New garden, new life.

The grey has been greened!

We're not only enjoying our new backyard digs, but the front yard brings us joy as well. It's a different vibe--the area is small and fairly close to the sidewalk, so we see passersby up close and personal, as it were, but the south-facing front yard can be really warm and inviting to sit in when the sun is out. The plants at the front of the house are mostly a repeat of what has been planted in the back; it's an entirely native plant garden. We've some potted succulents and a few milkweed plants--both broad and narrow-leaf varieties that may find their way into the ground at some point--dotting a small seating area one can easily access via our front door. 

The milkweeds came from the nursery replete with Monarch eggs (much to our surprise). There were four caterpillars that all reached maturity on those plants and three of them, we know for sure, emerged from their chrysalises, then spent a short bit of time in the garden pumping up their wings before flying away. It was such a treat to observe the process of their growth cycles. 

Here are a few snaps from the Monarch experience-

Two on one milkweed plant.

 

 The butterfly will soon emerge.

Nearly ready to fly southward.

When it was time, two of the Monarch caterpillars made their way from the milkweed to a buckwheat plant at the edge of the front garden wherein they made their chrysalises. One of the caterpillars made due with a bit of driftwood for his chrysalis and the fourth, well, we couldn't find him once he left the safety of his milkweed plant. We hope he was successful in making his transition!