Friday, August 28, 2020

Garden Friday

 
 

It's Garden Friday and summer's heat is hanging on!
Although our mornings are relatively cool,
we are still hitting near 90 midday.
The summer blooms are a joy to behold.


 Look who decided to stop by!
The Monarch caterpillars showed up this week to my delight.
With plenty of milkweed to enjoy,
I'm hoping they will be very happy while they chow down.
I'd love for them to tell all their friends!
 

 
It all starts with these teeny eggs on the underside of the leaves.
The cats come out of the egg, eat it,
and then proceed to devour the leaves of the milkweed.
It is the only plant that they eat.
Once they have had their fill,
they find the perfect spot to form their chrysalis,
where the dramatic transformation takes place.
The whole process, from egg to butterfly takes about 3-4 weeks.


Our butterfly bush has been covered with these yellow swallowtails.
They are enjoying the nectar of the butterfly bush, lantana and milkweed blooms.


Most of the garden has been taken out.
I'm planning to sow Dutch white clover and maybe some red clover here,
in order to provide for the pollinators and chickens,
as well as keeping the leach field easier to maintain.
I've learned that it's a good idea to grow shallow-rooted plants
over the septic leach field, as it helps with absorbtion 
and does not interfere with the workings of the system.


The chooks love foraging every evening before heading to bed.
It's become a nightly ritual that I myself relish.
 
Here's hoping that you find your peaceful spot this weekend.
 Blessings to all dealing with the hurricane clean up.

10 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures! I did not realize that milkweed is the only plant they eat. I will have to plant more of it in my front yard. Happy to see that the chickens are doing well. They are so much fun to watch, aren't they? I love watching the interactions and communication between them. It's a lot like people watching. :) You are moving right along with the garden move. Thankfully you have enough property to still have a large garden. Happy Friday!!

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    1. Yes, I am grateful for the extra space. Plenty of room to grow what we, (mostly I), eat.

      Enjoy your weekend!

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  2. Very cool about the monarchs. I saw more swallowtail cats on carrot plants last night. I need to keep a better eye on the milkweed.

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    1. Yes, those eggs are sometimes tough to spot!

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  3. You have a very beautiful yard. Congrats on the butterflies!

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  4. Great idea to sow clovers where your garden used to be. Love seeing your monarchs. Such a treat!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, we may as well support all the pollinators we can, right? ;0D

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  5. Daisy, Monarchs are a beautiful insect even in the caterpillar stage. I'm sure when you finish the new garden area it will be better than the one you had to give up. There's always the wishing that something had been built a little different. Now is the time when all the improvements can be incorporated into the new garden area. I am really interested to see how the new garden turns out.

    The summer is already starting to wind down here in Nebraska. We have had a very dry summer and are about 12 inches behind the average rain for this time of the year. Last week I had to start using city water for my plants as the 390 gallon rain water tank was dry. I've never had that happen before. In spite of that the harvest this year has been very abundant and is still producing. Tomatoes and Bell Peppers are still putting out a tremendous amount of produce. I finally just pulled out the zucchini as I couldn't use any more and couldn't give away any more. My gardens are built to conserve water and it really paid off this year.

    Have a great fall season planning and designing the new garden area.

    Nebraska Dave
    Urban Farmer

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the well wishes. I so appreciate your support.

      Grateful you had all of that water stored in your tank to begin with. The erratic weather really takes a toll on the garden and the gardener.
      Sending you some rain today! ;0D

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