Monarch For Mexico

An early morning trip to the garden for breakfast strawberries revealed this treasure. A Monarch butterfly caterpillar has taken the next step toward a major change. With luck a butterfly will emerge here in thirty days in time for the migration South. Its placement in a planting bed will allow us to daily monitor the process. If the chosen plant is growing up through the cage protecting the beets, the cage will be cut away to leave the chrysalis undisturbed.

We help the preferred food plant, milkweed, grow here. There are areas where the weeds are mowed to encourage milkweed growth. Cutting the emerging milkweed forces the plants to regrow. Cutting the dominant goldenrod causes it to quit. We have tender young leaves available for late caterpillars now. This year has provided few butterflies. Late frosts and constant rains seem to have reduced the number of many insects. A least two Monarchs found each other and created the next generation. This caterpillar may well have fed on the Asclepias growing in our garden.

The host plant was a gift from Ingaborg. She emigrated to this country from Germany between the two world wars. This source of the plant makes it special to us. The pictured leaf damage shows that it is special to the Japanese Beetles as well. A new stop has been added to our garden walks. Several times a day we will check on progress here. Now we have another concern about September frost.

A Few Late Bloomers

It's getting late, really late, but there is still time for a single pink poppy. The rest went to seed weeks if not months ago .
Most of the gloriosa daisies are dried up and brown. This one is gorgeous! Several of the plants that should bloom next year are giving it a go now. Will they bloom again next season?

One remaining flower stem on the Stella d'oro lilies is blooming.

This mallow is looking great. You might say their timing is off. Perhaps these particular blooms have a big ego and wanted to be noticed, and so they were!

Ingeborg's Mallow

I've tried to plan a garden. I've seen detailed drawings in magazines so I know people do it. Somehow that just doesn't work for me. I combine a where can I stick it approach with where did it plant itself method to plan my garden.

Who can resist the gift of a beautiful plant from a friend? I can't and so I bring them home like stray puppies and find a place to plant them somewhere. Ingeborg gave me this mallow years ago. I did like I always do, I put it in one of Ed's beautifully prepared beds where I could find an open spot.

Gardening friends always have extra plants. Perennials need to be divided. Plants self-seed. Face it, procreation is a plant's favorite activity. Remember the "birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees"? Weeding is a bit of a treasure hunt here. Just the other day I found a sweet Annie. It's not a favorite of mine so I potted it for Jane who really loves it, and will deliver it to her today.

Ingeborg's mallow is one of my treasured plants that pop up in unexpected places. It needs to be moved early as it has a long taproot. I'm always glad to see it. One must be on the lookout during early weeding. The plant must be seen and recognized if it is to be moved rather than composted. Listed as Malva sylvestris in most books, it is an annual here. It comes up from seed, blooms the first year and the original plant does not come back. This is my first bloom of many. In fact there are still plants that should be thinned out.

Note how well the hail damaged leaf has healed. It is torn but still green.