My cut flower garden is right in front of my common milkweed patch.
In hindsight, maybe this wasn’t the best plan, since common milkweed spreads by runners under the ground. I am constantly pulling tiny little milkweed plants up from the cut flower garden.
But in any case, the two sections of the garden are close together, enjoying the full sun available in that part of the yard.
This afternoon I was cutting some of the first zinnias of the season. I cut this lovely little Queen Lime Orange.
As I started removing the lower leaves from the stem, I noticed this Monarch butterfly chrysalis hanging from a leaf!
One of the Monarch caterpillars munching on the nearby milkweed leaves must have scooted on over to the cut flower garden to make the most important change of its life.
I removed the leaf and chrysalis from the stem and pinned them up in an insect habitat. The flower will still be able to join its friends in a bouquet. 😊
Amy's Garden 