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