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.