There Were No Fences

Cloudless sulfur recently emerged  Perhaps the quickest change to any landscape is the appearance of butterflies. Even in suburban deserts such as I my landscape is surrounded by, butterflies find their way if their host plants are present. There is so much attention these days on creating pollinator gardens and wildflower meadows, but too many times these articles and posts fail to grasp the most important part - that butterflies do not need nectar sources nearly as much as they need a host plant to raise their young. When your total lifespan is likely to be less than a week as an adult, it is absolutely critical that you don't waste time producing the next generation.   Butterflies are especially adept at finding their host plants. It is an evolutionary necessity.  Plants emit volatile organic compounds (VOC's) into the air and adult female butterflies are drawn by these chemicals to locate their suitable larval host plants. They don't do this to find nectar as it ...

Cultivars of Native Florida Flame Azalea ( Rhododendron austrinum ) Today as I spend some time in my backyard landscape, the Florida flame azaleas ( Rhododendron austrinum ) I planted nearly 3 years ago are in bloom. They have grown a bit slower than I would like, but I am an impatient gardener. The truth is that they are doing about as well as they should be at this point in time. Perhaps someday, they will be shrubs that stand 6 feet tall, covered with these gorgeous blossoms, but today, they are merely 2 feet in height and I have to treasure the few flower clusters they produce. I wait each year for these flowers to arrive and they last just a week or two before they disappear again to be held on skinny stems with very little aesthetic appeal. Some might wonder at my zeal in growing them, but they are an integral part of my woodland's spring progression and I wouldn't trade them in for anything else that might be more lush. These also are cultivars - a word used almost as a ...