Garden Pic Wednesday: Milkweed & Fall Garden
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, Sp...