Tag Archives: abc wednesday

M is for Mating Monarchs

Posted by Lesley on April 14, 2010 2 comments

Luke and I did our usual stroll through Phillippi Estate today.  Since dogs aren’t normally allowed in the park, I always take full advantage of the fact that they’re allowed at the farmers market.  We go almost every Wednesday so when I locked the door and realized my camera was still inside, I shrugged and headed to the car.  I already had some m’s in mind for today…mums, mango, milkweed.  But then I spotted two Monarchs Mating on the hammock trail!  Nooooooooooooooooo!  Why didn’t I grab my camera???  To use a couple more M’s, the Mating Monarchs seemed to be Mocking Me More every extra Minute they remained Mounted like a Magnet in the trees!  This isn’t the first time YouTube has come to my rescue.  The video is a little long, but a couple of seconds will show you how the butterflies were perched in the trees.       

They flew twice to reposition, or one flew and the other hung on.  It reminded me of some research I came across when hatching Monarchs in the laundry room.  This is from The Last Monarch Butterfly: Conserving the Monarch Butterflies in a Brave New World by Phil Schappert.

Male Monarchs use their size and mass advantage to aggressively ‘attack’ and subdue other Monarchs, grappling in the air and falling to the ground, where they attempt to mate.  If successful in obtaining a copulation the male will carry the female to a shrub or tree to finish mating.  An intriguing side issue of this tactic is that smaller males are often the target of attacks by larger males and male-male interactions among Monarchs are relatively common.

Yikes!  If you didn’t know this was Lettuce Share, you might think I was talking about the behavior of prison inmates over sweet delicate butterflies!   

J is for Joseph’s Coat

Posted by Lesley on March 24, 2010 2 comments

What a great week for my Joseph’s Coat rose to be covered in buds…

…and blooms.

Joseph is a personal favorite because he’s the only one to give me a successful clone.  I may have mentioned in the past how I become obsessed with things, well one little container of rooting hormone was all it took.  I had three clippings for every rose bush, and our laundry room was once again transformed for the sake of my latest obsession.  The countertop was a sea of headless roses, and they all rooted!  I was so excited; it was just before Christmas, and there were enough to hand out to everyone we know.  Then they all died within a week of one another.  I was absolutely devastated and still have no idea what happened.  All I know is that one sole clipping survived – this Joseph’s Coat:

It’s not blooming right now, but it has in the past and is getting tall.  It’s up to the third rung on the ladder! 

I is for Ixora

Posted by Lesley on March 17, 2010 3 comments

This is the current state of my Ixora…

…and to my dismay, I have nothing else in my garden that begins with the letter “I”.  So this is what the Ixora should look like:

It wouldn’t actually be blooming, but at least it would have leaves.  Ixora is a summer bloomer that loves the heat.  Two days after the first cold spell and just about every leaf had dropped to the ground.  All but five anyway and those five leaves are still hanging on, no matter how brown and yellow. 

When I went out to take pictures this morning, the first three branches I grabbed snapped in my hands.  It wasn’t looking good until I spotted this…

…and then this!

Amongst this pile of nearly leafless and lifeless twigs, there is regrowth!  This gives me hope for the mango tree!    

F is for Ficus

Posted by Lesley on February 24, 2010 6 comments

My First Ficus

Ficus elastica 

I’ve had this ficus since it was a baby in a gallon pot.  It was originally planted outside but grew too fast and unruly to stay there.  Plants either die or flourish in the Florida heat.  Ficus plants fall into the latter category; they’ll grow into huge trees if given the chance.  I like them better this way - contained and low-maintenance.  I put it outside when we’re expecting a heavy rain.  The roots get a soak, the leaves get a shower, and done.   

So why is F for Ficus in the first place?  Because I’m participating in a blog project called ABC Wednesdays.  Each Wednesday I’ll be featuring an item in my garden from letters A to Z…actually F to Z.  This week is Round 6 – F - so I’m late…very late if you consider that the project is in its third year.  But better late than never – here is A to E: Ants, Butterflies, Crotons, Dahlias, and Echinacea-I’d normally refer to these as Purple coneflowers but E is a tough letter.  I better plant some Zinnias before I get to Z.