I've been waiting (not very patiently) for this to bloom.  We've had this Asclepias for a few years, and this is the best it's ever looked.  Of course, the deer ate it the first year, right as it started blooming.  So we moved it inside the fence.  It's taken a while for it to grow back enough to bloom, but ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL!!!!

 

Asclepias tuberosa is in the milkweed family.  It grows wild nearly everywhere, but especially in the southern US.  You can see it in the meadow near the gate, and all along Moccasin Church Road.  Just look for splashes of pumpkin-orange in the field and along the roadside.  

 

It's aptly called Butterfly weed because monarchs, swallowtails and other butterflies are attracted to it when it's blooming.  Monarchs use milkweed as a host plant for their caterpillars.  They lay eggs on the underside of the leaves, and when the caterpillars hatch they eat the leaves.  That's why we planted it in our garden, to support  the monarchs.

 

After they bloom, the seed pods are quite distinctive.  When they open the silky seeds are carried on the wind, like fairies.  Another cool reason to have them in my garden.  

 

I'm so happy that it's finally in bloom, and I can share it with you.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!