Happy Thanksgiving!

Tiger Swallowtail on Coneflower by Audreyjm529 on Flickr

For flowers that bloom about our feet,

Father, we thank Thee.

For tender grass so fresh, so sweet,

Father, we thank Thee.

For the song of bird and hum of bee,

For all things fair we hear or see,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

For blue of stream and blue of sky,

Father, we thank Thee.

For pleasant shade of branches high,

Father, we thank Thee.

For fragrant air and cooling breeze,

For beauty of the blooming trees,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

For this new morning with its light,

Father, we thank Thee.

For rest and shelter of the night,

Father, we thank Thee

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Good Morning!

I am using my new coffee mug this morning...

Cute, huh?

WInter Park Harvest Festival

I am so excited about the first Winter Park Harvest Festival! It is this Saturday, November 20th at Central Park's West Meadow. It is described as "one part feast, one part farmer's market, and one part gardening seminar" (Orlando Home & Leisure, November 2010) - can it get any better? I will be working with other Orange County Master Gardeners in the Gardening Demonstration tent during the day and attending the Farm to Table dinner in the evening. Hope you'll check out this momentous event!

Local friends: Need a rain barrel or compost bin? Check this out!

Places: The Butterfly Garden at Harry P. Leu Gardens, Orlando, Florida

We have had beautiful weather here in Central Florida so I took my children on a picnic at Leu Gardens. I'm so glad we did - the butterfly garden was brimming with activity. So many butterflies, caterpillars, and flowers! My daughter brought her journal to document her observations "like a real scientist."

Entrance to the Butterfly Garden

Gulf Fritillary caterpillar on its host plant, the Passtionflower

Gulf Fritillary caterpillar - love those spikes!

Gulf Fritillary chrysalis

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

Chrysalis Box - Butterflies are released from here several times a day after they hatch and their wings dry.

A puddle is a nice element for the butterfly garden. Butterflies will sip water and obtain 
other essential nutrients from it.

Monarch caterpillar on Milkweed

Monarch butterfly

Fall Senna is in full bloom everywhere. It is the host plant for the Cloudless Sulphur and Orange-barred Sulphur.

Mexican Sunflower, a great nectar plant

The exotic looking Calico Flower, host plant of the Polydamus Swallowtail caterpillar

If you are looking to start your own butterfly garden, the butterfly garden at Leu Gardens is a wonderful place to obtain ideas for design and plant materials. And if you have little ones, they will enjoy hunting for caterpillars and watching the butterflies fly about.