Category Archives: native plants

The Giant Kind of Visitor

native plants, perennials, pollinators, the Lot

Another day on the Lot brought yet another opportunity to ID a new insect. This is the first time I noticed this type of butterfly visiting the garden. It was checking out the swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). It was quite large and reminded me of tiger swallowtail butterfly, probably because of the pale yellow and brown coloring.

Giant Swallowtail on Swamp Milkweed

I began my search with swallowtails in a Michigan Butterflies book I’d received at a conference this past March. Soon I found Papilio cresphontes, or the Giant Swallowtail.I believe this may be the type of butterfly pictured here. The features separating this butterfly from the other swallowtails is the large area of brown and diagonal bands of yellow spots on upper side of the wings.

Giant Swallowtail Butterfly

The guide did not list the swamp milkweed as a food source, but did list a favored nectar source as butterfly bush (Buddleja) as well as joe pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum). Both of those plants are on the same side of the garden as the milkweed plant it was investigating.

I wish I would have gotten a better shot of the back edges of the wings to be sure. The flight time is supposed to be from end of April to beginning of October. Hopefully I will see one again and can get better pictures to make sure my shot at ID’ing it is correct.

The Lot Levels Up

education, loki bed, native plants, pollinators, rambling thoughts, the Lot

As I’ve wrote (preached?) about multiple times, the Lot is being arranged, planted, designed, arranged again for more than The Other Half’s and my benefit. I enjoy spending time in the garden and will not turn down garden compliments from anyone willing to shower them upon me. But as I’ve continued to learn about gardening, I’m wanting more and more to develop a tiny ecosystem on the Lot to support a whole variety of critters.

Enter Swamp Milkweed

In 2014 a handful of native plants were integrated into the assortment of flora on the Lot. One of these plants was Asclepias incarnata or Swamp Milkweed. This perennial plant likes full sun, though it can tolerate a bit of shade. It’s happiest in medium to wet soil.  When you see it in The Wilds, it often is near wetlands. It has a tall, slender silhouette growing 4 to 5′ that does not require staking. Swamp Milkweed can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 3a-8b. Here is a shot of the plant in bloom on the Lot during July of 2015.

Monarch Nursery

Swamp milkweed is also known to attract monarch butterflies, not only for a nectar source but also as a host plant for their young. Monarchs will lay eggs on the plant, the eggs hatch, and voila there is a buffet awaiting the hungry, hungry caterpillar.

I have waited SO long for what happened today. Mom G and I had returned from a day wandering a beautiful lavender labyrinth and herb garden and then participating in retail therapy at a great nursery. I was placing an anise hysop near the swamp milkweed because I plan on expanding the bed and making it a pollinator patch. I was moving to straighten up again when I came eye to eye with this little one.

The Other Half has joked my squeals of delight (in regards to plants and kittens) reach beyond the audio range of the human ear. This was one of those times. I literally was dancing in place and motioning Mom G over to take a look. On the swamp milkweed was the first monarch caterpillar I have ever noticed on the Lot.

Plant It and They Will Come?

There are many, many guides online that will coach you through which plants to select for monarchs. However, your best bet is to get your facts from a university extensions page or an entomology department. Here is a monarch plant guide from the Michigan State University Extension office.

Also, I’ve read numerous times for any pollinator garden, larger stands of the plant have a better chance of attracting that pollinator you desire. In the front, South bed I noticed I have the most pollinators when the large stand of purple coneflowers is blooming. As mentioned above, I’m installing a stand of plants this year that will hopefully serve as a big grocery store signal for bees and butterflies. I’ll keep notes on its progress.

Oh, and then there’s patience. ARGH.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – October 2016

backyard bed, bloom day, fence bed, front bed, loki bed, native plants, perennials, sidewalk bed, southwest bed

October Bloom Day is here! By this time each season the garden seems to have gone wild and the amount of daylight required to maintain control is dwindling . (The gardener is also tired and beginning to eye her knitting needles.) Looking back last year, we had some warmer-than-normal weather in October. So far this year we’ve had a ton of rain in September after a hot, dry August. The lankier plants have been beat down by the heavy rains. The days are cooler and rainy, but there are still some “blooms” to be enjoyed on the Lot.

We can always count on the toad lily (Trycyrtis hirta) to bring some delicate speckles of color to the Lot in the Autumn. I’d like to find another fall-blooming plant to accompany this shade-loving perennial in the east bed near the foundation of the house.

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In the expanded bit of Loki’s bed, the swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is becoming streaked with color because of the cooler nights. The lavender it shares its bed with is still blooming and is way larger than the gardener had planned. Rats.

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The new anemone is still carrying on its show from last month. I like the backdrop of the blue blooms of the plumbago. The silver foliage of the sage is pretty as well.

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This joe pye weed (Eupatorium rugosum) is in its second year on the Lot. The white blooms look great with the darker stems of the plant. Apparently this cultivar grows to a max of 4 feet tall. I found this out just now as I looked up the latin name to post here. This must be why the plant is not  growing to the 6 feet I expected. Oy with reading the plant tags! You’d think I’ve learned to do so by now!

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This is more than likely the last, frazzled bloom of Echinacea purpurea ‘Butterfly Kisses,’ a dwarf coneflower.

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Here’s a droopy aster I rescued from beneath the mum when we expanded the backyard bed this past Spring. I’m looking forward to seeing how it likes the new digs next season.

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And here is another batch of aster currently peeking from beneath the foliage of a false indigo.

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Here is the monster mum in the backyard bed. It has not been divided since it was planted. I was going to do so this Fall, but read the Spring is the best time to do so. Therefore, the task has been shifted to the Spring list.

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The next few shots aren’t necessarily blooms, but still some fun colors in the garden. The yew in the front South bed is covered in small red berries.

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This year the rose at the southwest corner of the Lot was not pruned back, but allowed to form rose hips.

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There are some other perennials still blooming on the Lot, including the various sedum and some coreopsis. Just fading are the snakeroot, heuchera, and the tall phlox.

Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens to view all the other lovely blooms for this month!