"Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination."
~Mrs. C.W. Earle

"Victory for Monarchs in California!" the heading reads.

YAY!

Locally, it would be nice to see the Monarch overwintering site that used to occupy Smithcliffs in Laguna Beach restored, or at least mitigate its loss somewhere else on City parks property that would attract and maintain a viable population of these magnificent butterflies as in years past. It could be done, but that would need the Imprimatur from those that run the town.

Would Crescent Bay Park sustain an overwintering site, or possibly Heisler Park? Haven't a clue, but it would be wonderful if that could be achieved. As Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise in the 90's sci-fi TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation would say: "Make it so."

-Google

 Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard

-Candace Fallon, The Xerces Society

Head on over to read the complete article at:

 

Victory for Monarchs in California!

"Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden."
~Orson Scott Card

Art Shapiro on butterflies via Annie's: https://vimeo.com/134664426. For those of you who already have a butterfly garden or are interested in possibly creating one, Art's presentation hosted at Annie's Annuals & Perennials is a must-see.

All of the info in the video will pertain to our SoCal region too, as Annie's is located near Oakland, California. "Close enough for government work." as we used to say at the City.

Monarch Butterfly Rest Areas Coming to Texas Highways is an article highlighting what the Texas Department of Transportation along with The Native Plant Society of Texas has up their sleeves to help with Monarch butterfly migration through their state. What a great idea! Would love to see more of this type of cooperation between government and the populace along our own transportation corridors, instead of using so much non-native species. Another added benefit besides supporting native animal populations? California natives by nature are water misers!

  Monarch Butterfly Rest Areas Coming to Texas Highways

Update: As previously mentioned in the August 15th newsletter, the passion fruits on my passion vine have been ripening: they are drop dead dee-lishous! I cut them in half, scoop out the seeds and pulp, and then eat all, except for the skin. Tastes like guava on steroids.

-Andrew Kliss

Passiflora edulis. Passion Vine, "Purple Possum"

-Andrew Kliss

  

These passion vine leaves are beginning to point towards fall around here, as they start to fade, turn yellow, and then fall.

-Google

The primary reason I chose to plant passion vine, is that it's the host plant for the Gulf Fritillary butterfly. "Purple Possum" was selected for the rich quality of fruit it bears. Nature provides us with many species of passion vines, and with these, we create a myriad of hybrids and varieties. Some (I believe all) produce stunning flowers, while their fruits are "Myeh." or "Blphf!". If choosing one for your own yard, a little googling will go a long way in helping you to choose what variety is good for your wants.

Beware of red-flowered species and hybrids, as they are reported to be toxic to Gulf Frit cats.