Re: beautiful site...

Bonnie - those are the black swallowtails I adore so much and since you have fennel - they will come.
That's why I planted the fennel and lots of parsley - it's the host food
plant for both kinds of swallowtails - my favorites! I have both kinds
also and just love 'em. The adults are all over my caryopteris shrubs.
Don't know if they're hardy there, but if they are - worth the
investment. The hummers like them too.


---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Bonnie & Bill Morgan" <wmorgan972@ameritech.net>
Reply-To: gardenchat@hort.net
Date:  Sun, 3 Aug 2003 06:38:27 -0400

>I have to share some of the sights in my garden the last two days with folks
>who can understand why it tickles me so much.  Friday evening (between
>storms) I took Izzie, the bulldog, out for her constitutional and Bill
>called my attention to a monarch collecting nectar from various plants in
>the bed to the right of our driveway near the street.  It kept flirting with
>my milkweed (swamp milkweed, asclepiad-sp?) so I'm hopeful it might lay eggs
>upon the milkweed so I may enjoy more monarchs.  Monarchs have been very
>rare in my area for some time, so it really was a joy to see it.
>
>Speaking of swamp milkweed, I knew I had a pod split and spread it's seed
>last fall, but I hadn't seen any more pop up in the bed, but I just found
>about 3 plants had wedged themselves at the edge of a "wild" forested area
>near the property line in back!  Maybe it'll bring even more monarchs?  I
>sure hope so.  Since I don't use bug killer products in my planting beds or
>the yard itself, I know the yard is caterpillar friendly.
>
>Then today, I took the phone out to Bill to talk with someone who had called
>as he was cutting grass.  I turned back toward the house and spied two
>swallowtail butterflies in the "butterfly garden."  One of them was a tiger
>swallowtail with the normal black and yellow pattern, but the other was a
>black except for the bottom section of wing on both sides.  That area was an
>iridescent blue.  Both of them flittered together, landing side by side on
>server coneflowers growing there, not quite long enough for me to get my
>camera (of course!) but they flew off to another yard together as well.  Is
>it possible that the black butterfly was the male counterpart to a female
>yellow tiger swallowtail?  Any ideas?   
>
>Oh, and I think I have a datura blooming!  The scent really is intoxicating!
>How wonderful!  It isn't as tall as I thought it would be at about 18", but
>the beauty of that white trumpet flower clothed in that magnificent perfume
>is a little heaven on earth.
>
>It doesn't take much to make me happy:  decent soil, some plants to tend and
>weed, some mulch and compost and for the good Lord to bless me with "flying
>flowers" is a bonus!
>
>Blessings,
>
>Bonnie
>
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--
Pam Evans
Kemp TX/zone 8A



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