Gulf Fritillary

When I see the term fritillary I think of fritters. There is absolutely no connection! There is no determining how my crazy mind and words work at times! I want to talk about a beautiful butterfly called the Gulf Fritillary. Many people mistake it for a Monarch. They are both brilliant orange and black; but upon closer inspection, you can see the difference.

In my backyard you can see these flying beauties all over dancing in the air. A tremendous air show throughout the day. The reason why is because of our passion vine. This vine is the "baby host" for the Gulf Fritillary. The Gulf Fritillary is immune to the poisons of the vine. The eggs are laid on the leaves and the hatched caterpillars feast on the vine. The caterpillars do not kill the vine; only strip the leaves. The eggs are yellow, ribbed, and oblong. The caterpillars are fabulous! They are orange and black striped with black spikes. A long armoured vehicle! I really like to see the babies...so tiny and such amazing detail. The catipillar sacks can be found hanging just about anywhere....fence, wall, trellis, you name it. They look like curled dried leaves once completed. You can still see the spikes on the catipillar on the left as he/she begins its sack.

The butterflies are stunning in color and style. The outer side of the wings are orange with black pin strips from the outer edge inwards. They have three silver dots near the head outlined in black. The underside of the wings are even more impressive. Oval silver markings that are very eye catching. That is one definite way of telling the difference between a Monarch and a Gulf Fritillary. The Monarch looks like a stained glass window of yellowish-orange and black.

When deciding which butterflies to attract to your backyard, consider getting the passion vine. You will have a continuing display of the Gulf Fritillary in your yard. Plus, the bonus of the tremendous flower of the passion vine. Orange on purple...WOW!

The Passionate Flower

The Passion Flower is a vine with a healthy appetite! Regardless of this one problem, it is a plant that is a beauty to behold and a definite conversation starter. People who see this flower for the first time is amazed at its beauty and incredible formation. Their first reaction may be "That ain't real!"

The Passion Flower has a unique legend surrounding its formation. A priest by the name of Jacomo Bosio was given a drawing of the flower from the New World. The flower became a representation of the passion of Christ upon the Cross. The five petals and five sepals represented the 10 faithful disciples (excluding Judas and Peter). The 72 filaments were the number of thorns in Jesus' cross. (some may say the whips) The five stamens are the number of wounds Jesus received and the three pistil stigmas the nails. The bloom lasts for one day. At night it will fold back into a cone and die. This represented Christ in the tomb.The flower was also known as the Flower of the Five Wounds. If you wish to read the full story, here is the address www.passiflora-uk.co.uk/passion-flower-legend.shtml.

The plant requires a place in which to climb to see its full beauty. A trellis or fence is perfect. Be sure and not plant close to your other flowers since this plant is quite invasive. The plant also produces the passion fruit. The fruit has a dark, purple, leathery-like outer skin that is very bitter. Underneath this skin is the edible fruit. The fruit yeilds about 1 teaspoon of pulp. It is good in seafood sauces, desserts, and beverages.

Many of God's creatures can be found on or near this plant. Bees, walking sticks, wasps, and butterflies can be found. It attracts ants that feed on the nectar produced by the leaves of the plant. This plant does contain poisions that longwing caterpillars are able to ingest. My next blog will be about the stunning gulf fritillary that uses the Passion Vine as its "baby" host.

Spot the walking stick on the flower?

Mexican Rose

The Mexican Rose is a beautiful perennial plant; however, it takes a special place for it to be at its best. It likes filtered morning sun. It can also tolerate filtered sun in the afternoon. I find that direct sunlight causes it to droop and become skanty-looking. Ugh deluxe!

My best plants grow under taller bushes and my wisteria. If you have such a place that needs something to grow...the Mexican Rose is your plant. The blooms are a brilliant pink that sparkle and shine. The bloom is actually about 30-50 small, star-like blooms that cluster. The plant has beautiful large leaves which allows it to be attractive even when it isn't in bloom. You do need to know that this plant mulitiplies by underground runners. Therefore, it can be very invasive! But, this allows you to share without any threat of losing your own beautiful bounty. I simply go throughout the area and discard unwanted small plants. If you wait too long, it is difficult to pull up by hand!

Lemon Lollipop

The lemon lollipop is one of my very favorite plants. I bought my first one several years ago at Calloways. I was stunned when I saw this plant. I left the store without buying it because of the high price. I just couldn't stand it and went back and bought it -- SUCKER! I never regretted that purchase. I wanted to save it through the winter and Dad suggested that we cut it back so that the plant didn't have to "work" at keeping too much alive. Unfortunately, it died.

From then on, I searched and searched for this plant. It was a four or five years later that I discovered this beautiful plant again. Roger and I went "flower" shopping. Needless to say, at every garden center I asked about the "lemon lollipop". No luck. We finally came across a man that suggested we go to Hare's." (located on Lancaster) If anybody has it, they will." Off we took, zipping to Hare's. When we drove into this unusual garden center (tables under a tree was about all), I spotted a worker with "THE PLANT". It looked like he was loading them up. I jumped out of the car, ran up to him, and said, "Can I have just one! Just one!" He looked at me like I was crazy, and said "You can have two." He probably thought I would attack him if he wasn't generous!

The lemon lollipop is of the shrimp plant family. The other "shrimps" do not stand straight upwards, they curl over. The flower is made up of brackets with cute white "flares" on the sides. The lemon lollipop does best in filtered sun. It can be planted in a pot or in the ground. Be sure that you keep it away from the hot afternoon sun. It will bless you with blooms until cold weather.

Enjoy your lollipop!

Phyllis

I AM BACK!!!!

Well, it has been a trial! No computer for a week! Couldn't check my mail, couldn't buy on e-bay, couldn't read my nieces' blogs...what does a person do! CALL JOSH...he's the man. At least he saved the day for me. Joshua is Danell's hubby...a truly great guy. He offered to fix my computer and he did just that. I got it back today.

It works perfectly! Thanks Josh.