Return of the Monarchs

We've had a few butterflies of various types visit our butterfly garden in the front yard since the two Monarch caterpillars hatched out in late January (See "Mr. Upside Down Finally Hatches" and "Houston, We Have Lift-Off"), but until yesterday, only one Monarch.

Butterfly Bush

Now we have a Monarch fluttering around the yard, to the consternation of our cat Bailey, who has temporarily given up her lizard watching duties to follow the flight of the Monarch around the yard.  It's a good thing she hasn't figured out how to open the front door.

The butterflies seem to like the Butterfly Bush (Buddleia ), as well as the Yarrow, the Asclepia and even the roses.  We know the Buddleia is considered a non-native invasive species, but then so is a lot of the other stuff we seem to have growing in the yard.  It's amazing how well some things do in poor soil with little or no water.

I've read that one of the nicknames for Buddleia is "summer lilac", a name that evokes the wonderful scent of heavily laden lilacs in the Spring, a pleasure we unfortunately have to forego in San Diego; the climate doesn't have enough "chill hours" for us to grow them here.   I told one friend recently that she should consider her lilacs to be the reward for the cold, rotten winter they've had in the Midwest.  Lilacs about the only thing that makes us regret living in such a temperate climate.  Lilac scented candles just aren't the same.

We're glad the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds like the Buddleia, anyway.