We like birds too!

We are participating in Audubon's Birding the Net! What a fun game!

A Very Cute Chrysalis Kit

One of my favorite nurseries, Palmer's Garden and Goods, is having a huge sale today and tomorrow (25-60% ALL items). I stopped by this afternoon and saw this display next to the cash register...

Despite the fact that we have raised many butterflies, I felt inclined to purchase the pink and orange chrysalis container on the right. Besides we have never raised a Gold Rim Swallowtail butterfly and it was 25% off with the sale - see how easily I talked myself into this purchase? :-) They also have Monarch chrysalises available. I'll let you know how our newest addition progresses!

Chrysalis kits are $7.99 plus 25% off until tomorrow and come with complete instructions.

PBK & The Very Hungry Caterpillar

For you Pottery Barn Kids, butterfly loving moms out there, check this out...

Oh my goodness - I am just dying over this! I love how this theme is available for a boy or a girl. The terrarium next to the boy's bed is darling too - I see this little project in my children's craft future. You can caterpillarize the bathroom too...

That is an amazing green free standing tub!

Okay, I know this didn't have a whole lot to do with  gardening but I enjoy butterfly shopping almost as much! :-)

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Purple Coneflower

I'm back! I was on a brief hiatus while getting my children ready to return to school. Now they have settled in and I can return to my blog (Yeah!). I took this picture earlier this year while on vacation in North Florida and have been meaning to write about it ever since.

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Purple Coneflower (N) is a wonderful nectar plant. Okay, I admit I am impartial to pink (one of my favorite colors) but I also love how these blooms stand up and reach for the sun.

They grow 2-4 feet tall and bloom in the spring and summer here in Central Florida. They prefer light shade which promotes flower and leaf color. Aside from attracting butterflies, Purple Coneflower is also useful as cut flowers, mass plantings, or as a border in the garden. 

Cute Butterfly Container

I recently parked my car in this special spot at Palmer's Nursery. How cute it that?

New Butterfly Gardening Friends

I'd like to thank my new gardening friends, Nadine and her family, at Bouler Design Group for the shout-out on her blog,  Bouler Architecture today. We met Nadine and her family while on vacation last week in Costa Rica. You might recognize her artist/author daughter, Olivia, of Olivia's Birds . My daughter certainly did as Olivia was featured on the Disney Channel's Friends for Change. Thanks so much Nadine! Happy Butterfly Gardening to you and your family!

Before & After

Our Milkweed patch has rebounded and I would like to show you how quickly this occurs!

Before (July 15th)

After (August 4th) - Just 3 weeks later!

AND we already have caterpillars again...

Add caption

The Circle Continues

We found several chrysalis in the garden since the caterpillars dispersed from the Milkweed patch. We were about to go on vacation (a little over a week ago) so I was worried that we might not see any of them "hatch." Well, these two butterflies emerged the day before we left!

Under my children's picnic table

The butterflies hang for several hours while their wings dry. It is important not to touch them so they are not damaged.

Thank you Mr. Caterpillar!

Thank you Mr. Caterpillar for attaching your chrysalis to our window screen. Now we can easily see you through the bedroom window!

Inside view.
The chrysalis is right in the center of this photo.

Outside view.

Another Common Question...

Another common question that I receive is "My plants look terrible. The caterpillars ate everything! What do I do?" To me, this is a good thing! This means that the gardener has a successful butterfly garden. The garden has attracted the right butterflies to his/her host plants. These butterflies have laid eggs which have hatched. Now those caterpillars have eaten well and are continuing on their life cycle journey. I usually assure the gardener that their plants will return. In fact, I find that the caterpillars are natural pruners - otherwise the milkweed would grow out of control!

Here is my milkweed patch today - all sticks, no leaves (please see my previous posting for comparison). Those caterpillars are hungry!

Leaves are almost all gone.

The caterpillars have migrated towards the north side of the
Milkweed patch where some leaves still remain.

We counted at least 24 caterpillars!

Have a great weekend!

Are There Caterpillars in My Garden?

One of the questions I am often asked is "how do i know if there are caterpillars in my garden?" I have a few tips for determining that. Have you seen any butterflies land on your host plants recently? If so and the butterflies laid eggs, they should hatch in about a week. So that is a good time to check your plants for caterpillars. Now the baby caterpillars will be very tiny so you will have to look very carefully UNDER the  leaves of your host plants. This is where the eggs are laid. For those of us with bad eyes, including yours truly, you can begin your search two weeks later and the caterpillars will be much bigger. You should look under leaves that have holes and missing parts. This means they are mostly likely being eaten by caterpillars and they will be nearby. One last tip is if you see caterpillar frass (that is a fancy word for poop), the caterpillars are definitely present.

I saw some Monarchs lay eggs in my Milkweed patch during the last Fourth of July Weekend (about 10 days ago). Those eggs have hatched and our garden is full of caterpillars right now.

Note the holes and chewed appearance of the Milkweed leaves

Monarch caterpillar eating Milkweed leaves

Don't forget to look under the leaves!

There is some frass in the center of the plant - to the left of the top caterpillar.

Landscaping for Wildlife & Butterflies

Our friends at the local extension office will be hosting a presentation on Landscaping for Wildlife & Butterflies on August 3rd. There is a newly installed Butterfly Garden that you can visit before the lecture AND you will receive a butterfly plant and two books - wow!

Interested in Becoming a Master Gardener?

Local Friends - a new Master Gardener class is forming at the Orange County Extension office. I have loved being a Master Gardener and have made so many plant loving friends because of it. Check out the information below!

Bee balm (Monarda punctata)

Hello Gardening Friends! I have been preoccupied with end of the school year activities recently but things are now coming to an end. It was a fun and busy year that honestly, went by quickly!

Bee balm

Today I would like to tell you about Bee balm (Monarda punctata). My daughter and I came across some Bee balm growing around Lake Baldwin during our one of our walks.  It is also known as Spotted Horsemint, Dotted Horsemint, and Spotted Bee balm.  This is a wonderful nectar plant that also attracts hummingbirds.  I also love its crownlike appearance. It is a perennial native that grows 1.5 - 3 feet tall in full sun with tall pinkish flowers. Bee balm is moderately drought tolerant and not easily affected by pests and diseases. This makes it an easy plant to grow and it looks lovely en masse in a perennial border. An interesting note about Bee balm is native Americans use  it to brew a “sweating tea.” 

Reference
Gilman, E. amd Terry Delvalle, T. Monarda punctata Bee Balm, Horsemint. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fp413

Bambi's Butterfly Garden

This year's butterfly garden at the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival WAS bigger and better! I really enjoyed it's scale and scope - such a nice variety of host and nectar plants in a woodland setting. It also included a chrysalis house,  butterfly identification and life cycle signs, and a puddle.  I'd say there was a moderate amount of butterflies. We saw Monarchs, Queens, Gulf Fritillaries, Zebra Longwings, and a Giant Swallowtail.

Entrance to the garden. We were given packets of Zinnia seeds here.

Bambi's Butterfly Garden is this year's theme.

Queen Butterfly on Bambi

I found these stick trellises inspiring. There was passionvine and coral honeysuckle growing on them.

A puddle for the butterflies to sip from.

Chrysalis House

Queen caterpillar on Milkweed

Butterfly Topiary outside of the garden. The topiaries are one of our favorite features of the whole festival.

The festival ends on the 15th so there is only a few days left to visit Bambi's Butterfly Garden!

Come See Me at the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival!

I love the butterfly on Mickey's nose!

The annual EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival is open until May 15th and the Butterfly Garden is bigger and better! This year it is called Bambi's Butterfly House and is located behind Future World. I can't wait to check it out! I will be working in the Master Gardener  Booth in the Garden Town Pavilion tomorrow,  Saturday, April 30th, from 10am - 1:30pm. Come visit us!

At the 2010 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

A Lovely Butterfly Thought for the Day

Butterfly Habitat for the Classroom

We found a number of caterpillars and eggs in our Milkweed recently so my daughter and I decided to put together a butterfly habitat for her classroom. We have "hatched" caterpillars numerous times. You might recall the Black Swallowtail from a previous posting. We used a recycled cheeseball container then. Well, this time we had Monarch caterpillars which feed on Milkweed. Milkweed is much taller than the parsley we put in the cheeseball container so we needed something new.

I prefer to put a live plant on our containers. It is much easier to maintain because the caterpillars have a constant supply of food. Then I later add  the host plant to the garden. I have tried putting branches in floral water picks but they seem to wilt quickly and thus need to be replaced quite often. I did a little online research but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.  So I decided to check out the gift shop at the Butterfly Encounter at Luka's Nursery. There I found the perfect indoor habitat for Monarch caterpillars:

It is a rectangular container with mesh on 5 sides. One side is transparent so that the caterpillars' metamorphosis can be viewed easily. The Milkweed plant fits well inside. I lined the bottom of the habitat with paper towels to make cleaning easy. Next, I placed a plastic saucer under the plant to catch any water. Make sure you throw out any excess water so the caterpillars do not drown in it!!

We moved the habitat into the classroom and the children are enjoying it. I spoke to them about the basics of the butterfly life cycle and they were full of questions. They asked "How many butterflies are in the world?" and "Do you know everything about nature?" They are so cute and enthusiastic!

Please let me know if you need help in establishing your butterfly habitat. I'd love to help you out!

Places: JW Marriott Orlando Butterfly Garden

During our recent Spring Break, I took the kids to float in the lazy river at the local JW Marriott (lots of fun by the way!) and I was delighted to stumble upon their petite lakeside butterfly garden.

Although small, this butterfly garden has all of the essential elements: host plants, nectar plants, trellises,  sun and shade, and  a water source. I also like the sign that identifies the garden and describes the butterfly life cycle. The extra lighting is a nice touch too.

Trellis covered with passionflower

The Passionflower and Dutchman's Pipe vines were growing vigorously. Passionflower is the host plant for the Gulf Frittilary (in sun) and Zebra Longwing (in shade). The Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars feed on the Dutchman's Pipe.

Dutchman's Pipevine on the trellis and Mexican Milkweed in the front

There is Mexican Milkweed for the Monarch caterpillars and fennel for the Black Swallowtails.

Fennel surrounding the Oak Tree

Nectar plants included Tropical Sage which hummingbirds love as well.

Tropical Sage on the lower right and Passionflower on the trellis

I really love the pink shade of this Passionflower...

Passionflower

Hope this posting gives you some inspiration for a petite butterfly garden!

Florida Roses and Butterfly Gardening

I'm still here! I'm so sorry for the lack of posts - I have been busily working on an upcoming lecture for the Orlando Area Historical Rose Society entitled "Florida Roses and Butterfly Gardening." I will be providing general butterfly gardening information as well as discussing butterfly plants that make good companion plants for roses. I also plan to bring my caterpillar condo and butterfly gardening handouts. You will find information about the lecture here and below. I would love to see you there!

Orlando Area Historical Rose Society

April 3, 2011 2:30pm (doors open at 2pm)

Harry P. Leu Gardens

(407) 647-1219

Places: Butterfly Garden at Disney's Ft. Wilderness

Hello! Just back from the annual Girl Scout camping trip at Disney's Ft. Wilderness. We had a great time  swimming, making smores, trading SWAPS, and spending time with the other Girl Scouts and their families.

At the  Ft. Wilderness'  Reception Outpost, there is a colorful butterfly garden that I enjoy visiting each year...

Ft. Wilderness Reception Outpost

The garden is filled with Snapdragons, Dianthus, Milkweed, Pansies, Nicotiana, and Passionflower.

The Black-Eyed Susans are particularly vibrant.

The Black-Eyed Susans look lovely en masse.

Tiger Swallowtail on Dianthus

Look at the amazing variety of nectar plants.