Helping Monarchs: Plant Your Own Milkweed

 

Over Labor Day Weekend, we enjoyed a great visit to a neighboring fair.

 One of my favorite exhibits there is a parks area where all kind of natural living is exhibited, everything from choosing a great hunting dog, making maple syrup, archery and wildlife shows.  This year we happened to attend a butterfly tagging workshop for Monarchs. Like many of you, I love butterflies and try to plant as many flower varieties as I can to attract them.  I found out that this year though, the butterfly population was way down.

I found out that it was because of two reasons.  The first is loss of habitat.  That of course is understandable because of cultivation, building, herbicides and so on.  The second is because our weather pattern in the northeast last year was very dry and it led to the lack of enough plant material to host the monarchs.  So, the weather last year affected the population this year, including the monarchs overwintering in Mexico.

The naturalist showing how to tag a monarch.

How do they know about the populations and where the monarchs travel?  It comes from the tagging program.  Basically tagging monarchs is putting an ID sticker on one of their wings which doesn't interfere with their flight and helps other naturalists to track the population and it's health. Who tags them?  Anyone who would like to... I'm in.  

Obviously not everyone wants to chase butterflies with a net and place a sticker on them, so how else can we help?

Butterfly Garden at the Nature Center Display

Well, that takes us back to the first problem facing the monarchs...loss of habitat.  This is an easy remedy.  There's only one plant the monarchs need as a host plant and this is milkweed.  Milkweed comes in many different species including, tropical, swamp, showy, purple, as well as common milkweed.  

Milkweed gets its name from the white latex type sap that comes when you break any part of the plant.  This sap must be milk to monarchs because it's their number one caterpillar food of choice!

One of two caterpillars we found at our community garden.

You can help the monarch by including Milkweed in your garden space.  We don't actually plant ours because as it is a weed, it comes up by itself.  We just let it some plants come up in our community garden space for the butterflies. Remember, common milkweed is a, well, a weed.  It will get very invasive if it's left to itself in fertile soil.  So, we keep some around but weed the rest.  

This year, we actually found some monarch caterpillars on our milkweed!  Not just one, mind you, but two bit fat caterpillars!  It's the best kind of nursery to have...we really did it by not interfering with nature's process too much.  Allow a few plants to grow and bloom and let the butterflies do the rest. 

This monarch caterpillar is just about ready to pupate!

Experts suggest if you would like to grow your own common milkweed, try planting it in pots so it doesn't get take over your garden or buy some more exotic varieties that aren't quite as vigorous to reproduce.  You can find some more info here.

As for us. we have found the perfect balance by letting it grow where it's already at and enjoy helping out these amazing butterfly wonders.  Here's hoping you can help you too.

First: Identify milkweed in your area or property and allow some to grow.

Second:  Purchase some special varieties of milkweed to grow in your garden space.

Third: Plant lots of flower varieties like zinnias, marigolds and echinacea to feed the mature butterflies.

Fourth: Limit your use of any herbicides or pesticides in your garden space to encourage these winged wonders.

Thanks for reading!!  To find out more about tagging Monarchs, go to http://monarchwatch.org/
to order tagging kits and nets.  Be blessed!

Have you noticed many Monarchs in your area? 



Linked to these amazing blog hops....Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways
Homestead Barn Hop 

Fall's Floral Post Cards

 

I finally had some time the other day to get outside and actually enjoy some fall colors and stuff around me.  Fall comes last to our lake front shores, so we usually have to drive a few miles south of here to experience it sooner.  However, I did have a patch of these beautiful zinnias and marigolds that really screamed "fall" to me." Yes, they're not asters and mums, but during this season their colors take center stage in the garden.

  
These Persian Carpet flowers fool you at first in to thinking they are marigolds, but are actually a unique variety of zinnias.  So cool, and actually they reseeded themselves from last year.  They are only about 12 inches tall and come in all colors and markings.  If you don't have a friend that grows these for seeds, you can find them here.

I called these marigolds "naturalized" because they reseeded themselves and came back in all different ways.  The original seeds were hybrid marigolds, bred for a certain coloring and small size, but when they reseed they start to return to their wild ancestors and grow tall and bushy. I liked all the different paint splotches of color on the petals.

 

The petals of these marigolds look like crushed velvet...lovely!

 

 These "Mysotis" or perennial "Forget-Me-Nots" in their lavender purple color look like icing on a cake.  Their delicate petals lend a soft and soothing backdrop to the bolder colors of red, yellow and orange. I planted these once and they come back vigorously year after year.  You'll want to give them room in the garden.

The random fall frosts show their telling signs with wilted petals, but still leave the flower heads with lots of visual interest.  The lavender color of this Mysotis is still strong, but the browns behind it lend an overall designer touch.

Just a few  floral "postcards" for you to enjoy.  It's amazing how fall can show up in a small patch of reseeded marigolds and zinnias...I guess it's all perspective!  Blessings!

Enjoy the photos?  You may be interested in these other posts...Flower photos in the Rain and Amazing Butterflies.

Linked to these blog parties...Homestead Revival 
Hello Monday , Clever Chicks Blog Hop 
Living Green Tuesdays 
Take- A-Look Tuesday 
Backyard Farming Connection 
Small Footprint Friday 
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways 
Welcome Wednesdays 
Country Homemaker Hop 
Wicked Good Wednesdays
Simple Lives Thursday 
Rural Thursdays 
Insta Friday/Life Rearranged 
A Rural Journal: Your Sunday Best 

Attracting Butterflies: Plant These and They Will Come...

  

Whenever a butterfly happens to fly near me, I feel like a kid again.  Not that I take off and chase them, although the temptation is always there...!  So, I couldn't allow this summer to fly by without some mention of these fabulous creatures of the insect world.  How do we guarantee their yearly visits?  That's what I'm sharing here from my experience...

There are a lot of lists out there that suggest plants that attract butterflies.  These are a great help for sure, but I've found a few "super-attracting butterfly" plants out there that really fill the bill.  They aren't exotic or difficult to grow either which makes them a huge garden bonus.

I know this post is about the plants and all you see are the butterflies.  Well, the butterflies are the evidence that these plants really do attract butterflies.  And who minds looking at butterfly pics anyway?

 

I actually discovered some of the best plants to grow for butterflies by "mistake" as I was planting a bit of everything and started noticing which plants really drew them in.  Take this beauty of a caterpillar for instance.  Normally, caterpillars are a gardener's nightmare, but this one is special as it turns into a "Black Swallowtail."  Also, these caterpillars are not rampant in the garden.  There's a few here and there, so they don't annihilate all your plants.  Parsley caterpillars host plants include parsley, dill and fennel to name a few.  This one is on dill, so I guess he could be considered a "Dill Caterpillar." Anyway, these are great plants to have in the garden.  They are herbs to eat and to help raise some caterpillar babies....which means, butterflies!

 

I didn't capture a butterfly on this Zinnia "Profusion," but trust me, the little skipper butterflies 

(about a 1/2 long) loved them!  Zinnias are very old fashioned flowers.  However, I truly love them.  They are classics and as reliable as weeds when it comes to growing.  Weeds never looked this good though.  To attract big butterflies, plant dahlia or large zinnias like some of the ones here.  Give them room to grow as the big ones get really, well, you know, big!  They'll reward you with lots of great cutting flowers and the butterflies will love them too.

This brings us to a perennial that is a great flower all around and is native to boot. Purple Coneflower or Echinacea is a classic that should be in every garden.  I've seen so many insects and butterflies on these plants, it's like a fast food restaurant at lunch time.  Also, if you leave the seed heads on, they will attract goldfinches to your garden as well.  They love to eat the seeds of this plant and it's a great economical way to feed the little guys.  I really love watching birds eat "naturally" even though feeders can be fun.

Which brings me back to the subject of butterflies and the last plant pictured here (and with the yellow tiger swallowtail in the first pic.)  This is my easiest and sure fire butterfly attractor plant and one that I refuse to not have in the landscape.  Best of all, it's a perennial, a bush and it's pretty!  Yes, I am referring to Butterfly Bush or "Buddleia davidii."  It totally lives up to it's name and is well worth every penny spent.  I've had mine for over ten years and it keeps on coming back, flowering in late spring well into August - September.  I do randomly dead head the flowers in order to keep them producing.  The flowers just get smaller but keep coming on making a continual butterfly show!  So, from someone who has grown one, this plant is the one to beat for bringing those winged lovelies in to your space.  Here's a site to purchase your own or to find out more info about them. 

Okay, this is the coolest...a monarch and yellow tiger feasting on the same bloom from a butterfly bush!

Okay, that's the low down on what I have experienced as fool proof butterfly attractors! Hopefully it will inspire you with ideas with what to plant in your space.  What flowers or plants have you grown which the butterflies love?  I would really love to hear what you have grown!  Blessings!

Linked to these blogs, Lisa Leonard Designs ,  The Prairie Homestead, Frugally Sustainable