In the garden

 Last year I planted a row of parsley in my little garden.  We went on vacation for a few weeks and when I returned it was gone.  The black swallowtail caterpillars had eaten it to the ground.  This year I planted three rows of parsley–just for the caterpillars.  And instead of the parsley, the butterfly laid her eggs on the dill. I usually don’t plant dill because it doesn’t last long in the heat and humidity of summer here in Florida.  Guess I’ll need to plant more next year.

The three little specs on the dill plant below are black swallowtail butterfly eggs.

I went out this morning to see if the caterpillars had changed to the next instar and they were all gone!  Perhaps the birds had a nice breakfast!

This ugly guy was on my green beans and after some research I found out it is a bean leaf roller which will eventually turn into a moth.  I should probably get rid of it since they eat the leaves of the green beans.  But I plant the vegetable garden for the caterpillars, too, so I’m just letting him continue his munching. 

This might be a gulf fritillary chyrsalis.  I did some research and they look like a dried leaf.  So I’m keeping an eye on it.  If it doesn’t go away in a few days, it really is a dried leaf! 

I’m back in the garden with my post today.  Do you know what a plumeria is?  Also frequently called a frangipangi.  Several friends in Houston grew them in their backyards and gave me cuttings.  Then my neighbor here gave me a couple plants.  Now I have many in my yard.  So easy to grow.  Just cut off a wayward branch and stick it in potting soil.  Actually you can just stick it in the ground and it will grow. 

They like lots of sun and fertilizer.  You are supposed to pull them out of the ground and store them in a sheltered spot over the winter.  They don’t even need watered during that dormant period.  Mine are so large now that I leave them in the ground all year round but always cut a few branches off and start new plants just in case we have a freeze and the big ones get wiped out. 

I gave one to a friend last week and forgot about giving her the no-fail care instructions.  Here they are:

And some more pics….

And here’s what they will look like in about a month….