Monarchs in the garden

Creating a garden for butterflies is not difficult. If you plant flowers, they will come.  You will get a wide assortment of butterflies, but which butterflies?    When you hear the word butterfly, which one do you picture?  In many cases it is the Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, which is native to North America.   The name Monarch was given to this butterfly in the late 1800’s because it is one of the largest of the butterflies and it rules over a large geographic area.  The Monarch is quite distinctive, with its bands of black surrounding the orange-stained glass pattern of its wings.  Even children can recognize and name the Monarch butterfly. 

Monarchs are unique in that they feed exclusively on plants in the Asclepius or milkweed family.  You can learn more about this butterfly here.  Common milkweed (Asclepius syriaca) can be found in the pastures and roadsides of much of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, and while it is a rather pedestrian-looking plant, it has an uncommonly rich fragrance.  I have left it to grow in areas of the perennial border because it is food for the Monarch butterfly caterpillar.  Each year  I check the plants hoping for sight of the vibrantlly colored caterpillars.  Each year, I have been disappointed.  This year, I added some annuals from the milkweed family to the garden.  One plant I added is Gomphocarpus physocarpus, commonly called ‘Fur Balls,’  which is a name much easier to pronounce and remember.  This plant has a delicate flower which the bees love, and its seed pods will generate much discussion.  Unusual in form, the seed pods are 2-inch-wide globes. When the ball is broken open, it reveals a traditional milkweed pod that contains the seeds. I started these plants from seeds I picked up at the garden center.  They have been slow to flower but when I checked them in late August I was excited to discover not one Monarch caterpillar, but five.   Five hungry, munching, striped caterpillars feeding on the plants.  Sacrifices must be made and I was willing to sacrifice flowers and foliage to the hungry caterpillars.  As you can see, this caterpillar is quite beautiful and eye-catching.  What I didn’t realize is that it is eye-catching not just to the gardener but perhaps to any hungry bird in the vicinity.  One by one the caterpillars fell victim to an unknown predator.  This gardener has learned yet another harsh lesson from nature.  Sometimes we have to nurture and protect the visitors to the garden.  I am hatching a plan for  protecting the next crop of caterpillars with a mini-screen house for their enjoyment.  I do hope they give me another chance. 

Do you have Monarchs or Monarch caterpillars in the garden?   If you haven’t seen them, you may want to plant some of the annual milkweeds for their dining pleasure.