I've never seen anything like this before. If you click on the above picture, I believe it will enlarge it. My two Pink Delight butterfly bushes along my backyard were swarming with monarchs. Swarming! There must have been 40 or 50 on just these two bushes. I've never seen so many in one spot before. 
Migration is a beautiful thing.
Now the ahhs. AHH! I love this time of the year. That monarchs are leaving their eggs on the milkweed. The Black Swallowtails are leaving theirs on the carrots, parsley, and fennel. My daughter and I found these just a while ago.
Black Swallowtail Cat.
Two monarch cats and an egg (near the tip of the leaf) that I brought in to raise. So much fun. These were on the Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) that I started from seed this past winter.
Two black swallowtails that I also brought in. There is also an egg on carrot foliage in there somewhere.
Fun for the whole family!
I planted Scarlet Nantes carrots this Spring. Not for myself, but for the black swallowtails. One of the perks is that I do get to eat some of the carrots. Knowing that I was planting them for butterflies, I didn't bother to thin them. Nor did I amend the soil with compost to loosen it up. This location was lawn until I dug out the grass this past Spring. I wanted foliage, not the actual root, so I just planted and hoped for good germination. Good germination is what I got.
This is the result of compacted soil. Forked roots. There small size, most likely due to drought and neglect. The largest carrot on the right was on the back edge of the planting. It had some room on all sides where other carrots weren't crowding it. Obviously it took advantage of the space. Next year, no matter how hard it is. I will have to thin out my carrots. Finding a happy medium between tons of foliage for the black swallowtails to devour and some large carrots for me. In the meantime, the carrots above will be going into a slow cooker stew first thing tomorrow morning.
Golden Acre cabbage starting to form a head.
Florence fennel. A volunteer. Note the black swallowtail caterpillar in the upper portion. He's already about an inch and a half long!
One of my three Sungold tomatoes started blossoming a few days ago. I can't wait for these tasty nuggets!
Sweet Basil planted last season. It overwintered and is now starting to flower. It came in a gift herb kit. I never harvested any of it, so I'm hoping the beneficials will like it. That's why it's still hanging around. Peas are planted on both sides of it. You can see my Spirit Pumpkin in the back left.
Below are my tomatoes, a Spirit pumpkin in the near-middle, Golden Acre cabbage in front of that, onions in the back right, peas lining the lower of the picture.
The birdhouse I built a few weeks ago has found its first resident. A lovely pair of wrens! You can see one on the tomato cage holding nesting material.
Ellagance Purple lavender that I started from seed last season. Smells lovely.
Jacob Kline monarda. Five feet tall already!!! My Endless Summer hydrangea is blooming as well.
Rosy Returns daylily.
Flamenco Torch Lily. More of a light apricot than the orange I expected. Perhaps because it is so shaded by the monarda.
ID me please! This is a free plant my son brought home a few weeks ago for Earth Day. I was wondering if anyone knew what type of tree it is and how tall it could get. My guess it's a pine...of some sort....
A close-up of the tips of the branches. Can someone ID me please?
I have had a lot of difficulty germinating the Asclepias syriaca (Common milkweed) seed that I bought on eBay. Only one of the first batch I planted germinated. That would be the one I have in a large container by itself. I decided to take my chances and use the paper towel method on the few remaining seeds. I dampened a paper towel, tossed the seeds onto the paper, and placed it inside a Ziploc bag in a window with bright, primarily indirect light. Another one germinated after about a week and a half. I carefully removed this one from the paper towel (it came right off) and planted it with the taproot covered in a small peat pot with potting soil.
Carmine Jewel Bush Cherry from Gurneys that I received last week. Self-pollinating.
Daily mixed shelling pea and strawberry harvest.
BUTTERFLY (and Moth) HOST PLANTS
This morning he looked like this. In his beautiful, green chrysalis.
The kids harvested more Russet Burbank potatoes this week. One plant grew these bright white, squishy "potatoes" with roots. Strange. I've never seen that before.
Elegant Stinkhorn...looks like a garden gnome sneaking up through the soil.
The Autumn Joy sedum and mum are getting ready to start their fall show.
The sedum attracted this gorgeous Common Buckeye. The first I have seen this season. This is one of the most beautiful butterflies I have ever seen.
Common Sulphur (right?) enjoying the Pink Delight butterfly bush.
Kellogg's Breakfast tomato blossom.
Rosy Returns daylily.
My container has looked terrible all season due to the really high heat and dry weather. Finally, after three overcast days, it is starting to look alive.
My cleome was filled with critters. From bugs to butterflies. Another variation of a harlequin bug.
Check out all the Harlequin bug and babies below. They were covering the cleome. Looks like these two bugs were working on making more as well.
On the underside of a leaf, there were eggs deposited. Black with white stripes. This cluster had some of those and ones that looked like they were hatching.
Tiger Swallowtail.
I have to look this one up.
There were a couple interesting finds as well.
This little female ruby-throated hummingbird spent quite a while hanging out at the feeder, clothes line, and in the holly tree. It was like she wanted to me to refill it with fresh nectar. You don't have to ask me twice! I'd do anything to keep her happy.
A clearwing hummingbird moth on my Pink Delight butterfly bush.
A cicada clinging to a tomato stem.
A black swallowtail cat that I found in the garden the other day! The first time I ever found one here!
Only two days later...
I also found these two eggs! The one on the right is blurry.
It's a great butterfly year!
