Just a short "bonus" video from Rick this morning on Easy Native Pollinators. He's been guarding his dill and fennel patches in the front yard from the Perfectionistas' in the neighborhood (and inside his own house) all season long. The result is this somewhat seedy but extremely prolific butterfly habitat, a Motel 6 for Monarch Butterflies headed for Mexico in successive waves new hatchlings.
Rick also covers up his innate laziness in not getting a spring garden planted in a side bed by showing off his stand of Buckwheat. It grew from seed to super pollinator attractor in less than 3
weeks.
Tonia Moxley
Oh, no. I feel terrible. I had some of these Monarch larva on my parsley that went to seed. I thought they were something like tomato horn worms and were going to eat all my herbs. I evicted them.
Thanks to you, next year they get the run of the place.
@rhkennerly
You didn't know. And they would have eaten up your parsley, but parsley and monarchs have co-evolved for centuries. They kind of have the dance down. The parsley is eaten once, but doesn't re-leaf until the monarchs have moved on.
I plant a sacrificial patch for butterflies, tomato horn worms (and rabbits). When I find one on my "keeper" patch, I carry them over to the sacrificial plant. It's kind of a win-win all the way around.
@rhkennerly
I kept saying Monarchs, these are actually Black Swallow-Tail butterfly caterpillars. Monarchs breed on Milkweed, Black STs feed on the carrot family.
Dan Maxwell
Could you let me know how many drops of spearamint and lemon grass, one should put in sugar cakes. Thank you
Eric Gunnar Rochow
you could put one or two drops in, that's it. don't over do it.