Monday Visitors & Plants

My friend Pam told me she saw some Monarch eggs on her butterfly weed plants.  I was hoping they weren't far behind for me.  I checked my plants this afternoon and sure enough, I found a Monarch caterpillar...

And I never get tired of seeing the honey bees with all the hardship they've faced in recent years.  I sure hope they can bounce back.  They are usually all over the Mexican Heather plants, but they've definitely taken a liking to the butterfly weed plants lately.

I usually always have some Milkweed Bugs hanging around.  Their vivid "warning" colors let birds and other predators know that eating them would be bad news for them.  They accumulate toxins from milkweed plants in their bodies.  They only aggravate me when I'm trying to collect the seeds from the Butterfly Weed plants like the pods shown in the next photo...

The wind will pick up the fluffy ends of each seed pod and send it out with the wind to propagate.

The Turk's Cap plants are going as strong as ever and keeping the hummingbirds happy along with the feeders.

All the rose plants are all blooming already after pruning them in late August.

I planted this Purple Spider Flower in early Summer and it has thrived.  Loves the heat and doesn't require a lot of watering.  I clipped and limb and rooted it in some potting soil and dirt mix and it took right off again.  It's my new favorite.  The plant is now a bush measuring about 36 inches wide and 48 inches tall.  The butterflies, moths, and bees love it.