In Jo's Yard - 23 Variety Is the Spice of Life

The second week of September, Green Isle Gardens [http://www.greenislegardens.com/ ] arrives to work their magic once again.  By the time they are finished, I will have 30+ different Florida Native plants in my yard --a good variety to attract and support many different kinds native wildlife.  For trees, I have 

• two Flatwood Plums
• two Yaupon Hollies
• three Simpson Stoppers
• one Wild Lime

For shrubs, I have 

• Beautyberry
• Compact Firebush
• Privet Senna
• Walters Vibernum
• Florida Privet
• Coontie

For flowers – 

• red & pink Tropical Sage, Coral Honeysuckle, throw in the Muhly Grass
• pale pink Bee Balm and Swamp Milkweed
• lavender Wild Petunias, Stokes Aster, Purple Passion Vine
• yellow Rosinflower, Goldenaster, Chapman's Goldenrod
• yellow & orange Blanket Flower
• blue Twinflower, Swamp Twinflower, Sky Blue Cluster Vine
• white Rain Lilies and Scorpion-tail 

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                                                                     Newly planted backyard

In Jo's Yard - 22 Prepare for Phase 2

At last, it’s time to prepare for PHASE 2 – planting the back half of my lot.  Just like before, Green Isle Gardens arranges for Utilities to come mark the yard [http://www.greenislegardens.com/].  Orange, yellow, blue spray painted on top of the pine straw and little flags everywhere!  So excited – about to go 100% Florida Native!


                                         Utilities marked to prepare for next transformation!

In Jo's Yard - 21 Paper Wasp

The August 24, 2018 speaker at The Villages FNPS is Jonnie Dietz on Native Florida Pollinators. 

Then VOILA! On August 30^th, I find a solitary paper wasp building a little nest in the Flatwood Plum tree.  Paper wasps gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems then mix it with saliva to construct water resistant nests.  Paper wasps feed on nectar and other insects, including caterpillars, flies, and beetle larvae. Because they are a known pollinator and feed on known garden pests, paper wasps are often considered to be beneficial by gardeners.  



                           Paper wasp building a nest (photo from Wikipedia)

In Jo's Yard - 20 The Gulf Fritillary & The Passion Vine

In entry #15, I wrote that I found a Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar on my “bonus” Purple Passion Vine, just two weeks after my yard was planted. Gulf Fritillary Butterflies are categorized as “longwing” because their wings are elongated.  Gulf Fritillaries have several broods in the spring and summer.  A typical adult Gulf Fritillary is 2.5”-3.0”.  They are found in open, sunny areas like fields and urban gardens.  They are found in the southern US from Florida to California and south through Mexico.  Nectar plants used by the Gulf Fritillary include Lantana, Verbena, Aster, but its host plants are the Passion Vine and Passion Flower.  The egg stage lasts 4-8 days; the Caterpillar (larval) stage lasts 2-3 weeks, The Chrysalis (pupal) stage is 5-10 days and Adult butterfly stage lasts 2-4 weeks.  Gulf fritillaries have a chemical defense mechanism in which they release odorous chemicals in response to predator sightings.

Now, five weeks after my front yard “went native”, I discovered that one of the Gulf Fritillary caterpillars made its chrysalis on the trellis.  I check it every day.  What good fortune, that one morning when I am checking, there is the Gulf Fritillary butterfly, drying its wings at 8:15AM. 



                     Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar on my Passion Vine – it’s orange and has “spikes”

           Gulf Fritillary Chrysalis on my trellis                   Gulf Fritillary Butterfly drying its wings

     

In Jo's Yard - 19 Dragonfly Facts

It is 6 weeks since planting the front yard.  The blanket flowers are blooming like crazy – lots of dead-heading!  I also notice number of dragonflies around the yard!

Dragonfly facts: Dragonflies are insects because they have 6 legs, a thorax, a head and an abdomen.  There are over 5,000 species and they are found on every continent except Antarctica.  They are agile fliers – they can hover in one place, fly backwards, and they are some of the fastest flying insects in the world reaching speeds of over 30 mph.  When first hatched, the larva or nymphs live in the water for around a year.  Once they leave the water and begin to fly, they only live for around a month.  Dragonflies need to warm up in the sun during the morning before taking off and flying for most of the day.  They are predators eating mosquitos, cicadas, flies.  They often catch their prey in flight.  Fish, ducks, birds and water beetles eat dragonflies! 


                                                                       Blanket flower                                                 

Dragonfly on my Flatwood Plum tree