Visitors looking over my garden in the fall, always ask what the strange-looking plant is that is forming large spiny pods. Growing in my veggie garden, because of the amount of space the plants take, my Gymnocarpus physocarpa, or "Hairy Balls" are a conversation starter. A Milkweed family member, another common name is Balloon Plant. …
Continue reading "Hairy Balls & Pollinators"
One of the most beautiful flowers, both in flower and seed pod, as well as great importance to wildlife, has been relegated to the roadside for years and virtually ignored. Asclepias syriaca, or common milkweed, is struggling and harder to find because wild areas are disappearing and roadsides are regularly mown. "Familiarity breeds contempt" is a common saying and …
Continue reading "Milkweed Chronicles"
Visitors looking over my garden in the fall, always ask what the strange-looking plant is that is forming large hairy pods. Growing in my veggie garden, because of the amount of space the plants take, my Gymnocarpus physocarpa, or "Hairy Balls" are a conversation starter. A Milkweed family member, another common name is Balloon Plant. …
Continue reading "Hairy Balls Milkweed"
Visitors looking over my garden in the fall, always ask what the strange-looking plant is that is forming large hairy pods. Growing in my veggie garden, because of the amount of space the plants take, my Gymnocarpus physocarpa, or "Hairy Balls" are a conversation starter. A Milkweed family member, another common name is Balloon Plant. …
Continue reading "“Hairy Balls”- A Different Kind of Milkweed"
Milkweed, an ignored plant of the road side, is making a comeback with gardeners and people concerned with the environment. A fascinating plant valuable to many insects, including the Monarch, is essential to providing food and shelter for many animals and insects.
Raising Monarchs inside to observe their incredible transformation is simple if you have a good supply of Milkweed and an easy to make enclosure made out of a tomato cage.
Raising Monarch Butterflies inside can be a fascinating activity for kids and adults. Milkweed and a few supplies is all you need to get started.
Rearing Monarchs in my house was one of my goals this year. But I needed a ready source of milkweed so I planted a milkweed and nectar meadow.
It's time to get out my crystal ball and find out whats coming up in the gardening world for 2016. Find out about the top 10 gardening trends that gardeners across the globe are following.
Why are monarch butterflies declining? There are lots of reasons, but the main one is loss of habitat of the common milkweed plant that used to grow everywhere. Learn how to set up your own Monarch Waystation habitat to help stem the decline of these beautiful and valuable butterflies.
