Boy, were we surprised to see four Monarchs and a bunch of American Painted Ladies fluttering all over the Chrysanthemum.  I thought they had all migrated south by now.  Well, they probably have by NOW, but this was last week before the cold front.

 

We love seeing Monarchs in the garden.  They are so floaty, and pretty.  They have been feeding on zinnias, marigolds, and this chrysanthemum.   They don't use these plants for their caterpillars, though.  They lay their eggs in milkweed, Asclepias spp.  There is a huge patch of orange butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, down in the meadow near the gate.  It blooms June - September.  I have a good size plant in my garden just for the Monarchs, but the deer keep pruning it!!  Oh well.  Apparently, they are still reproducing, because we see them in the garden late summer and early fall.  

 

Keep looking, they may not ALL have flown south.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!