It's always satisfying to return to My Florida Backyard, though. Before we even began to unpack, I was out the back door into the gardens, checking to see what had happened while we were gone...
The cleome began to bloom:
The little paw paw continued to grow like crazy:
And the first generation of monarch caterpillars took over the milkweed!
We never travel without checking into native plant nurseries along the way, and this time we discovered three new and great ones. We brought home a variety of new native plants, including wild lime, rosinweed, pennyroyal, yellowtop, aster, wild petunia, and sea lavender. Over the next few days, as we plant our new residents, I'll be posting more information on both the plants and the nurseries where we found them.
Visiting other areas can be a real inspiration for gardeners. Many neighborhoods in the Fort Myers area show a strong commitment to Florida-Friendly and wildlife gardening, and we came home with some new ideas and a lot of enthusiasm for continuing the work we've done so far in My Florida Backyard. Vacation's over - time to get back to work!
Hi, other FloridaGirl! Great photos of the monarch caterpillar! Love that photo also of Edison's backyard. I've been wanting to go there for years, and I really don't live that far.
ReplyDeleteThe Edison gardens are worth the trip, although you don't get to see all that much of the homes themselves. Still, I'll go just about anywhere for a giant banyan tree!
ReplyDeleteI'll be looking forward to more info on those native plants and nurseries. Sounds like a fun trip. Your monarch pics are great. I have Gulf Frits on the Passion Vine but no Monarchs on the Milkweed yet.
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