I know your wondering what those passion vines look like now
they have so completely taken over the arbor
that you can hardly walk through
hard to believe this was one small plant in the spring
the butterflies have been all over it
all summer
and they laid they eggs
that turned into caterpillars that began to eat the plant
I was not too happy about this and killed them all
then I realized that the caterpillars would turn into the beautiful butterflies
that I saw on the plants
I did some research and they are the Gulf Fritillary
sometimes called the Passion Butterfly
(guess why)
here is a good photo
they are common butterflies in most of the southern states, Mexico
and parts of South America
I decided the plant was healthy enough to nurture a few caterpillars
there seems to be 2 kinds, one with short black hairs
and the one in the front with longer thicker hairs
the fence is where they go to start their metamorphosis
first they look like themselves but they do not move for days
then they attach on one end and the other end curls up
they start to look whiter
finally they look like this for a few days
and then it is empty
I haven't been lucky enough to see a butterfly emerge
and it is really hard for me to let them eat my plant...
so I planted another one, this is the traditional purple one
by next year, this will be covered in vines
(marigolds in front)
there are many kinds of insects that undergo metamorphosis
we have another one under the bird of paradise
this one ate it's way around the plant
and stuck pieces of the leaf over itself
it is very large
see it in there?
it has been there just like that for over a month
here is another plant that has taken over on the side fence
it too started out as a little plant this spring
it has totally bent it's little arbor over
and I am working on a plan to prop it up
I fell for this plant in Mexico
and I have always loved it for it's color
a wonderful periwinkle blue
can anyone tell me it's name? I can never remember
the only thing is, it is on the south property line
and so the flowers face away from us in the yard
can't have everything
canna and mexican petunias
the hibiscus do really well here
though right now is giant grasshopper time and they love these plants
I have to catch them with my gloves on and carry them way down the street
they are too big to kill
yuck
this is a native hibiscus, the flowers don't open any more than this
we got this plant the first fall we were here, it made a couple flowers
and froze the first winter
(it was like the coldest it had been in 100 years or something)
whatever
the next year it had to come back and then it froze again last winter
this year it took off and has been blooming all fall
we are predicted to have a warmer than normal winter this year
I hope so!
this pot of impatiens has been blooming since early spring!
it is gorgeous when the sun hits it, the leaves are iridescent
last but very important
Willi's veggie garden, we have been eating lots of greens
we are starting to understand how to garden here
it is very different
first the soil - there is none, it's sand
luckily for many reasons we have huge oak trees in the yard
we rake this years leaves into big piles on the back lot
and we mulch with last years leaves - it's perfect
the second reason it is so darn difficult to garden in the tropics - the bugs
they eat anything and everything
I have to constantly move pots to check for ant nests
aphids love hibiscus and eat the flowers off before they open
and something lives in the soil that kills impatiens like right away
I am not big on chemicals so the most I use is soap on the aphids
needless to say I lose a few things
oh but I do poison the fire ants, oh yeah
they do not eat the plants, they eat us!
and did I tell you that I have a flaming case of poison ivy?
I have it everywhere
I grew up in poison ivy territory and don't remember it being too bad
on the west coast I got introduced to poison oak and I got that bad
I had heard it was down here
and man I got it bad.
someone asked me once what I thought the reason was for plants like this to be on the planet
I think it is to teach us awareness
after my first encounter with poison oak I got so I could recognize it from a great distance
in all it's seasonal dresses
it yells - wake up!
so poison ivy, I'm on to you now too
