My Beautiful Blue Garden Surprise!

Much to my surprise, a tall plant with dark blue buds suddenly appeared in my garden in early May.  I never planted it, so the birds must have done it for me!  I watched it grow taller, and eagerly awaited the blooming of the many flowers along the branched stalk.  After several weeks, I was rewarded for my patience.

Pretty Blue Wild Lupine 

Isn't it a beauty?  I love the deep blue color.  It reminds me of a sweet pea. 

In my research I also found that it is a wild lupine which grows all over the U.S.  But this blue color is the only one that grows in my  NYS region.  All the rest are shades of blue, purple, orange and yellow.  Actually, lupines are a member of the pea and clover family. 

 I also learned that the wild lupine is an essential plant for the larvae of the Karner Blue Butterfly.  If the little caterpillars don't find a lupine around, they won't survive.  It's their only food source!

Karner Blue Butterfly from NYS Dept. of Conservation

I'm looking forward to possibly seeing a Karner Blue--that would be awesome.

See pictures and learn more about the connection between wild lupines and the KarnerBlue Butterfly in an article written by Kim Mitchell and Cathy Carnes.

How to grow lupines:

Preferred soil conditions are sandy dry soil in full sun to semi-shady conditions in a cool climate.  Mine is growing in one of my semi-shaded gardens here in the woods, but they are also found on open savannas, and recently logged or burned areas.  Their seeds need snow cover to protect them over the winter. 

Blooming in late May through June, they produce seed pods, which pop open and spread their seeds.   You'll know when that is about to happen because the pods will turn black.  And then the lupines will die back in July.  When the Karner Blue Butterfly larvae hatch, they browse on the leaves of the lupine.  It takes a lot of lupine leaves to ensure the butterfly larvae will survive to metamorphosize into adult butterflies.

Learn more about collecting and replanting seeds from Ellen Brown in her article here:

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf22469513.tip.html

Enjoy!

Grandma Pearl

Beautiful Moth Identified

This is the beautiful 'Io' Moth that I found in my backyard this morning!

The eyespots are meant to confuse and distract any bird or other animal trying to make a meal of it.  This is the female, while the male is very yellow in coloring.

Here's a look at the underside of her wings.  When they are folded in the closed position, all you see is an orange-brown coloration just like that of the under wings.  She did not fold them for me I think because it was a chilly morning, and she was trying to absorb any warmth she could!

These lovely moths are found mostly east of the Rockies and into Canada.

But their spiny caterpillars hold a nasty surprise should you happen to touch one.  Here's a link to an article written by J.B. Heppner, Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry.

with more pictures of the Io Moth and its caterpillars, and further details of what happened to a man who accidentally came in contact with an Io Moth caterpillar.  Click Here

She seems to enjoy perching on my little 'Supertunias'

Grandma Pearl