If you're in the Tucson area, the Tucson Botanical Gardens is having their first big butterfly event tomorrow.  Tickets are on sale. We've watched these little guys grow and they are quite the sight right now flying around. Here is the information....
http://www.tucsonbotanical.org/2010/10/butterfly-affaire-2010-a-wicked-evening/

Tickets for this event are a bit pricey....especially if you are on a teacher's salary:) This is essentially the kick off to the butterfly event.  The cost is much cheaper after Sunday.  They have a dinner and some fun planned and hence, I believe, the 150 dollar ticket price.  You may also find another beautiful butterfly garden at the Desert Museum while there is also an informal butterfly garden  at the Tohono Chul Park.  Either way, it's butterfly season here in Tucson!!:)  The difference at the Botanical Gardens is that they will have several varieties from South and Central America....like the morphos butterfly:)

 I can't stop taking pictures of these guys:)

Labels: Queen Butterfly, Tucson Botanical Garden

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The Queen Butterfly

Yesterday I went to visit a Tucson garden(winner for the best xeriscaped yard of 2008) for breakfast and it was really something special. The owner is leaving with her husband for Mexico to live and it was their last big hoohah before they left their lives....and garden behind in Tucson. We arrived at their home and were immediately surrounded by butterflies EVERYWHERE!!! It was like walking into a Walt Disney movie without the villains.  Okay that last line was cheesy, but it seriously was very cool to be surrounded by that many butterflies! So much to learn....here is a posting secret on how to attract the Queen Butterfly to your Southwestern Garden.

Euphorbia Trigona

Xeriscape winner 2008 in Tucson

I asked the owner how old her garden was and she told me that it was 7 years old. Depending on what part of the garden you're standing in at El Presidio, it will vary from 1 year to 3 years.  Seeing her garden after 7 years made me happy because I know that it all will come together.  Several things were interesting to note from this conversation.  I asked her if it would be hard to leave this garden when they move, and she responded, "It's just a garden.  I love this place, but I could take it or leave it." That response threw me off as I thought of my own circumstances.....after all the intimate time and energy you spend in a garden...and years of it!!!....you can just "take it or leave it"!? Maybe I will understand that statement down the road, but for now, I'll just store it in the back of my mind. She also said that she wouldn't mind putting in a pool. We all reacted to her as if she were nuts!!!  Pools in Tucson are a waste of water and a huge mess....not to mention all the critters that drown in this deadly trap!  If you had kids, maybe......but even then.....we have places for people to go and swim.  How many kids drown every year....every day...in this state because Mom or Dad or someone wasn't watching? Too many....plus so many people around here don't keep their pools clean and West Nile/mosquitos are out of control in Central Tucson.  I can't believe how green people let their pools get. Okay, I'm getting off topic:)......More pics....but still....a pool??!

Of course, there are a lot of butterfly plants out there, but one stood out on this visit....the Blue Mist Flower or Ageratum ....just read the sign below...these latin names get to be too much;) And there is another name that most people call it here in Tucson.....Greggi. This is what the owner told me that this plant was. The shot below is taken from the Tucson Botanical Gardens...and they have two varieties of this plant.  The vid shows the title Eupatorium Greggi on the tag.

Greggi/Gregg's Blue Mistflower

Apparently this greggi acts like an aphrodisiac for the Queen Butterfly.

It was funny because she views her garden the same way most people see their gardens....as a disaster.  And again, it's all in the eye of the beholder.....that's why it's good to get an outsider's perspective when in doubt.  She was extremely happy to hear from people that her garden was divine:)

A butterfly orgy

Here are several comments about this plant that I found online regarding the Blue Mist Flower or Greggi and it's invasive nature....the home owner of this particular garden also told me that it spreads......

"It's funny how plants habits change locally. I was butterfly gardening in Tucson in very lean soil with little watering. Eupatorium Greggi did very well, but I wouldn't call it invasive at all. On the other hand, it was one of the best butterfly attractors in the garden."  From Lisa

"I don't have any, but have been looking all over for them. I saw a patch of this at a local business and was extremely impressed because there were more queen butterflies on that one patch than I'd ever seen flocking to flowers before. They absolutely went crazy over it and it was such a beautiful sight, I vowed I would find some and plant it. At least give it a try, it may do better here in texas at attracting butterflies than elsewhere. I've learned and am still learning , that different plants do better in some states and areas than others, and obviously, butterflies in texas may like mistflower better than butterflies in another state. I think it has to do with soil pH, and climate, and a lot of other things."

So....butterfly gardening....hmmmm:)

Labels: Ageratum Corymbosum, Blue Mist Flower, eupatorium greggii, Euphorbia Trigona, Gregg's Blue mistflower, greggi, Queen Butterfly, Xeric Garden

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What a great morning!  I went over to one of Tucson's great local gems and did some cactus shopping.  Tohono Chul Park has so much for the desert gardener to see and it seems to me to be a place where the local aficionados gets together.  So while I wouldn't recommend it for a tourist on a tight schedule, I would say to a Tucsonan....go and get your desert on!!!

The cactus sale was incredible and had a huge variety of plants for the cactus and succulent garden.  I went on a mission and my goal was to purchase just 2 plants!!  The Crested and Totem Pole Cactus will have to wait until next time as I have chosen the Cereus and the Silver Torch.  They will add texture and color to the cactus garden on my window sill....it's hard just picking a couple as I had wanted to buy a WHOLE lot more:) Oh money...why couldn't you grow on trees?  The people and guides at the park were knowledgable and extremely helpful.

Locals take cacti for granted and do not appreciate the fact that we can grow these very unique plants in our gardens.  I love how they have their separate shapes and forms.....and when put with colorful pots or art, they really add a lot of design punch.

For the serious gardener, I would highly recommend this place for the design.  There is a restaurant here where you can relax and ponder about your own garden while viewing the desert landscape.  It's absolutely incredible.  The sale was called "Monsoon Madness" and I would say that the prices were fair compared to places like Home Depot or Lowe's.  They were about 10 dollars cheaper than the retail outlets, but I did my local duty and supported our growers here:)

Now about the fun....I just love Tucson.  There is so much to admire about this place even if it is 112 degrees out there!! I was on my way up to the cactus sale and a strange man was approaching me mumbling something like..."brracnack".  I didn't know if he was one of the special ones that walk this Earth or if he had been senile, but he kept repeating it softly.  It could also be that I am losing my hearing:) So I kept going thinking whatever...but I am very observant and found out rather quickly that he was saying "black snake". My heart started beating at the discovery.  I just watched the slinky critter cross my path taking his time. I have a lot of respect for snakes, but they do give me the heebie jeebies.  With that said, I do get angry at people who throw rocks at them or bring out the shovel to chop them up into little pieces. Why, as people, do we treat our natural friends so poorly?  So perhaps the man was freaking out and letting me know ....Or  aware of people's skiddish reactions..... Or letting me know quietly so that it didn't attract a million people....I'd like to think it's the latter and that this guy was just a sensitive genius.  I watched and smiled...what luck I had today!!  I also have several other pics and a movie to share...they have the most beautiful butterfly garden there. I saw a lot of the Queen Butterflies out and they resemble the Monarch, but apparently according to local fauna, they don't taste like Monarch:)

Finally in the landscape today, I discovered the name of the vine that is crawling up the ramada.  A person at Tohono Chul told me that it is a wild native grape vine....I'm not sure how the grapes will taste.

 I cracked more castor pods open and gathered more seeds.  I have a half a bucket left.  No wonder the seeds are so cheap at the store....I have definitely gotten my money back on these guys.  And lastly,  the datura has two buds!!  These plants have a beautiful bell shaped flower that hang down.  At night, they give off a sweet smelling fragrance that floats around our courtyard.  Until next time, happy gardening!!

The catepillar above is the Pipevine.

Labels: Cereus, Crested Cactus, Queen Butterfly, Silver Torch Cactus, Tohono Chul, Totem Cactus, Tucson gem

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