Elizabeth's Secret Garden

    The focus of this blog entry is on what brings a garden alive; flowers, butterflies, and bees. I wanted to let the pictures speak for themselves. Pictures are worth a thousand words they say and though a thousand seems a bit extreme, I find truth in those words. Gardening is an act of love and if you were to ask me the secret to gardening I would tell you patience (lots of it) and the rest of it is perspiration. Nature will run its course. Bugs will dine on your favorite tomatoes you were just getting ready to harvest, but you know what it is all part of the journey. I was having to remind myself of this once again yesterday as my heart sank at all the summer pests I’m dealing with. If you plan on starting a garden don’t get discouraged, but be encouraged for there is always another season to try try again! Be blessed and enjoy a bountiful harvest. Isaiah 58:11 “The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your f...

  Have you ever wondered how something so tiny can turn into something so beautiful? A butterfly starts its journey in the humblest of ways. It starts out as a tiny egg that with the naked eye would be easily missed. In that egg resides the genetic make up for what will one day be a butterfly. We all have to start somewhere, right? Butterfly raising is a journey. It can be frustrating at times, but oh so delightful if you stick with it. Like a caterpillar, you devour books and information to care for your precious soon to be butterflies. The metamorphosis takes place as you apply your knowledge and then that knowledge allows all those once distant dreams to take flight. What came first the egg or the butterfly? Well, in this case it all starts with a fertilized egg from a mother butterfly. This female Gulf Fritillary is curling up her abdomen and depositing a egg on her host plant passionvine. For starts with butterfly gardening you are going to need flowers and lots of ...