Peak Season to spot Butterflies in the Virginia Garden is July and August

Male Easter Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Buddelia

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Clerodendrum

I'm seeing more and more varieties of butterflies in my Charlottesville Virginia gardens. My blooming Mimosa tree is loaded with Eastern Tiger Striped Butterflies. So many that it looks like glitter reflecting in the tree. A record year for them in my garden on Forsythia Hill. I often wonder if it's because I continue to plant shrubs and flowers offering to them more places to dine and lay their eggs. Weather will also make annual numbers wax and wane. Butterflies will lay eggs near a specific food plant that caterpillars will consume or on dead leaves, grass stems or even on soil. I don't deadhead flowers or remove or burn dead leaves as they could harbor eggs!

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Hyssop

The female Eastern Tiger can be yellow or black. The male can only be yellow. The yellow female is accented with blue on the lower end near the tails.

Amazingly beautiful little Common Buckeye Butterfly

One of my favorite butterflies is the Common Buckeye. I don't see many in my garden but I did just spot one this week. In flight it's very hard to see the spots but you will see a little white line flashing if you focus on it. I love the mocha brown with orange detailing and those EYES!

I'm creating a Dwarf Clerodendrum patch

I have to mention a few standout plants that Butterflies love to visit. Of course the Buddelia is top on their list but the downfall with this plant is that no caterpillars like it as a food plant (a plant they eat when they hatch). My Clerodendrum is beloved by the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly and the flowers smell heavenly but shockingly the leaves are the worst smelling thing EVER. I find the  smaller butterflies and insects enjoying perennial herbs such as native Mountain Mint, Anise Hyssop, Fennel, and Catnip.

Giant Black Wasp on Mountain Mint

A larger insect that loves Mountain Mint is the Giant Black Wasp, check out those striking blue wings. This wasp not only likes the Mountain Mint nectar but is a bug killer, hauling bodies to its nest. I'm hoping stinkbugs and Japanese Beetles are on the top of their favorite list.

This weekend is the annual Albemarle County Butterfly Count! This will be my third year of participation. I hope to see something exciting that is not found in my garden.

Can't wait!

~ Rebecca

Heritage Harvest Festival Fun

As expected, the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello was glorious fun.  I wished that it was not so chilly and overcast but fortunately the rain held off. 

I arrived at 10 am and stayed until 3 pm.  There was so much to see and do. 

Beautiful vintage jars holding Bean seeds!

My first stop was at the Southern Exposure Seed Swap.  I used to collect hundreds of seed from my first garden back in Southwest Virginia so discovering that there are other people in the world that far surpass my seed collecting ability was quite exciting.  I was stunned at the number of seeds available for trading.  Hundreds, some neatly packaged and carefully labeled, others in jars ready for you to scoop.  The swap was quite organized, providing free seed packets and lots of pens for you to label your little treasures.  If you are a serious plant aficionado, you always want to know exactly what you are growing.  I noticed that first and foremost all seed was exactly identified.  I took a few packets of seeds to the swap but some people had bizillions of seed for trade - AMAZING.

A few of the Tomatoes to taste!

My next stop was the Tasting Tent.  It was great fun tasting TONS of heirloom Tomatoes, Watermelon, and even a Corn Bread made from ground Gourd seed (it was actually GOOD).  Herbal Teas made from Hibiscus and Holy Basil were quite unusual.  Homemade Marshmallows, and Dark Chocolate covered Candy Apples provided by Boars Head Inn, hit the spot.

What's prettier, the VIEW or the Artichoke plants?

After nibbling my way around the festival, I took my time strolling through Thomas Jefferson's vegetable garden.  Smelling herbs along the way such as Lavender, Rosemary, and Horehound while examining unusual climbing Beans, enormous Okra, and pretty Gourds.  Such a beautiful vista on top of the mountain looking out over the fairly undeveloped valley below.  Peaceful, relaxing, and oh so GREEN.  A gardeners paradise up in the clouds.

There was music, great food, free stuff, plants for sale, beautiful hand crafts, Children's Projects, Sheep Shearing, Bee Keeping, and the list goes on and on.  I did attend one serious lecture about GMO's (Genetically Modified Organism's) in our food.  It's quite worrisome to think that our food is forever altered by greed.  I was happy to discover that one of the speakers is the farm owner that supplies my Chicken Feed.  My chickens eat safer food than we do! 

An outstanding way to spend a Saturday among fellow gardeners.

-Rebecca

Heritage Harvest Festival

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello, "the gardening event of the year".

This is a festival to not miss.  Check out the schedule of some of the activities:

http://heritageharvestfestival.com/schedule-2011/.

There are too many to list but I'll be hanging around the Tasting Tent, swapping some seeds, and learning more about herbs.  See you there.

-Rebecca