Posts Tagged ‘crown flower’
Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
Crown Flower in the Supermarket Nursery -- Honolulu, August 9, 2009
NOTE: DoT has been posting from Honolulu since late July when she left California to help her mother through some medical procedures. She will be doing so until she can return to Orange County.
DoT’s Thot: “Love and kindness are the very basis of society. If we lose these feelings, society will face tremendous difficulties; the survival of humanity will be endangered.” — Dalai Lama
Supermarket Nursery– My Old Reliable Source of Gifts for Mother
Seeking ways to entertain a 92 year old mother, I visited a supermarket garden shop in (Moiliili) Honolulu that I have frequented for years. On every visit home, I have looked for plants and flowers to give Mom. One year I found an orchid plant with green blossoms. On this visit, as I wandered around, picking up vegetable seeds and potting soil, I walked out into the garden open area. It was bright and sunny and the full sun plants were getting all the rays they needed.
Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller 9 Aug. 09
Crown Flower — Excellent Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller Food
Over at one end of the rows of plants, I suddenly realized that I was staring at a pot with a white crown flower plant in it. For a commercial plant, it looked strangely moth-eaten with large holes in the leaves. All the other plants looked whole and commercially, cosmetically highly presentable. I looked closer and sure enough, there it was, a Monarch Butterfly caterpiller, large and succulent, munching away. I thought it a bit odd.
Goodbye to My Supermarket Garden Shop
Upon checking out, I overheard a conversation between a customer and clerk and discovered that the supermarket garden shop would be closing in a month or so. I was stunned and joined the conversation — my reliable nursery would be no more. None of the garden shop staff knows about their futures as yet; the nursery is another victim of the economic downturn.
Compassion in Survival: Hope for the Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller
As I packed the potting materials and plants into the car, I realized that the staff has conscientiously cared for all the plants. If I had not heard the conversation, I, as a visitor, would never have known about the employment issues — the Monarch Butterfly caterpiller was being spared by the staff. I took my camera, went back and took a few pictures to share with you the aloha (love) and ohana (family) in the supermarket garden shop that will soon be dispersed and go elsewhere.
Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller -- oopsy daisy, up and over
With the timetable they have, there is time for a butterfly to emerge from the Monarch Butterfly caterpiller. I truly hope all the staff find positions — I will miss them all, people and butterfly..
Aloha, DoT
Related Articles and References:
Related Posts:
- Asclepsis and Lantana: Food for Monarch Butterflies
- Monarch Butterfly Haiku: Camera Madness
- Monarch Butterfly Sightings Haiku — the Asclepsis Gardener’s Reward
- Missed the Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis — Found It Empty
- Monarch Butterflies — Caterpillar Faith
- Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Site Review — go visit
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt — First Report
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt is On
- A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
- Vegetarian Recipes: Star Anise Flavored Boiled Peanuts
- In My Mother’s Garden: Neem Tree; Miracle Herb from India
- Scene In Hawaii: Rooster at the Shopping Center
- In My Mother’s Garden: Pakalana, One of My Favorite Fragrant Vining Flowers
- Cooking in Hawaii: Manoa Lettuce, My Favorite Salad Greens
- In My Mother’s Garden: the White Hibiscus Dad Gave Mom
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ginger Oil Chicken
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ahi Sashimi with Shiso, Chili Pepper, and Shoyu
- In My Mother’s Garden: Shell Ginger Hidden Among the Red Ginger
- In My Mother’s Garden: Red Ginger in Hawaii
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Kiawe Tree Revisited
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Bougainvillea “Dragons”
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Snowflakes, Rainbow Shower Tree Haiku
- Grow Tomatoes Review: Chinese Purple Tomato Fried Rice Recipe
Find Useful Cultivator Tools Here
A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
Dot”s Thot: “After all, Hawaii is the best land. (O Hawaii no ka aina maikai) — Hawaiian Proverb [For more quotations see dailycelebrations ]
This is a memory, not a scientific note. I was happy to find the asclepsis I now grow in Orange County, California, because I could attract and then raise monarch butterflies in the yard. However, I yearned a bit for the larger milkweed plants of Hawaii that I knew as crown flower plants that bore either white or purple blossoms. Unsuccessful in locating these in the local nurseries, I was finally able to buy the smaller yelow/red-orange flowered butterfly plants that now peep up here and there in the yard.
Purple Crown Flowers (Calotropis gigantea) -- Image by Forest & Kim Starr
However, I thought I should mention the flowers I grew up knowing as the monarch butterfly caterpillar home. Upon searching on the internet, imagine my delight to find a treasure trove of such pictures. It brought back such memories and gave me happiness. Here are some pictures from “Forest & Kim Starr“. Please visit their site to see more gorgeous pictures.
I am ever so grateful that they made these pictures available for us to share. I sometimes feel homesick even while having lived away from home for a very long time. Born and raised in Hawaii, the islands are always home. Mahalo to the Starrs for having so much aloha.
There is a definite size difference in plants as well. I remember plants that towered over me — I am over 5 feet tall (by an inch). My little butterfly plants now are big when they reach over 3 feet high. Moreover, I am not able to make leis from the blossoms (too small), unlike the crown flowers of Hawaii. Those leis can be made in a variety of styles.
Crown Flower Leis (Image by Forest & Kim Starr)
The crown flower plants were attractive to the Monarch butterflies and the flowers fed the butterflies while the leaves nurtured the caterpillars. I first became attracted to the Monarchs because of the butterflies, but one day, I discovered the gorgeous turquoise-seafoam blue chrysalis with gold dots on them. (Hope I can locate mine and post pictures of those later this year.) It is in those moments that I feel the incredible beauty of nature and the universe. It is good to live on this lovely earth of ours. Let’s enjoy this round of butterflies together.
Aloha, Dot
Mahalo one more time to Forest & Kim Starr for sharing the images and information.
Related Articles and References:
Related Posts:
- Asclepsis and Lantana: Food for Monarch Butterflies
- In My Mother’s Garden: Neem Tree; Miracle Herb from India
- In My Mother’s Garden: Pakalana, One of My Favorite Fragrant Vining Flowers
- In My Mother’s Garden: Shell Ginger Hidden Among the Red Ginger
- In My Mother’s Garden: Red Ginger in Hawaii
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Kiawe Tree Revisited
- Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Bougainvillea “Dragons”
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Snowflakes, Rainbow Shower Tree Haiku
- Monarch Butterfly Haiku: Camera Madness
- Monarch Butterfly Sightings Haiku — the Asclepsis Gardener’s Reward
- Missed the Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis — Found It Empty
- Monarch Butterflies — Caterpillar Faith
- Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Site Review — go visit
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt — First Report
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt is On
