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. 

Thank You Little Ladybugs!

One of of the pests that "bug" milkweeds are aphids. These are tiny insects that damage plants by piercing the plant and sucking the plant juices. This causes leaves to curl and flowerbuds to harden. Aphids can transmit harmful plant viruses too.  They are usually about 1/8 inch in size and can be green, yellow, black, brown, pink, blue, or white.

Photo by Eran Finkle, Flickr

So what can you do about these little creatures? Well, I found this beneficial insect on my milkweed yesterday...

Ladybug on Milkweed

Ladybugs eat aphids and I found a trio having a mid morning feast. I find ladybugs so cute and delightful.  I love their vibrant red color and  black polka dots. And of course, they keep those pesky aphids in check for me.

If you do not find ladybugs eating your aphids,  there are a couple of other things you can do. You can blast them off with a stream of water or you can spray them with insecticidal soap. Both of these methods are safe for people and the environment and have worked very well for me.  You can purchase insecticidal soap at your local nursery or make you own.  Mix two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid (without a degreaser ) to a gallon of water. Add this to a spray bottle and apply weekly as needed. 


I'm heading off to my brother's wedding so i'll be out of touch for a short time. 'Til then, happy gardening!

The Butterfly Alphabet Book

I read this charming book with my daughter last night, the Butterfly Alphabet Book. We learned several new facts about butterflies as we went letter by letter through the alphabet. Did you know the Kamehameha is only found in Hawaii and is named after a Hawaiian king?

Did I mention?

I recently taped an episode of Central Florida Gardening with local gardening legend Tom MacCubbin!  I was thrilled to be interviewed by him as I am a big fan of his. I grew up in Orlando watching Tom on TV, reading his articles in The Orlando Sentinel, and cultivating my garden according to his books. Our segment was about Beginning Butterfly Gardening and is scheduled to air this December on Orange TV (Bright House Channels 198 and 199, Comcast Channels 9 and 98, and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99). Exact date and time is not scheduled yet but I will let you know. Hope you will tune in!

On the set of Central Florida Gardening with Tom MacCubbin