Winter garden clearing…

February was the time for butterfly garden winter clearing, weeding, pruning, cutting back my beautiful Jatrophas, Limey Prickly Ash, and more. I know how important this is but I also feel heartfelt sadness until I see new growth appearing then I know time is near for Spring to burst through with beautiful colors in my garden.

This year I expanded my fenceline which created more opportunity to expand my butterfly gardens and add more host, nectar, hummingbird plants……starting seeds of different plants to prepare.

My new arbor and greenhouse idea implemented with heavy wire and long metal stakes. A funny story behind my designing a greenhouse to grow milkweed for Monarch Butterflies. Over the last 4 years, Monarchs have been a great part of my purpose to start gardening….I would go lengths to buy milkweed year round so they would have milkweed to lay eggs, caterpillars to grow, flowers for nectar for feeding monarchs. You see I have been researching, observing, documenting, designing, thinking more and more. I would ponder how, why, what can I do to keep milkweed in my garden…because it takes time for a milkweed plant to regrow after being eaten to the stems by a very hungry caterpillar.

So, 2020 was time for a change I began growing my own milkweed from seeds….well thats another adventure worth laughing about….. I purchased seeds online Mexican Milkweed (asclepias curvassavica), White/Pink Swamp Milkweed (asclepias incarnata), giant milkweed (Calotropis gigantea) and more…. But lets step back my first milkweed seed experience brought me to take further steps some forward then back again …..so I sewed seeds, plants started to grow,,, not even 1-2 inches tall I noticed leaves were missing WHAT? well as I observed daily I saw caterpillars as I looked closer eggs….and then I saw the Monarch Butterfly flying over and landing on my new plants and yes laying eggs Well I learned lots and have grown from that first experiences of growing milkweed……………

Now, I have mesh covering for growing seeds and plants so they can grow to mature plants for Monarchs to enjoy Oh yes, those Monarchs are clever but they have not found a way to fly thru mesh! Fast forward to today… thats how I came to designing my first greenhouse, keeping it simple until time to go the next step.