Family Outdoor Adventures: The beginning of the gardening and butterfly obsession

I recently got married in May at Bok Tower Gardens and had it in my head that I wanted to release live butterflies, specifically, Florida native ones. After finding on the web that most of the butterflies available are monarchs, I stumbled upon a butterfly farm in Archer that seemed to know a lot about them and have many kind available. They also sold caterpillar eggs so that you could raise them on your own. I thought that sounded like such a great idea so I ordered my eggs, some host plants and zippered habitats.

I have spent the last few months buying butterfly and gardening books and learning as much as I can about it. To date, I have raised Black Swallowtails, Gulf Fritillaries, Polydamas Swallowtails, Sleepy Orange, Monarchs and one Giant Swallowtail. I soon found out the caterpillars are so tiny and cute when they emerge from their eggs, but a few weeks later they are devouring every last leaf on their host plants. I bought a nursery discount card and have spent lots of money and sweaty labor in the backyard, trying to perfect my garden.

The picture above is the very first start of the butterfly garden. I planted this in June approximately after we bought our new house. Every butterfly I have raised I have released right here in my backyard. I joined BAMONA to help me identify new species coming to the yard and found out on Facebook that my family up North is interested in other insects, so I started photographing spiders and insects along with my butterflies. The initial garden was planted with lantana, pentas, coneflower, dahlia, false nettle - this came with my caterpillar eggs, dwarf ruellia, plantain grass, passionflower vine, asclepias, dutchman's pipe vine and three roses.

Butterfly garden today. The three roses I bought from Jackson and Perkins and two of them died. One is still surviving. I am still working on the back wall, what I want to do with it that is, and I think I have settled on planting passionflower vines on trellises. There is one back there now, but it has been eaten by all the Gulf Fritillary caterpillars. It will grow back. We put in an adonidia palm. It said maximum height of 8 feet and this spot is so sunny, even the full sun flowers did not seem happy. I put in a dwarf cassia which has brought the Sleepy Orange butterflies and Sulphurs. I also added buddleia, cosmos, zinnias grown from seed which are the tallest flower in the garden now, coral honeysuckle, which I haven't planted in the ground yet and some blue salvia. I don't remember what the purple flowers in the pot are, I got them at Lowe's on clearance with hardly any blooms, some pruning and care and they are a profusion of purple. The butterflies don't care for them a whole lot but they are pretty for me to look at. Still a work in progress..but it makes me happy to look out my back window and see all the color..the butterflies flitting about is a bonus. Taking care of the caterpillars is tough work..they are eaten by wasps, stinkbugs and I think the ants eat their eggs.

I planted what I call my Summer garden adjacent to the butterfly garden. It is still growing but has vinca, canna, asian lily, melampodium, muhly grass, hibiscus, black eyed susan, coreopsis, dwarf ixora, and my favorite, gaillardia. I use the Better Homes and Gardens website for garden plans but I have to substitute Florida flowers quite often. The butterflies actually like this garden also, especially all the yellow ones. I have found as I plant, that I sometimes change my mind and dig up a plant to move it. I know they don't like this..so I don't do it too often..but I am not afraid I am going to mess up the landscape when I realize I can move something if I want to. I bought a lot of these flowers from Lowe's clearance, which is becoming my favorite place to get the flowers cheap, if I can find ones I want to buy. I have saved over half off on some flowers before. I also recently sprinkled a yellow gaillardia/daisy flower mix in the soil surrounding this garden..not sure how that will work out but I will find out in a month or so I suppose.

I will finish this post with some of my favorite pictures from my backyard. I have so many at this point, so it will be hard to pick out just a few.