Garden Makeover Completed & Monarch Question Answered

I finally finished the front garden makeover yesterday afternoon. We had to make another run for cypress mulch on Thursday evening, so that delayed the completion, but I still managed to get the job done in less than a week.

BEFORE

AFTER!

(Sophie likes it too!)

Here's how it looks if you're walking up to the front door.

That's a good job done! It's nice to get rid of the weeds and actually be able to see out of those windows again! If the plants all make it through the winter, this garden should look really nice next spring. If I want to add some flowers in pots for more color next spring and summer, there should be enough room between the plants for doing that too.

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In the comments on my post about monarch tagging, Danielle asked how I tell the males from the females and here are a couple pictures to show you what to look for.

This is a female

And this is a male -- notice the differences??
There are 2 main ones: the black wing veins on the male are thinner than those of the female and the male has those 2 little swollen pouch spots on his hindwings.