CathyA
11-9-13, 10:44am
Its funny (and sad), that when people in town have these in their yards, they think they are good-for-nothing weeds. Some people are even told to get rid of them by their neighborhood associations.
But so far, out here in the country, we have the "luxury" of letting nature do its thing. With such a decline in the monarch butterfly population, its good to feel like we're doing something to help. (Monarchs use the milkweed plant as a "host" plant, to lay their eggs on and feed their caterpillars).
I let the volunteers grow in my garden this year (besides out in the fields), and the ones in the garden grew to about 9' tall! When they went to seed, I threw the pods out in the fields.
Besides having an important place in nature, they are just plain beautiful.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f129/Catherine50/IMG_2302sharpened_zps580ac7a5.jpg
But so far, out here in the country, we have the "luxury" of letting nature do its thing. With such a decline in the monarch butterfly population, its good to feel like we're doing something to help. (Monarchs use the milkweed plant as a "host" plant, to lay their eggs on and feed their caterpillars).
I let the volunteers grow in my garden this year (besides out in the fields), and the ones in the garden grew to about 9' tall! When they went to seed, I threw the pods out in the fields.
Besides having an important place in nature, they are just plain beautiful.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f129/Catherine50/IMG_2302sharpened_zps580ac7a5.jpg