Tag Archives: Southwest Florida butterfly garden

25 and counting

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A few weeks ago I began a new project garden, inspiration I saw from another garden. That project – identifying plants with garden metal labels.

I have done two different fonts and today completed all 25 labels I received using my cricut machine.

It has been a great project as it has given me the opportunity to take inventory of what I have. The great part, I still have more plants to identify.

I have tried to plant natives in the garden, as they can tolerate whatever weather Southwest Florida throws at them, and they multiple and fill in empty space quite nicely. A good example of this is the blanket flower and coreopsis, otherwise known as tickseed.

Here are a few of the flowers that have been identified so far.

Blue butterfly bush
Purpletop vervain
Goldenrod
Wild lime
Firebush
Starry rosinweed
Penta
Zinnia
Blanket flower
Fire spike
Spiderwort
Plumbago
Lantana
Almond bush and an atala butterfly.

A little stroll

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When walking the garden, I am constantly looking up, down and around in search for the incredible lifecycle. Today it was a little monarch caterpillar taking a stroll around the water fountain.

Welcome

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I walk my garden daily, more times than not, multiple times a day.

When you plant a butterfly garden your eyes become trained on what to look for – eggs, caterpillars, chrysalis, butterflies – all the stages of life.

Lately I have found a few newly emerged monarch butterflies in the garden, a great surprise, as I never saw the chrysalis. The last few have been on the underside of the giant  milkweed leaves, the monarchs host plant.

Today, I spotted this beauty still drying its leaves.

Another lifecycle has begun. I have begun to spot many monarch caterpillars again. The clues they give make it easy to spot them, such as their frass left on leaves. The size of the frass also lets you know how big the caterpillar may be.

Always seeking more

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I recently added the purpletop vervain, verbena bonariensis, to my garden.

I go to a few different places when seeking additional host plants, as I want to make sure it comes from a reputable place.

Although, this nursery is not local to Southwest Florida, the plants are shipped in amazing condition, and for me have done  really well after planted in the garden. Joyful Butterfly is my online nursery, as it gives great information about the plant, what it attracts, and how you should care for it after delivered.

I love adding additional butterfly host plants to the garden. It is always a thrill when you can attract a new species to your designated space.

This is the host plant for the common buckeye. The nectar is also loved by such species as swallowtails, fritillaries, hairstreaks, painted ladies, queens, commas, sulphurs, and checkerspot butterflies, as well as bees and hummingbirds.

It grows best in zones 7-12, loves full to partial sun, and requires medium to dry moisture. It can grow 5-6 feet tall and should be spaced  1- 1 1/2 feet apart.

The flower is a gorgeous purple and reseeds readily.

Fat caterpillars

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I love watching the polydamas swallowtail caterpillars. The stages they go through and the size they become is fascinating. There are probably two dozen caterpillars on the birthwort eating.

The caterpillars grow up to 2.1″ in length.