Milkweed

This email came to us last week from Myriah, one of our garden volunteers, regarding milkweed (Asclepias L.).

"...It's what monarch butterflies lay their eggs on, then the caterpillars eat and build their chrysalis on the milkweed. We've got a ton of monarchs on the butterfly bush by the gate, so I'm sure if we're patient we can have some baby monarchs flying around. Seeing the butterfly "hatch" from the chrysalis is an awesome thing to observe if you haven't see it before.

Anyhow, here's a pic of milkweed, so you know what I'm referring to:
http://www.wildernessrhythms.com/rope/milkweed.JPG

when you break the leaves they drip a milky white substance.
And a bit more on the process
http://ed.fnal.gov/entry_exhibits/insect/monarch.html"

Thanks for the heads up, Myriah!

In other news, we are making some new, hand-painted signage this week to reflect our new online presence and volunteer efforts. We've also completed a very large portion of or Graham Ave. entrance clean up. We encourage everyone to take a look at our progress!