Common Treasure

Not one to be driven by standard practice, we on occasion walk a less traveled path.  Some of our garden plants are nothing more than common roadside weeds.  Milkweed is just such a plant.  It was never purchased and we cannot recall intentionally planting it.  It occurs widely in our various gardens and is difficult to remove.  Its deeply placed horizontal root might require power equipment in order to completely dig it out.  It is a tough plant and we intentionally mow large patches of it so that the resulting new shoots and leaves will be available for the butterfly caterpillars that desperately need it to survive in the fall.

Some years Milkweed flowers opened at the same time as the end of the school year.  The appearance of this overpowering scent marked the beginning of yet another summer vacation.  One does not have to get close to the plants to savor the amazingly sweet fragrance but it always draws me close.  After all of these years, I still stop to enjoy the scent while placing my nose in close proximity to feeding bees.  Their mood has always been tranquil while they gather this delicious pollen.  Some find this behavior of me intentionally getting close to bees slightly disturbing.

Our fields also hold many of these plants.  The famed Monarch Butterflies feed on various different flowers but lay their eggs only on milkweed plants.  The difference in flower color is worth noting.  Why that happens remains an unanswered question but I still marvel at it.  This lighter colored blossom clearly shows the unusual complexity of each flowers structure.  The darker petals fall away from the sexual parts making the pollinator's access easy.

We have yet to see the first Monarch Butterfly this year.  That they survive at all with their unusual migratory habit is a wonder.  Still, we will be relieved when they finally make their appearance here.  Some years their numbers are small but they have so far always returned.  Milkweed leaves await their return but for that butterfly any flower will do.

Two days after this post was written, a Monarch butterfly was seen flying in close proximity to a Milkweed blossom.  Becky had twice seen Monarchs earlier but then she is more observant than me.  All is right with the natural world as life continues to provide for the next generation.