My caterpillar venture

Black swallowtail butterfly on the side of my fruit bowl.

The fennel was planted with one goal in mind - to try a new herb in my garden.
I have yet to use it in my cooking, despite it's similar taste to dill, but it ended up bringing another experience into my life - butterflies, specifically the caterpillars that lead to black swallowtail butterflies.

Fennel, parsley and some wild carrots are the natural foods of black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. I didn't realize this until I brought in some herbs for the dining room table as a centerpiece and realized there was a black and green striped hitchhiker on the fennel. I let it be to see what would happen, and as it grew, I investigated and learned that I could soon have a butterfly.


Sure enough, the caterpillar eventually made its way to the side of my old blue fruit bowl and formed a chrysalis there.

The black swallowtail caterpillar attached to my fruit bowl.

I was lucky enough to see the chrysalis formation and take video of it. Contrary to the concepts fed to me as I grew up, caterpillars do not spin a cocoon. At least not black swallowtail caterpillars. They bind themselves to an object in a sheltered area and shed their outer layer, which consists of the black and some clear bands. The green you see on the caterpillar is an underlayer that becomes the chrysalis.
The caterpillar writhes around until the chrysalis takes on an unusual shape that seemed awfully prehistoric. You can see photos from the butterfly's progress here: http://media.pottsmerc.com/2014/10/10/photos-watch-a-caterpillar-turn-into-a-black-swallowtail-butterfly/

I expected the caterpillar to overwinter, but instead it came out of its pupa one day before my boyfriend and I left on vacation. (Lucky for the butterfly since it would have been stuck inside my house with my cats for almost a week.)

Then, last week I noticed 10 more caterpillars on  my fennel. By the weekend there were only five, and I'm worried about cleaning up the leaf debris in my yard in case I end up damaging any chrysalis, so my boyfriend and I erected a tent around the fennel. But I have a sneaking suspicion they will crawl away under the burlap.
I just hope they survive the harsh winter.

Switching things up

I've decided keeping a visual map of my garden isn't really working in Blogger. The format just doesn't work. Instead, I'm moving the visual map to Pinterest where I can better organized and list what is there.
I'm turning this blog into more of a chronicle with my new outdoor space and all that goes on there.

Plants in my garden

A list of all the plants growing in my garden in 2014, with notes about problems.
I've decided to list them in order rather than alphabetically.

Pink coral bells, also known as Huechera. 

Good for all light levels.  Grows well in well-drained soil.

Perennial

Vinca vine

Perennial

Coleus
Annual

Japanese Wind Grass
Supposed to be shade loving, but is growing weakly.

Stonecrop ground cover.
Stays green in winter, spreads well.

Lungwort
Has issues with powder mold that are easily resolved by spraying it regularly with neem oil.

Miniature rose bush that was here when we moved in.
Blooms best when deadheaded. Gets scraggly in late summer. Not sure why it is so spindly.

Astilbe
Two were planted behind the rose bush but I'm thinking of moving them to the area where all my other Astilbe are located.
One bloomed, one did not.
Planted this spring.

Ferns

Lily of the Valley

Pachysandra

Toad Lilies
Late bloomers. Would love more of these.

Lilies (about 7)

Phlox
Both pink and white

Irises
These were here when I moved in, but have never bloomed. Not sure why.

Blue Fescue grass
Winters well

Elephant Ears
Have to be taken up in fall

Scotch Broom
Invasive in some areas. We have a yellow and an orange. Very pretty in the spring but rather weedy looking otherwise.

Dune grass

Coleus
Annual. Grows well into the fall, but doesn't come back.

Holly Hock
Zebra striped purple. Gets leggy due to low light levels but still blooming as of mid-October. Hoping it reseeds itself next year.

By the garage

Nasturtiums by the garage door.

It's full sun but seems to be doing fine with only morning sun.
Fun Fact: The flowers and leaves are edible.
Grows easily from seed.
It's an annual. Won't be back next year unless I collect the seeds.
Variety: variegatus

Why this blog?

Come take a virtual walk in my garden.

I started this site to keep track of my plants after initially tearing out some by accident in the spring when I failed to recognize they weren't weeds.

My garden is not large but I prefer to keep it neat, and varied, with an increased focus on pollinator friendly species and native plants; though forgive me for liking a few unusual, exotic types.

My garden is mainly shade and I am experimenting with different varieties of part shade plants to see how well they take to limited sun.

Feel free to share your tips in the comments section.

This is my first ground garden. I formerly was restricted to gardening in containers at my old digs.