Here Today and Gone Tomorrow...
I am not the world's best gardener. I know very little about gardening. I do know three things for sure though. You need lots of sunshine, plenty of water at the proper times and you need really good soil. I have control over only one of those three things and I am still not very good at that. I did have hubby buy some organic manure compost a month after we planted our garden and we blended in there so it would help with pests and the plants would get more nutrition.
I had not counted on these guys this year.
They and I mean about 8 or so of them, completely desamated my little flower box of parsley. They have been here once before a few years ago. I haven't seen them in a while and then I went out the back door to let the dogs out day before yesterday and something looked funny. There were these green stalks just sticking up out of my box and no leaves. Surely my lack of attention and our lack of rain did not leave just green sticks? I remember I was out there not more than two days ago looking at the parsley and there was some there!
Okay, so like I said-I am not a REAL gardener, just someone who plays at it. So let's take a closer look at what we are dealing with...
Boy, these guys are fat. They have eaten everything they could find. I never saw it coming. Well, I take that back. I was sitting in the living room looking out the window at the gardenia bush and saw one of these... All I did is admire the butterfly saying how pretty is was to the hubby and then finished knitting. I was never thinking about my little parsley patch!
So, I guess I will be buying parsley from the store the rest of this fall. If I see any chrysalis I will let you know. They were hard to spot the last time this happened. After I saw the chrysalis I would go out two or three times a day to check them. I don't know how they got past me but they were gone. So I may not get to see them again this time either.
Despite losing all my parsley, they are truly pretty and it's so amazing to me how one female butterfly can find my dinky pathetic patch of parsley to lay her eggs.
Labels: Black Swallowtail butterfly, parsley, The Moveable Feast Personal Chef Service, Virginia
posted by vlb5757 @ 9:50 AM
6 Comments:
The parsley will come back, won't it? I don't think we have those kind of caterpillars out here - but th ones we do have, boy they are hungry critters -
That Paula Dean pie looks divine! I'm comin' to your house for dessert!
Too bad about the asparagus - it was probably pricey too - do you suppose it would have been good pickled?
How's your class going? T.
Yes, it self seeds. I am surprised we got the caterpillars this year after not having them last year. I have no idea how they find us, but they did. I went out yesterday and looked at the box and there are still baby ones in there eating away. I have no idea what they are eating. The leaves are stripped off the stems.
Hubby made that pie. I still have one frozen in the freezer. You know, for a Pot Luck emergency!
I was really disappointed in the asparagus myself. I was thinking that some how they would taste better and they didn't.
Class is going well until I am otherwise told. I am teaching it again right now. I was hoping to get more classes lined up but I am still new so they might not want to load me up yet.
Parsley will come back once after being planted.
And I certainly feel for you, the first year I planted parlsey the same thing happened! It really bites to pay $3.99 for those little bundles...
Sounds like you have caterpillar issues like we have deer issues! We lost everything one year and just haven't had the heart to try again. I hope your parsley comes back! But they truly are beautiful little buggars, aren't they though?
I grow dill each year mainly forthe Monarch caterpillers! I came upon your blog on Food Porn Watch and don't know how I've missed you since I am in Newport News!
S'kat-it does pain me to have to pay those prices, but they are really beautiful and she must have really searched high and low to find one small window box of parsely to lay her eggs. I am amazed how on earth she found my little patch. Boggles the mind! I know it will come back next year. Maybe I should plant more and see what happens then?
Michelle-you know how hope springs eternal! I am so glad you are back to blogging! I sure have missed your posts.
Deborah-I subscribe to Food Porn but haven't been very faithful about posting for a few months now. I have been juggling three jobs and it's been a zoo. Do you know s'kat? She lives closer to you than I do. She writes her blog for the Daily Press. Maybe sometime we should meet and have lunch.
I grew dill one year and the aphids did a number it and then they moved right over to my one rose bush. So I don't grow dill anymore. I don't see very many aphids on my rose bush anymore. I do love growing things in our garden-just not real good at it! Thanks for stopping by.
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