For many, spring is here. If all chances of frosts are gone then you can start your own butterfly garden. You can have a garden anywhere. In the city, country, and even deserts. I have a garden in a big wooden box on wheels!
Butterfly gardens should include nectar plants to attract butterflies and host plants for the females to lay their eggs on. Pentas, Milkweeds, Zinnias, Lantana, Black-eyed Susan, and Milkweeds are all great plants for attracting butterflies. Once you have started attracting butterflies to your garden you will need host plants for them to lay eggs on. Each butterfly has a certain plant they only lay eggs on. If their host plant was all destroyed that butterfly would become extinct. For example if all the Milkweeds died so would the Monarchs.
Monarch's host plant Milkweed
These are Tropical Milkweeds. They are the host plant for Monarch caterpillars. Tropical Milkweeds are from Costa Rica, but grow well in Florida because of our warm weather. There are many different species of Milkweeds that Monarch caterpillars will eat. You can go to your local plant nursery to find which Milkweed grows best where you live.
Monarch Laying Eggs
On Friday a Female Monarch butterfly came to visit my garden. After feeling a leaf with it’s antennae to make sure the plant was a Milkweed, it laid an egg. Look inside the red circle to see the egg.
Nature Pictures
While at the horse farm I found a white moth resting on a tree. The moth is shaped like a heart. |  We waited several months for this orchid to get these three new flowers. |
Mann’s Moments ( Joshua )
We have made many animal friends at the horse farm. Bella the dog is one of them. Joshua was scared of the three dogs at first, but now they are best friends.
My Family Funnies
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Joshua went into the bathroom, but quickly came out yelling, “There’s a HUGE spider in the bathroom”! Apparently Joshua only saw it’s feet on the back side of the shower curtains. My dad was on the phone so that meant my mom had to kill the spider. She hates spiders! Joshua and my mom went crying through the house to the bathroom. When mom went to investigate She discovered it was only a friendly lizard not a vicious spider. Oh, the joys of living in Florida.
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