Gifts for the Gardener

Have you started your holiday shopping? Here are my picks for the gardener on your list...

Felco F-4 Pruner, A classic that will last forever.

Hunter Gardener Boot, The best and most stylish wellies.

Sunday Afternoons Sport Hat, Love the flap and washes easily.

Floral Bypass Shear, Perfect for trimming flowers for your vase.

Rifle Paper Company 2013 Garden Calendar, By local artist Anna Bond.

Chalkboard Wall Planter, What a great space saver!

OXO Watering Can, Great design, durable, and easy to carry.

Vintage Butterfly Prints, I want to frame a collection of these for my foyer!

Local friends - please let me know if you would like to know where you can pick up some of these gifts up nearby! Have fun!

Flight of the Butterflies

We spent Thanksgiving with some dear friends in the Washington DC area and were able to take the kiddos to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.  I jumped at the opportunity to see Flight of the Butterflies at the Johnson IMAX theater there. It was AMAZING! It is a stunning and inspiring film about the discovery of the monarch butterflies' epic migration by Dr. Fred Urquhart. I would definitely check it out in a theater near you!

Butterfly Pumpkins

Happy Halloween! I know I'm a day early but I wanted to share these Butterfly Pumpkins from our friends at Birds and Blooms magazine with you - just in case you haven't carved your pumpkin yet!

Photo by Birds & Blooms magazine

You can read more about these beautiful pumpkins here. Have fun!

Giant Swallowtail

The variety of butterflies that I've been able to attract to the garden at our "new" house verses our "old" house still surprises me. I recently found a Giant Swallowtail for the first time flying about my Meyer Lemon tree and sipping from the Lantana.

To my delight, she laid some eggs!

The Giant Swallowtail is commonly found all over Florida. Well, Florida IS known for its citrus and this is the Giant Swallowtail's host plant. You may have heard of the "orangedog?" This is the common name for its caterpillar which is sometimes considered a pest to citrus growers. Large citrus trees can tolerate loosing some leaves to orangedogs but young, smaller ones might have a difficult time.  It is a large yellow and black butterfly averaging 5 1/2 inches wide. Note it's yellow body in my photo above.  

In case your wondering, her caterpillars did not do much damage to my lemon tree at all - there were definitely enough leaves to share!

References: 

McAuslane, H.J. (2011).  Giant Swallowtail, Orangedog, Papilio cresphontes Cramer (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in134 .

Places: Pollinator Garden, San Diego Zoo

We recently travelled to San Diego for a family wedding. What a beautiful city! I loved seeing the Pacific Ocean, roses in bloom, succulents in lovely containers, and fuchsia bougainvillea.  Yes, the weather is perfect there!

We made our way to the San Diego Zoo and it was amazing!

I was delighted to find this garden there...

Bees, Butterflies, & Hummingbirds (Three of my favorite things)

There were brightly colored nectar plants like butterfly bush, pentas, zinnias, lantana, and coneflowers.

And lots of milkweed growing in the greenhouse and in front of it.

Wow, I would love a greenhouse full of milkweed!

The garden has plenty of winged visitors like this monarch.

For more information about the San Diego Zoo, click here! Happy gardening!

Nemo?

So I logged in to Facebook and I see a new posting from my brother (not a gardener, but he is a great photographer): "Anyone wanna tell me what this is that I found on my porch screen today?"

Photo by Jason Cordoba

I knew it was a caterpillar and I was so jealous because I have never found one of these in my garden (or any garden)! He received responses like "corn snake," "it's so cute," and my favorite, "you FOUND Nemo!" Well, this is a Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar. I love it's dramatic color and "eyes." This caterpillar is a great mimic and uses this talent to ward off predators. In it's early stage, it resembles a bird dropping. Then as it molts, it develops a green color (later orange) and eyes to resemble a snake.

I'm going to check out my brother's yard and look for the Spicebush Swallowtail's host plants: Sassafras, Spicebush, Camphortree, and Red Bay. Maybe I can steal a few cuttings for my garden ;-) .

Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly by bobistraveling via Flickr

References: 

Butler, J. & Hall, D. (2000).  Spicebush Swallowtail, Papilio troilus Linnaeus (Insecta:  Lepidoptera: Papilionidae. Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/IN/IN32500.pdf .

Audubon Butterflies App On Sale Now!

The National Audubon Society is celebrating the Monarch migration by having a sale (99¢) on their app, Audubon Butterflies! It is a beautiful guide about North American butterflies that includes photos, maps, and detailed descriptions. You can even keep a personal journal and document your butterfly sightings! This app is available for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android and Kindle Fire. Act quickly - sale ends on 8/27.

Photo by pendens proditor via Flickr

Landscaping for Wildlife & Butterflies

 Our local extension office is hosting a butterfly gardening class!

Birds & Blooms: "Butterfly Gardening Myths"

Hello butterfly gardening friends... I'm just back from vacation with my family. We were visiting the Pacific Northwest  - stay tuned for some butterfly photos from our trip!

Our friends at Birds & Blooms magazine sent me their wonderful butterfly gardening article in their current issue (August/September 2012)...

Plant It and They Will Come - Butterfly Gardening Myths Revealed in the Current Issue of Birds & Blooms Magazine

Attracting butterflies to your garden just got a whole lot easier thanks to Birds & Blooms Magazine.  The current issue is debunking butterfly gardening myths and discovering the truth about getting these beauties to your yard, and increase your chances for success.  According to the article, it really can be as simple as – “plant it and they will come.”  If you plant a patch of milkweed, you’re bound to get monarchs.  If you have an out-of-the-way corner for nettles, get ready to welcome red admirals.  To check out the myths and truths about butterfly gardening featured in this month’s issue, pick up a copy of Birds & Blooms or visit http://www.birdsandblooms.com/mag to attract even more butterflies by planting flowers that will last into fall.

Well, you can read the article right here. They were so nice to allow me to share the article with you on Milkweed Gardens! Enjoy!

 

 

Snapshot! Passionflower

I couldn't resist sharing this photo with you - this passionflower vine's colors and scent are amazing! Have a great weekend!

Passiflora incense

Lots and Lots of Rain

We have had lots and lots of rain recently due to Tropical Storm Debby. I found this Monarch trying to dry its wings in my butterfly container on my patio yesterday. He was still there this morning. Now that the weather has finally started to clear, he has flown away.

Some of you might be interested to see how this butterfly container has evolved since this post. I fertilized it about six weeks ago and the pentas and butterfly weed are quite vibrant now.

Our State Butterfly

I've noticed a larger variety of butterflies flying around the garden at our "new" house compared to our "old" house. I find that a little odd since we moved into a more urban area but it's definitely a good thing for a gardener like me. Remember the passionflower vine I wrote about in this post? I finally attracted Zebra Longwing butterflies to my garden with it and found this little guy...

This is the first Zebra Longwing caterpillar I have ever found in my garden! Now this is an important caterpillar for Floridians - it will become our state butterfly.  

Photo by jjjj56cp via Flickr

The Zebra Longwing is found all over Florida and the Southern United States, Mexico, Central America and into South America. It is a medium sized butterfly with yellow and black stripes. Under its wings, there are usually red spots close to its body. It will lay tiny yellow eggs on the passionvine's tendrils or leaves. These will hatch into white caterpillars with black spikes (Daniels). I always find it so interesting how the caterpillar can look so different from the adult butterfly.

I hope you find some Zebra Longwings in your garden this summer!

References: 

Daniels, J. (2009).  Zebra Longwing, Heliconius charitonia. Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in805

Marvelous Monarchs

The Palm Beach Post sent me this video they created of the metamorphosis of a Monarch. It is beautiful! Check it out!

http://clikhear.palmbeachpost.com/2012/life-style/outdoor-life/marvelous-monarch-butterflies-are-free-all-you-need-is-patience-and-milkweed/

Photo by Ari Helminen via Flickr

Passiflora 'Incense'

Hello butterfly gardening friends! I know some time has passed since you last heard from me. My family moved into a new home and this was a much bigger task than I anticipated. There are still plenty of boxes to unpack but we are adjusting well to our new surroundings.

Did I mention we got a new puppy too??

Bailey, our Labradoodle

Well, a new house means a clean slate in the garden. I took what I could from my old garden - some milkweed of course, a stem from my white Angel Trumpet, some herbs... but most of this new garden will be new. I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head but unpacking all of those boxes has taken priority.

I did go by the local nursery a couple of weeks ago and couldn't resist buying this:

This is Passiflora 'Incense.' Now I try to grow native as much as possible but when I saw this striking purple color and smelled the beautiful flower, I had to have it! It has such a wonderful fragrance.  This passionflower is a hybrid of Passiflora incarnata (which is Native) and Passiflora cinnicata. Some of you may recognize Passiflora incarnata as Maypop.  P. 'Incense' is a fast growing vine that tolerates sun or shade and flowers from spring through summer. Sometimes people are hesitant to plant passionflower when I suggest it for their butterfly gardens because it grows so vigorously. I planted mine in a pot and it is doing great. There are lots of flowers and it has successfully attracted Gulf Fritillaries. We found 3 caterpillars munching on its leaves this week! 

In case you are wondering, I bought this passionflower (and pot) at Luka's and the trellis at Restore.

My Favorite Plant Sale

My favorite plant sale of the year is this weekend at Leu Gardens. Vendors from all over the state bring their plants and garden accessories. There is so much to choose from: herbs, flowers, orchids, succulents, citrus trees, Florida natives, etc. Admission to the gardens is free both days. The sale is March 17th and 18th from 9am-5pm.

This is a popular event so I have some tips for you:

1) Bring a cart or wagon for your purchases!

2) If you have been thinking about becoming a Leu Gardens member, now is the time. Members  shop first from 8am-9am on Saturday, the 17th.

3) Parking is tight so come early or later in the day. I usually park on one of the neighborhood side streets.

This is also an excellent opportunity to visit Leu Gardens' Butterfly Garden - one of my favorites!

Leu Gardens by Ricymar Fine Art Photography via Flickr

The BEST Gardening Gloves

It's time to start your spring gardening and I'd like to share my favorite gardening tool with you. Well, they are not so much a tool like a shovel or clippers but they certainly make gardening an even more pleasant experience...  they are the Atlas Gardening Gloves.

As much as I enjoy working with soil in the garden, I do NOT like the way it looks or feels under my fingernails.  I came across these gloves at a local gardening shop, Apenberry's. At first, I was just drawn to the bright colors they come in: green, pink, purple, and blue (black too).  So I purchased a pair in my favorite shade of Robin's Egg blue and set to work in the garden with them. WOW! They fit really well and stretch easily so that I can accomplish all of my gardening tasks. And you can just throw them in the washing machine when they need a good cleaning. They are quite durable - I have had my current pair for a couple of years now. Did I mention they are inexpensive too? A 4-pack on Amazon is $12.50. I think I paid about $5 for my pair at Apenberry's.

Enjoy!

A Chrysalis Movie

Remember the caterpillar that was hanging upside down in my last posting? The next day I caught him in action...

Chrysalis Patch

Well, I guess I did a good job of protecting those caterpillars during the cold snap a few weeks ago. We found SEVEN chrysalises in and around our milkweed patch last weekend!

And this little guy was getting ready to spin his chrysalis...