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The sight of a butterfly drinking nectar from a garden flower can evoke an appreciation of a simple and delicate beauty. However, we rarely stop to think about the less-than-picturesque life the butterfly had prior to that point.
This story recounts how a few garden intruders completed their transformation into butterflies, with a little help from the community.
The Discovery
One hot Saturday, I came across a brightly-colored caterpillar while weeding. Because it wasn’t on a plant, I left it alone, and soon afterward returned indoors to escape the heat.
Meanwhile, this caterpillar carried on… and called his buddies.
When I returned to weed that evening, I noticed something was wrong with the dill plants. ...
(Read the rest of the story here at Your Gardening Friend, a blog that helps "equip beginners with the necessary tools and know-how, the building blocks, to feel confident in starting and maintaining a garden, as well as the more experienced gardener with some gratifying and challenging projects." I've certainly learned quite a bit from this blog, and I'm sure you will enjoy it too!)
Some flowers can't help but bring a smile to your face.
I've found such an example in a flower I planted around my mailbox last year. Black-eyed Susans, otherwise known as Rudbeckia, are simple, showy, and easy to grow. They are native to the prairies of the United States. As a strategically planted wildflower, they will quickly brighten up any dull space on a property.
Black-eyed Susans love the sun. My mailbox gets sun all day long -- hot, sticky Carolina sunshine these days -- and the plants appear to love it. This variety is the Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' and these plants have grown large and healthy with very little maintenance. I fed them just once, this spring, and they've grown so tall that they've crowded out most weeds on their own. If they don't have adequate moisture, however, they quickly let me know by lowering their blooms and leaves. Daily watering is imperative, especially as the plants produce buds and blooms.
Black-eyed Susans attract bees, butterflies, and flying insects of all kinds.
They will steadily produce blooms to cheer the inside of a home as well. I recently cut my first blooms to bring indoors. Last year, I attempted to place them in a vase, but it just didn't quite look right. I tried again this year, and it still doesn't work. Somehow, in a fancy clear glass vase, the flowers look...uncomfortable. So I tried something a little different.
That's a bit better. Understated, unfussy, yet beautiful. I would expect nothing less from a prairie flower.
