“Oh my dear love is so fragile but also very beautiful ... just like a butterfly . Promise me you never put your heart in the hands of savage , but instead give it to another butterfly .”

-Dagmar D.l.R

Summer is well on its way now, as the latest photos below of the container garden attest. There is a constant flow of new and emerging Monarch caterpillars, coupled with a population explosion of oleander aphid on the milkweed.

No worries mate, as they are host specific just as the caterpillars are. Yes, they are ugly, and yes, they can literally cover a plant's stems, but they don't seem to affect their hosts too much; there are plenty of leaves to be had for the munching by Monarch caterpillars.

The only plants I've lost to aphids were those that were already weak for whatever reason. They would have eventually succumbed without the help of the aphids anyway.

Margot Norris of Laguna Beach, California informed me that she just found six Monarch cats on her Tropical Milkweed plant. Congrats Margot! As the season progresses Margot, and if you get bit by the Monarch caterpillar bug, you will need to buy more milkweed in order to satisfy the voracious appetites these striped hotdogs with legs require.

SPEAKING OF MILKWEED...

There have been reports on a Facebook page of people purchasing milkweed at their local Home Depot, only to have their Monarch caterpillars croak after feeding on them (copied from Facebook Monarch Butterfly Garden page):

A Cautionary Tale that Bears Repeating:

From MBG Community Member Wendy: "Please warn everyone The Home Depot is selling milkweed with pesticides. A friend and I bought tropical milkweed plants, and transferred our caterpillars to these pl... See More

 That's not to disparage Home Depot; others have bought milkweed plants there without the resultant cat mortality. Basically, buy from a reputable source that will guarantee their milkweed plants to be pesticide free. Ask first before purchasing. Although the nursery personnel may say they don't spray pesticides on their milkweed, their supplier or suppliers may. Locally, Butterfly Farms of Vista, California specifically raises host and nectar plants that are pesticide free with butterflies in mind .

I'm sure there were Anise Swallowtail cats in the fennel. I can't find any, but several days ago I noticed that the fennel plants were all disheveled. Looking closer, I did find tiny caterpillar frass in some of the leaf crotches, but no cats. The assumption is that a larger bird - most likely crows - spotted them and had a heyday with the cats in the plants (sounds like a Dr. Seuss book). As Charlie Brown would say, "Aaugh!"

© Charles Shulz

© Andrew Kliss

© Andrew Kliss

© Andrew Kliss

Large empty tubs waiting for their plants to get larger before planting.

© Andrew Kliss

"My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view."

-H. Fred Dale  

The container garden is really beginning to show its colors (pun).

This photo taken towards the front of the house, the containers are beginning to fill in nicely.

I'm not too pleased with the way the passion vine, Passiflora loefgrenii "Iporanga" is growing in the yard. As it climbs, the lower leaves wither and die, leaving a skeleton of vine branches and less food for expectant Gulf Fritillary caterpillars down the road.

It will most likely be replaced with either Passiflora edulis or possibly Passiflora caerulea, both very full and dependable Gulf Fritillary host plants. How unfortunate, as the "Iporanga" sports such unique and colorful blooms. If anyone wants it, it's theirs for the asking.

Hot pink flowers of Centrahthus ruber (Jupiter's Beard, Red Valerian).

Tried Centranthus when I took care of the Alta Laguna Park Butterfly Garden, but the deer nipped off the flower buds before I could assess its usefulness as a nectar plant. Supposedly a good butterfly plant, I'll be watching this one as the season progresses. Self sows readily without being invasive, easy to grow, and quite drought tolerant once established. Comes in various shades of pink, red, and white.

 In the process...

Some of the containers shown above are in place while others are waiting for their new spots in the container garden; others still waiting to be planted and spotted. The yellow flowering plant under the window is dill for attracting various swallowtail species as a host plant for their larvae; and added bonus is the large yellow flower umbels that make for good nectar sources. Great as a fresh culinary herb in the garden too!

 There doesn't seem to be any butterflies to be found in the immediate San Marcos area it seems, at least in my neighborhood. Others in the San Marcos/Escondido vicinity see butterflies and some even have Monarch cats on their milkweed plants already. The only thing that has fluttered by recently is a Cabbage White. I did find some Cabbage White caterpillars in the geraniums growing on the porch, but those are unwanted, so I dispatched them. Little buggers eat the flower buds of geraniums and make lace doilies out of cabbage and kale leaves. BLECH!