Starting Flower Seeds, The Monarchs are Back, New Plants and Checking in on my Milkweed Garden

Hello everyone, this video is full of everything butterfly gardening that I have worked on over the last day. Such as, starting lots of zinnia seeds, planting more swamp milkweed, taking care of adorable caterpillars, and plans for the new plants my husband brought home for me. Plus there are lots of updates I have to share, including some sad news. Spend the entire video in my garden with me surrounded by flowers and butterflies. Thank you so much for all your support and watching all of my videos and for posting comments. I love hearing from you. I hope you enjoy this video.
My hope for my channel is that it inspires many people to plant a butterfly garden so we can get more habitat back on our planet and give these beautiful creatures a place to rest their wings, lay their eggs and find nutrient rich nectar. I also hope that you get to learn more about different caterpillars and butterflies that live in your area so that you can design a butterfly garden so they will visit your garden. It’s a beautiful thing.
This video would likely be enjoyed by gardening enthusiasts, nature lovers and people who love butterflies.
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[@yesidtac7863]

Mucha vida entre las flores

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you 🩵🌳🦋🩵🌳🦋🩵🌳🦋🩵🌳🦋🩵🌳🦋🩵🌳🦋🩵🌳🦋🩵🌳🦋

[@gailstorm8622]

My condolences on Cocoa. 😢 May your caterpillars and butterflies bring you comfort, Susan. 🙏🦋

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Awe, thank you so much. She lived a good long life. Would have turned 14 in September, that’s pretty good for a lab.

[@lepidlover0557]

Aww, so sorry about Cocoa! May she rest in peace.Im sure she's digging all the holes and catching all the frisbees she wants right now in the afterlife! 🙏🙏🙏♥️ Happy to know that your face was the last thing she seen before she passed. She was loved and she knew it ♥️♥️♥️

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you so much, such a sweet sentiment 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵

[@pc1189]

So sad about your loss Susan hard to say goodbye to fur babies making a garden space as a memory is a beautiful gesture. Glad you are finding something positive to focus on. Will be picking up some of your pentas 🌺💓

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you!!! I will let you know when I am delivering the Pentas.

[@cheridefries4980]

Susan, I am so sorry to hear about your sweet Cocoa. ❤️ That is always so hard to do. But what a tribute, to plant the Cocoa Plum in his honor. 🐕🐾 Your garden is beautiful and so full of life. I love it. Mine is finally starting to see polydamas, eastern blacks, and monarch caterpillars. ❤🐛🦋

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you! Isn’t it great to see the increase in butterfly activity. I feel like spring is finally here. 😉😉😉

[@adventureswithbjthepresa]

I am so sorry for the loss of your sweet Coco. What a lovely tribute to her ❤

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you so much🩵🪴🩵🪴🩵🪴

[@larrya3989]

❤❤

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

🦋🦋

[@FlamencoCarol]

I am so sorry about your sweet Cocoa! Losing our pups is the worst. Crying right now with you. Discovered your channel a little while back and subscribed… I love you and your gardens so much! I watch you every night. I live in NC and have the tiniest little butterfly garden since Covid and I have learned a lot in just a few years. Love watching you, having a garden like yours would be a dream! I saw my first ever Spicebush Swallowtail in my garden 2 days ago… amazing…. Take good care ❤️

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Oh, this is so fabulous!!! You really made my day with this comment. Thank you so much. 🩵🦋🩵🦋🩵🦋🩵🦋

[@FlamencoCarol]

@@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan❤

[@tanis1111]

Oh my friend I'm so sorry about CoCo I certainly understand. Much love to all. I can not believe how cool all those caterpillars are! My goodness so many different ones. It's like a book. Incredible. All so different and unique. Wow. Thanks for that. everything is looking really nice. Beautiful ending with that fantastic swallowtail. Just beautiful!

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you a hundred times over. I love the emoji😍😍😍 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@chalkitup4827]

I'm so sorry to hear about sweet Cocoa. Animal lovers know. I just lost my dear Rusty kitty last month. My heart still hurts. I love your Cocoplum garden memorial. I want to do one for Rusty too. 😿🦮💙

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you. It is hard to lose our furry family members. 🩵🩵🩵

[@Elizabeth-And-Her-FL-Garden]

So sorry to hear about your sweet Cocoa. We are with ours until their last breath as well and it's gut wrenching ~ even when we know it's time. You'll love your cocoa plum. I have one full of beautiful purple fruits right now. Birds nibble on them, which is why I planted it. 🙂

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you so much. I look forward to watching my Cocoplum grow. 🩵🩵🩵

[@nolongerdreaming7443]

So very sorry to hear about your loss Susan. Just wanted to let you know I am watching from Australia and I absolutely love your videos!! I have learnt so much, and can adapt what you do to suit our environment - wish we had your rainfall though!! We have lots of monarchs here and many other species. I am so happy to be able to plant plants for them to use as hosts and to feed on :) I tap the like button every time xx Fiona

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you so much for this comment. It makes me so happy to see that you enjoy my channel!!🩵🩵🩵. Posts like this keep me going, I love it!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🐛🐛🐛

[@paultheplantparent2702]

I’m pretty sure that Spicebush was a female. Males have a more clouded green patch on the hind wings - this one has blue. Also, they tend to lay their eggs underneath the leaves, so check under your sassafras and spicebush leaves. 😃😃😃🦋🦋🦋. Hoping for some babies. ❤

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Really!!!??? You know I will be searching for eggs tomorrow! I hope you are right. 🩵🩵🩵🦋🦋🦋

[@paultheplantparent2702]

@@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan Yay!!!!! Definitely give it a check. They’re a pretty pearl color - whitish, under the leaves. Can’t wait to hear if you find any. I used to walk down to an empty lot and watch them oviposit….every time it was underneath. I was used to the Tigers, laying on the top surface. I had no idea. I’m excited to hear if you find any. 😍😍😍. Love, love, love your channel so much!!!!!!!

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Well, I didn’t find eggs, but I did find one caterpillar!!!! While I was filming too! I spied that little tell tale folded leaf in the corner of my eye and, woohoo, there was a baby caterpillar. I couldn’t believe it. You’ll see in my next video. 🩵🩵🩵🦋🦋🦋

[@paultheplantparent2702]

@@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan yayayay!!!! Oh that’s exciting. Such pretty butterflies. 😃😃😃

[@kathleenlemire]

So sorry!😢

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you 🩵🦋💛🦋🩵🦋💛🦋🩵🦋💛🦋🩵🦋💛

[@paultheplantparent2702]

So sorry about Cocoa. It’s so hard!!! I lost my little girl a couple of years ago. Still feeling it. ❤️. I wanted to ask you - do you plant falsenettle in your garden? I love red admirals and anglewings- they’ll flock to it. The cats make a little leaf nest too, like the sulphurs. 👍🏼 🦋

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you so much. I do have false nettle and no red Admirals. I have only seen one in my garden this year. I’m not giving up though…maybe I need more false nettle.

[@katiecannon8186]

It would be great if you propagated some Pipevine 😊 I’ll have to call The Nectary Thursday to see if they still have some. Joyful Butterfly sold out before I could order one.

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

My husband said that The Nectary had a fabulous supply of plants, and there were Wooly Dutchman’s Pipevine left (he didn’t buy them all)😂😂. Trying to propagate them is on my to do list. 🩵🩵🩵

[@katiecannon8186]

@@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan You’re the best.

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

🩵🩵🩵

[@crochetinghousemouse]

Sent picture

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Where did you send it?

[@raestrength1852]

I’m so sorry to hear about Cocoa. I did want to warn you about the Burpee trays with the pop out bottoms. They don’t last very long, maybe 3 years if you don’t leave them out side all of the time. At $12 each, they have been a regret for me. Great idea, but poorly executed.

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you!!🩵🩵🩵

[@Chopperdoll]

I’m sorry to hear about your dog. 💔

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Thank you❤️❤️❤️

[@LisaWalker-u7i]

Hello beautiful butterfly woman! My Lowes store has big pots of normal (smaller than the heritage variety) sized red pentas reduced for sale. I live in Indiana so I know I would have to bring them inside under lights for the winter but the question is I wonder if the butterflies would land on these kind of pentas? I do have one heritage tall variety in the butterfly garden but wondered if they would land on these smaller versions too next year What do you think

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

If they are the dwarf variety, probably not. But there are new varieties out there so I can’t say for sure. I have one Pentas plant that is lavender, a cultivar, and I bought it because I thought it was pretty, but the butterflies loved it too. It can’t hurt to try a few and see.

[@LisaWalker-u7i]

@@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan thank you Susan

I used to think butterfly gardening didn't really work. How are they gonna find the host plant? I don't really see any butterflies around my landscape that has no host plants or nectar sources. I heard these nectar/host plants are actually bad for butterflies. And on and on and on. Yet I'm the one with butterflies now. All kinds. Over 40 species documented hosting on my zero lot in the burbs. I've only been doing this two years this month. I'm gonna keep doing what works for me. I'm gonna keep researching and finding new host and nectar plants to try.

[@nolongerdreaming7443]

Where else are these guys going to find host plants and food plants if we don't plant them in our gardens, with so much land clearing!! I am in Australia and our extinction record is shameful - we might have lost our Australian fritillary butterfly because they drained swamps where the native violet host plant grew drained for housing :( I have the violet planted all over my place and wait in anticipation to see this one come one day. We have loads of monarchs too because we have a declared weed ( milkweed variety) growing all over here and the neighbour farm. So yes keep doing what you are doing and Thank you so much Susan for your videos that teach us all so much!!

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

Oh how happy this post makes me!! Over 40 species, that is fabulous!!!! I love it!!! Thank you so much for sharing this comment here. 🩵🩵🩵🩵

[@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan]

You guys are all going to make me cry happy tears. Every butterfly garden makes a difference. I love how this little channel is connecting butterfly gardeners all over the world. 🩵🦋🩵🦋🩵🦋

@@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan It is fabulous. It's amazing how they are able to find their host plants.

@@ButterflyGardeningwithSusan Your channel has inspired me to turn my passion for butterfly gardening into something more. I'm not sure how I will monetize it. Maybe a nursery or landscaping company specializing in butterfly gardens and wild life gardens. There really is no native nursery in my city (Memphis)The nearest one is like 60-100 miles away. I know people here aren't very eco conscious but 1.4 million people metro and no native nursery doesn't seem right. Idk I had this other idea to flip houses but install bad ass gardens and landscaping as part of the renovations. But I will find a way.