Lots of Milkweed, Lots of Monarchs!

Very excited to see lots of monarch butterfly caterpillars - more than ever before - on the various milkweeds growing in the garden this year!

Monarch cats on Asclepias viridis (spider milkweed)

Monarch cat on Asclepias incarnata (rose milkweed)

Monarch cats on Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed... I didn't plant this one, it showed up last year, and this year has multiplied into three stems... I know it's got a somewhat aggressive reputation, but clearly it's a big hit with the monarch cats, and when it bloomed last year, I was bowled over by the incredible floral fragrance!)

All three of these milkweeds are native to Tennessee.

I hope to add two more to the garden eventually - A. purpurascens (purple milkweed) and A. tuberosa (butterflyweed).

What are your best butterfly host plants?

Two Shots from Bernheim Arboretum - Abelia and a Pink Mystery Plant

Happy October!

Last week, I shared a slew of photos from a trip I took to Yew Dell Botanic Garden back in late August.

Around that same time (September 1st) to be exact, I stopped at the Bernheim Arboretum, also in the Louisville vicinity, on my way back south toward Tennessee.

I didn't take nearly as many photos at Bernheim, but I did have two snaps that I wanted to share:

I saw a number of Glossy Abelia shrubs (Abelia x grandiflora) at Bernheim. Covered with small flowers, the Abelias were attracting several butterflies, including this gorgeous Monarch that kindly held still long enough to permit this photo.

OK, all you Horticultural Gurus, would you care to hazard a guess on this (unlabeled) plant with pretty pink flowers that clearly has a bumble bee fan base? I'm thinking it might be some sort of Japanese anemone?

What's Growing On #1 - Stones, Pollinator Condo, Christmas Camellias, Utah Sunset, Desert Edibles, Dried Hydrangeas, Indiana Persimmons, Monarch Hatching

Happy New Year! Hope that all your wishes - and resolutions - come true this year.

I've decided to experiment with a new type of post in 2013. My goal is to provide a monthly digest with links to some of my favorite gardening blog posts that I've read over the preceding month.

So without further adieu, here are some of the best garden blog posts that I came across in December 2012. I cherish the wisdom, insights and character of each of these great garden bloggers:

- Lee May's ode to the power of stone in his garden

- Clay and Limestone's how-to guide to building a pollinator condo

- Do camellias make the best Christmas gifts? Roses and Other Gardening joys thinks so!

- The Utah-sky-on-fire sunset over at High Altitude Gardening

- The cornucopia of vegetables and flowers brimming in the Ramblings From a Desert Garden. Wish I could get my nasturtiums to grow like that...

- Hydrangeas make lovely dried flower arrangements for Patina Moon

- Dave at Our Happy Acres did a great recap post on some of the star performers in his 2012 vegetable garden. Color me impressed (and just a little jealous). Persimmons in Indiana? Wow!

- I only recently discovered the Biodiverse Gardens blog, but based on the Best of Nature 2012 recap post, I'm planning to visit regularly in 2013

- The magical metamorphosis of a hatching Monarch butterfly at A Thinking Stomach


You can get this digest delivered right your inbox with an email subscription to Garden of Aaron.