Mom's Garden | Monarch & Milkweed


This episode of Mom's Garden is brought to you by monarch butterflies and the milkweed plant! {hooray!}
When it comes to monarchs and milkweed, think: "If you plant it, they will come". 
{cue Kevin Costner, hee hee}
No, seriously tho. Plant some milkweed in your garden {if you're in the zone for it} and you'll have cool stripe-y caterpillars & orange butterflies in your yard almost instantly. Those little guys have a radar for milkweed like pregnant ladies to peanut butter & pickles. There's been a population explosion around Mom's Garden, so I thought I'd snap some pics and share with you the magical wonderland that is monarchs and milkweed... {cue sprinkley, fairy music}


The milkweed plant {genus: Asclepias} is aptly named because of the milky juice that comes out of stems when cut {which has many uses, one being a quick remedy for poison ivy! Learning new things here, people}. Monarch caterpillars eat milkweed which contain chemicals {cardiac glycosides} that, in turn, make the caterpillar super nasty-tasting and potentially poisonous to predators. One thing to note, because the caterpillars love this plant soooo much, they eat the heck out of them and leave them as leaf-less sticks. If they run out of leaves, they'll even eat the stems. So, don't get all angry if the plant isn't perfect and beautiful. Remember, it's there to make the monarchs big, fat and happy.

Look at this squee leeetle tiny guy! Inne cuteh?! {size comparison: check out the orange aphids next to him or the ant in the upper right}

{the photo at the start of this post is no trick of photoshop. Ain't it über cool? Sometimes the best stuff comes from lame accidents}
oh, and PS, while I was snapping away, I found lacewing eggs! Aren't they neat-o?! If you ever find a lacewing, don't kill it! They are probably one of the best bugs around your garden and eat lots of bad bugs, like aphid. We heart lacewings. {maybe I'll do a post on those soon too... cuz they're pretty}
UPDATE: Apparently, monarchs will hook themselves just about anywhere to make the transition from crawly critter to flutterby. From garden hoses to metal ladders. Keep your eyes peeled!
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