A Bright Spot during a Gloomy Day

  Every now and again, I come across a plant that just "won't give up". Years and years ago, Mark bought me a small rootstock of Aclepias Tuberosa better known as Butterfly Weed.  It IS a weed.  It is a weed that keeps on giving.  This is one of those plants, that once allowed to take root, literally TAKES ROOT!!  With a long tap root it is hard to remove them if you wish.  This same tap root also makes them hard to transplant.  It is a good thing that I really like the plant!  When we bought the plant from the nursery, I casually asked the plant dude if I could start new ones by seed or by cuttings.  I received a very curt NO! He was adamant that it would stay in the nice little clump that he was selling us.  Ha!  I have never met a plant yet that cannot be rooted in one way or another and  Asclepias is no exception.  Only I have no need to take cuttings of this plant.  It makes a lovely bunch of seeds that take flight on happy little, fuzzy wings.  These seeds are taking wing as we speak!  The hillside is a blizzard of white fluff this afternoon. So much for containment!

  The plant, however, is not just seeding, it is blooming!  Regardless of the recent freezes we have had, the Butterfly Weed is doing well.  Parts are covered with the bright blooms while other stems are loaded with the white fluffs of seeds.  I also noticed several seedlings already poking their heads out of the ground.  A new crop of Asclepias Tuberosas are on their way to filling the old tub!

  Asclepias Tuberosa is also know as Pleurisy Root.  This name is supposedly because Native Americans used it to treat the malady along with a lot of respiratory ailments.  I have not tried it personally so I cannot attest to any of the folklore that is connected with the plant.  I did, however, read recently where you sure better cook all parts of the plant before ingesting any of it!  According to a lot of sources all parts of the plant are toxic if eaten raw.  Or, perhaps just don't eat your Butterfly Weed!

What a welcome sight!

Celebrate! We had rain! Woohoo! After about three months of total dryness, we had a nice thunderstorm. The rain pounding on the rooftop was a most beautiful and welcome sound that I have heard in quite a while. Rain..what a relief from the dry heat that has been plaguing us recently. I can imagine just how wonderful the plants must feel just about now. Even though I have been trying to drag the water hose around each day and give them all drinks, I just know the rain feels much better. Rain! Now if it would just keep raining all night!!!

Earlier today, I was in the kitchen with a pile of tomatoes. It was salsa and ketchup making day! I spent the day, skinning, chopping and cooking tomatoes. After several hours, I had about two dozen jars of deliciousness on the dining room table. The tomatoes are the one thing in the garden that did not die in the drought and with nearly a hundred plants, it appears that I will be canning a good bit.

Just outside my back door, I have a large pot that has a single plant in it. This plant is an Asclepias Tuberosa. When I went out to the compost pile with a bunch of eggshells and coffee grounds, I noticed that this plant was blooming. I am so tickled to see the blossoms as I hope to be able to collect seeds to replenish my stock. My cousin, Helen, sent me the seeds several years ago and I try to save some each year. Last year, something came along and munched my seed pods so there were no seeds in storage. I was elated to see a plant sprout from last year's root. I did find that they will grow from cuttings, so a few will be stuck in a bottle soon! I really like this plant for two specific reasons..one being that butterflies literally swarm around it when it is blooming. This gives it one of its common names..Butterfly Weed! The other reason..it blooms all summer! It will continue to bloom well into late Fall and early Winter. The bright orange flowers are perfect in Fall gardens blended with Ageratums and Marigolds! Another common name for the same plant is Pleurisy Root. Supposedly the root of this plant is a cure for pleurisy and other pulmonary ailments. Now, I can not vouch for the veracity of this statement but it would be nice if it is a cure! But..that said..care should be taken with the usage of this as with all herbs. It is said that this root should not be used by women during pregnancy. It can lead to all sorts of problems even miscarriage. Personally, I plan on merely enjoying the beauty of the plant and the butterflies that it attracts!