~ Butterfly Kisses and Wings of Change ~

Heaven's Walk garden has been just filled with monarch butterflies lately.

Drifting

floating

soaring over my head

as I stand mesmorized by their beauty.

The butterfly bushes are heavy with fragrant white blooms, and the butterflies land with airless effort to take in the sweet nectar before they begin their long trip south.

 The monarch goes through a complete metamorphosis from egg, caterpillar, pupa, and adult. Did you know that when they migrate (which in SE lower Michigan is from September 6-19) they must navigate to a place they've never been to before, because they are three or more generations removed from the monarchs that overwintered in Mexico during the previous winter?

Amazing.

Monarch caterpillar

Traveling in a southwest  direction, flying roughly 50 miles per day at 12mph and fluttering their wings at 300-720 times per minute, they encounter storms, predators, human's cars, and simple fatigue.  Those that make it follow the gulf of Mexico in a continuous stream toward their final destination in the Oyamel forests in Central Mexico.  

As many as 300 million spend their winters there.

It must truly be a sight to behold...

It amazes me that these delicate creatures of beauty, who weigh only about a half a gram,

fight their way over 3100 miles to their overwintering home in the high-altitude fir forests of the Transvolcanic Range of Mexico.

They roost in clusters on the oyamel trees, which unfortunately, are valuable lumber sources which provide local people sources of income.  Even here in the states, milkweed, the monarchs' host plant, is a concern. Farmers consider it a nuisance to crops and often use herbicides to control it. More roadsides are being planted with grass instead of being allowed to overgrow with wildflowers and weeds.  In Canada, it's been declared a noxious weed. As a result, the butterflies have fewer places in the wild to find nectar and lay eggs. It's been reported that this year's migration is 100 million less than last year.

Heartbreaking....

So, it's up to us to come to the aid of God's wings of beauty.
We can do that by stopping the destruction of their precious habitat. 

Plant some milkweed! 

Canada has already taken steps to protect the summer homes of monarchs.  Hundreds of thousands of them spend their summers along the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie in southern Quebec.  Three sites along these lakes have been designated as butterfly reserves.  

Planting milkweed is very easy, and there are many groups and websites out there willing to send them to you for free or a very small donation, or check with your local nursery. It takes a minimum of 60 days from seed to a plant large enough to support caterpillars' food needs.

 If you live in a northern climate and see snow, then request the 'Speciosia' variety of milkweed seed, as it survives the winters cold. You can save your seeds till next year and start them early inside, then transplant outside when the weather warms up. Your goal should be to create a refuge of lush milkweed for the migrating Monarch. Once you have a good supply of milkweed, you can also purchase eggs, small caterpillars or chrysalis and ensure there are butterflies in your area immediately. Just one mating couple and a good supply of milkweed could produce many healthy fluttering friends for your community. Check with your local plant nurseries if you have questions about when to plant seeds or when to buy plants or transplant.

Funniest thing....I never meant for this post to be an ad for "Save the Monarchs".  But the more time I spent out in the garden with them this week, I realized how happy and calm my spirit was when I was surrounded by them.  I wanted them to get to know me, to feel safe and secure in my yard.
I wanted them to know that Heaven's Walk acreage was a safe haven for them.

I knew that I wanted to do something to ensure they would bless my garden again next year.

And I wanted more butterfly kisses...

So....I'm planting milkweed.

And lots of it.

Will you help by planting some, too?

It's the least we can do for these little miracles that bless us in the garden....

{ Hugs and butterfly kisses }

~ laurie

 (Check out "Monarch Butterly Journey North"

for some interesting facts on monarchs -

and "Live Monarch" tells you how to grow milkweed!)