I briefly contemplated taking the day off from posting, but then, as Don and I were sitting on the porch talking, we saw this:
Our first monarch! Actually, Don saw it first. Yesterday, I saw an eastern swallowtail, so I initially thought it had come back. But it was a monarch – feeding on the milkweed.
He was moving quickly, so I did the best I could with my iPhone.
We were so excited!
I spent at least three hours shooting water at whiteflies yesterday, after discovering they were everywhere in my garden – even in some of the potted plants – which is incredibly disheartening. I found an insecticidal soap – made by Safer – that is used in organic gardens (I happened to have it in my cupboard) and is meant for aphids and whiteflies. I’m planning to use it on some of the problem areas, but not everywhere. One of my fears with this kind of thing is that I’ll also kill beneficial insects and I hate doing that. I’ll definitely not use it on the milkweed, but will continue to spray water on the infestations, because I don’t want to kill the beginnings of a monarch. I’m going to do some more research in the meantime. I don’t want to see all my plants destroyed by these dang whiteflies. So I have to figure out how to eliminate them without huring other bugs and/or my plants.
Any thoughts?
Meanwhile, while I was standing near the side of the porch, I saw this:
And this:
The garden beds on the side of the house are exactly what I want: very densely planted, full of cottage garden flowers. Now, if I could get the other beds to do the same thing, I’d be a happy camper.
I think this bed does well because it’s partially shaded. So was the big garden bed until we lost that huge limb on the maple.
Anyway. The water battle with the whiteflies will continue today. It’s tedious. But I’m like a mom protecting her children. Don’t mess with my babies!
Happy Friday.
