by. Among my favorites lists is taking a stroll in the garden and seeing brand new life. You can see the empty chrysalis in the background of this newly emerged monarch butterfly.
A second stroll through the garden awarded me with this females first flight to a nearby nectar plant.
Plant them and they will come! Nothing is truer than that statement. Find native milkweed, plant nectar plants and the butterflies will flutter to your oasis.
