FOBVP work, summer fall 2023

In September 2023 FOBVP planted about a dozen replacement plants in the perennial garden. Among the newbies were four milkweed plants intended as sustenance for the two monarch butterflies that live in the park. 

One positive development came almost immediately. The milkweeds attracted thousands of aphids. Why is this a good thing? Because aphids lure beneficial insects to the site (to feed on the aphids). I took this photo on November 3rd 2023.

Thus we now have at least one happy ladybird beetle.

One plant that has survived from the 2021 plantings was this sage. Butterflies love it as you can see. 

Our monarchs disappeared the last week in October when the flowers on our butterfly bushes faded. I trust that the monarchs will return next spring. Or maybe, if we are lucky, they will come back and plant their eggs on the milkweeds. 

One of the things that FOBVP has been doing is nuturing this lemon tree (a remnant from the original Keller, Mitchell design. It looks like we will have dozens of lemons in about a month. 

This is a tree mallow, another survivor from the original installation. It nearly died over the winter of 2022, choked out by weed grasses, but we were able to deweed it in the nick of time. It now is thriving. 

A monkey flower (Mimulus) that we planted this summer. It's a California native. We planted a couple of these in 2021 but they didn't survive. 

Can you see the bee in the center of one of our sage plants? The perennial garden is host to hummingbirds, butterflies, moths, bees, and flies. If you sit on the outdoor tables near the community garden and face east you can witness all sorts of critter activity in the two sage plants in front of you.