Garden Pic Wednesday: Milkweed & Fall Garden

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 The Garden Pic today is my Mexican Milkweed. 
Monarch's have tried leaving eggs several times, but something snatched all the baby caterpillars away--probably wasps or Assassin bugs. (Though Assassin bugs are beneficial garden insects, they catch and eat anything.)
It also attracts aphids. A couple stems have them, though a heavy rain washes them off easily. But with aphids come Lady Bugs that love to dine on them! So I now I see Lady Bugs a bit more often in my garden.



Milkweed also attracts Spicebush Swallowtails. I saw one of these today! I was very excited. They are common throughout the Southeastern U.S. They like Zinnias, too.
They are black and blue, though the female is the bluest blue on the lower wings. So it was a female I saw.



This is my young fall Garden:
Just mulched it with newspaper and grass clippings this week. 4 Broccoli plants down the middle; Cabbage on either side, 3 each side.  
In the naked dirt are 3 half rows of seeds: Pad Choi, Spinach & Lettuce. Once bigger, I'll spread them over the whole row.
Finally on the far end the leafy things in the pink tomato cages are Bell Peppers.
Believe it or not, after doing nothing all summer, they are finally making peppers!
I think it's the summer heat. They usually do perform well in fall here.




And last, a beloved necklace I just repaired today:
I took a beading course several years ago just so I could repair necklaces or make my own, which I've done. This one is a repair. It's actually more teal colored then blue.
I love it's asymmetrical style. And it's sentimental because my deceased husband bought it for me and it's also a memento from a wonderful local drug store that went out of business here many years ago. That drug store had the most marvelous costume jewelry display: 4 glass cabinets with rotating display shelves loaded with delightful pieces. You pressed a button on top to make a new shelf rotate up. So old fashioned!
I think I put more brass bead spacers in then it had originally, but that just made it nicer.

Comments

Megan said…
That milkweed and swallowtail are just beautiful! Your garden looks lovely and that’s a beautifully repaired necklace! I do like the extra brass ☺️
Sep 19, 2021, 9:56:00 AM

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