Saturday, August 29, 2009

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.



13 comments:

Mama Pea said...

Wow, Ruthie, does your new landscaping ever look nice! Good job indeed.

And now I think even I could tell the male from the female monarch butterfly . . . due to your fine tutorial skills. Thanks!

Heidi said...

Good makeover... it helps the window planters on the upper windows stand out. I hadn't noticed them in the before picture.

It sure isn't easy to tell those butterflies apart even next to each other. You have to look, not just glance. Too bad they really don't give you the chance when they are out collecting nectar.

RuthieJ said...

Thanks Mama Pea. I'm still trying to decide if I want to start on the garden behind the garage yet this summer too. A woman's work is never done, don't you agree?

Thanks Heidi.
You're right, those differences on the monarchs are pretty subtle and most evident when they're seen from the "right side" plus much harder to see when they're out in the wild.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

The makeover is a WOWZER! You have answered a question that was in my mind about the monarchs too. I think I was told this some time ago and completely forgot. Thanks for the refresher.

Anonymous said...

Ruthie your garden makeover turned out better then I thought, it is beautiful. Next year it will even look better with all the plants blooming and the year after even better as everything will be spreading out. A job well done for sure, now sit back and enjoy it.

MOM

Kelly said...

Cool....I'm really just learning about butterflies, so this is very helpful! (Lovely new garden!!)

Gaelyn said...

The new garden even changes the look of the house. Nice job.

Thanks for the info on male vs female monarch. You must have more emerging in the ranch.

Jayne said...

Ruthie, it looks just wonderful! Bravo! :c) That is lots of hard work, I know.

Mary Lee said...

Really great job on that bed!

What is the pink flower the male is on?

RuthieJ said...

Thanks Lisa. Glad I could answer your monarch question too.

Thanks Mom. I'll definitely have to spend extra time watering it now. Good thing I've got those rain barrels!

Glad I could help Kelly. Hope you're enjoying learning about butterflies--isn't learning new things fun?

Thanks Gaelyn. Yes, 4 new monarchs in the last week: 2 males & 2 females.

Thanks Jayne. I know you can appreciate this more because of your own recent adventures in landscaping!

Thanks Mary. The pink flower is Joe Pye Weed.

Heather said...

Ruthie, you did such a lovely job with your garden makeover - it's truly beautiful. I've also enjoyed your monarch ranch/banding posts. Take care!

RuthieJ said...

Thanks Heather. I hope I can get back to being a better blogger and commenter soon.

Heather said...

You and me both! To better blogging!