Late in October and on into November, the gardens around the hillside are left to wild abandon. Whatever grows...grows. Whatever blooms...blooms. While most of the plants are wildflowers (better known as weeds to most folks), the gardens are at their prettiest, if you ask me. I have no problem letting Mother Nature have her say in the matter of what is planted, what stays and what blooms. The tall goldenrod bobbles its heavy heads with the bay breeze while wild ageratum carpets the lower parts of the patch. It is that purple ageratum that is a fall favorite of mine. Long ago while back on the farm, Pop would load the kids in the back of an old Studebaker station wagon and we would go on a grand search for wild flowers. Pop was the perpetual head of the local school's PTA and always hosted a superb Halloween Carnival. The wild flowers were used as decorations. (Yep, you could do that back in the day because there were no whiny people. No one complained about their "allergies" acting up due to the blossoms.) Pop would drive until he found a place where the "ditch daisies" and ageratum were thick, park the car on the side of the road and we were all out picking flowers. (Again, no one complained about us raiding their fields or the roadsides. People were good-hearted and were willing to help in any way.) So wildflowers were a part of my childhood and memories hold strong whenever the plants start to show their colors.
The ageratum plants that fill the gardens here are not those wimpy things that can be bought in garden centers. Those things die out quickly and only provide a very low plant. When I say "carpet" the lower part of the garden, I am talking a good sixteen inch tall purple mist flowing in every direction. These plants are not the annuals that the stores offer but are perennials that will return every year on their own accord. They are hardy plants that will provide beauty until the first hard freeze. One bit of advice if you do decide to "go wild", cut the ageratum plants back to about ten inches tall two months before they are to bloom. This will encourage thicker foliage and more abundant blossoms. As an added plus to the wildflower gardens, critters love these plants. Every day, hundreds of butterflies, moths, bees and other pollen-seeking critters visit the garden patches. The ageratum blooms come in a variety of lavenders, purples and (rarely) white. Yep, I love the purple mist plants and I love the fact that Mother Nature is in full charge of my gardens! She does a much better job than I do!
Normally, September and October are the months when the yard is filled with butterflies of all sorts. Of those that visit, the Monarchs have all ways been the most prevalent. They would come in swarms as they migrated. There were times a few years back, when the Asclepias and Ageratum were simply covered with the orange and black butterflies. For the past two years, however, the sightings have been sparse, to say the least. I miss the butterflies.
I was reading the other day how the plight of "missing" butterflies was not just a local thing. It seems that the Monarch population is on a sharp decline in this country. Part of that is due to weather changes but a good bit is due to the loss of habitat. One of the main sources of food for these butterflies is the milkweed plant and, as the name implies, most folks see this as a weed. The plants are promptly destroyed to keep those "well manicured" lawns and gardens in shape. No one wants a weed in their garden. This is a shame. Sorry, folks, those things you deem as nasty weeds are actually wildflowers and should be left to grow where they will. Here on the Bayou, I leave as many as possible. Yes, I do cut the grass but wildflowers are welcome to grow in the flower gardens and vegetable gardens because I know the importance of having native plants. The native flora helps the native fauna survive. Cut out one of the two and both are soon decimated.
The milkweed plant is of the Asclepias genus. These plants grow readily in just about any type soil. (I have one that grows in sand!) These plants require little to no work so can be a lazy gardeners dream plant! Mine is dubbed "Butterfly Weed" and it truly seems to attract the Monarchs. This type Asclepias has orange, red and yellow clusters of blooms and looks quite striking when mingled with the purples of the Wild Ageratum and the towering fluffs of Goldenrod! My wild gardens are never boring but they sure miss the butterflies!
Several times in the past few weeks, I have made mention of the weeds/wildflowers that I allow to pretty much take over the gardens. Fall sees these plants put on their finest attire which gives the gardens a lovely splash of color. Fall, also, sees the migration of butterflies that come to visit these very flowers....usually.
As I was out with the old dog this afternoon, I made a very sad observation. Although, the wildflowers are in full bloom, nary a monarch was sipping nectar. The wild ageratum are usually the desired bloom for the orange butterflies. These and the milkweeds seem to attract more monarchs than any other blooms in the gardens. Today, however, I found only a few small fritillary butterflies and nothing else.
Are the monarchs simply running late this year or did they take an alternate route through the area? I have no idea other than to say that none of my neighbors have seen the mass migration of previous years. This, indeed, makes me sad.
