Monday, September 26, 2011

A Meal Fit for a King

Several hungry Monarchs stopped by my garden today for a bite to eat...er drink, I guess I should say.


They had a several course meal starting with an appetizer of Lantana Camara



Then they moved on to sample the Salvia farinacea






They took a nibble of orange Cosmos,  
but didn't stay long enough for me to get a picture.


Then they washed it all down with a big ol' gulp of their favorite, Mexican Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica)






The Monarchs are making their annual migration down to Mexico; and Grapevine, Texas, and thankfully my garden were on their flight path today :-) 


  Click here to learn more about the annual journey of the "King of Butterflies."

Heads up, South Texas, the winged wonders are on their way down.  What's on the menu in your garden?

Toni :-)

17 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I am sure they are thankful for gardens like yours especially on their long journey south! Gorgeous photos!

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  2. A lovely post... good to see your garden doing so well after this summer heat ... Larry

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  3. Isn't is wonderful to see the Monarchs after the long hot summer we have had? Your garden looks beautiful...I'm sure it is a favorite stop for butterflies.

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  4. How exciting to see the monarchs come through your garden. I'm certain word gets around in the butterfly world that your garden has so many fine dishes being served up. Your garden looks fabulous!

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  5. Motylki upatrzyły sobie Twój ogród, z pewnością rosną w nim kwiaty, które je przyciągają. Śliczne zdjęcia motyli na tle różnych kwiatów. Pozdrawiam

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  6. The Monarch/Salvia shots are magical because of your talents and the complimentary colors of blue and orange. Simply magical!

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  7. Dear Toni,
    I have had the visitors, too. Not in the numbers you have. I am glad you have the Mexican Milkweed for their larvae. Your garden has to be an oasis for them. Beautiful photographs!
    Jeanette

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  8. Your gardens are truly gorgeous! And I'm so glad that they're looking that good in the midst of the Texas drought. As I watch the monarchs heading south this fall, it worries me to know that they have to find food from here (south central Kansas) to the coast, all of it so badly impacted by the drought this year. Your gardens will be a perfect waystation for them!

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  9. Oh, joy of joys! I've seen a few but our temps have still been so hot. We're suppose to cool off here in the next couple of days and I'm hoping to see more of them.

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  10. Your garden is drop dead gorgeous right now. And the monarch against the blue is pitch perfect. Nice job.

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  11. I had a lot less monarchs this year than normal but I did see one the other day and have had about a dozen caterpillars since August. I'm so glad you ordered the naked lady lilies!! I've never grown them but have several spots in the hot, dry part of my front garden waiting for their arrival!! I'd love to see an article called Naked Lady Landscaping: How to Beat the Heat. :o)

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  12. Don't you just love when the monarchs visit your garden? We haven't seen as many this year, and the ones we do see do not want their picture taken!

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  13. I really was not expecting many monarchs this year because of the drought, but my prairie has been full of them for the last couple of weeks. Glad to see you had some visitors too. I finally got around to posting some pictures and I included a list of plants to AVOID if you DON'T want butterflies.

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  14. Thanks for stopping by my blog a while back. I have been out of the blogging world a bit, but have so enjoyed visiting you and reading about your garden. Beautiful pictures! I have had a monarch loving my garden these past few days..and found caterpillars on the milkweed! Hope they survived the rain ok! (But, horray for the rain!)

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  15. Say many in San Angelo last weekend. Actually say them all the way from Kansas to Texas. Noticed the new hatches today, sunning. Had 2" of rain last night. Praise God.

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  16. WAY cool! Both the bevy of Monarchs AND your garden that they came to visit.

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