Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: DAILY PICTURES #101, 3 by mellielong

mellielong wrote:
Whew! It is so hot outside! And the humidity! I went to the Butterfly Fest today but I could only stay for about 35 minutes because I'm sick (Mom gave me her cold) and it was so hot outside. There were only about eight vendors so it didn't take too long. After, Dad I went to Byrd's Orchids in Lakeland who is having a going out of business sale. While waiting in line to pay I almost passed out! Luckily, they had a little bench and I sat down until it was my turn to pay. Dad helped by carrying a lot of the orchids, too.

For plants I got a different kind of coreopsis, another bronze fennel to add to my two, some blanket flowers, and some Giant Milkweed. The vendor only had four Giant Milkweed for $5 apiece. They were decent sized plants, too. I bought two, and as I was wandering the butterfly garden taking photos, a woman came up to Dad and asked where he got them. I told her and she went and bought the other two. Dad said she was from the Botanical Gardens so maybe she was buying it for them. It's not an easy plant to find but it feeds the little piggies so well! Plus, if you can get it to bloom it's really pretty.

Here's some photos I did manage to take. First up is a Monarch. Second is a Black ST caterpillar I found. Third is a Spicebush up in a tree. They were flying around and that was as close as I could get to getting one to sit still. Fourth is a Polydamas ST. They were really on the move but I managed to get one stopped on a Mexican Sunflower. And lastly, also on the Mexican Sunflower was a Zebra Longwing.