in this issue All About Butterflies p. 2-3 Gifts p. 4 Events p. 5 Weeds p. 6 Haiku Poems p. 7 Ask Professor Pansy p. 8

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1 Spring 2018 in this issue All About Butterflies p. 2-3 Gifts p. 4 Events p. 5 Weeds p. 6 Haiku Poems p. 7 Ask Professor Pansy p. 8 Western Tiger Swallowtail By Brocken Inaglory (Own work) [GFDL ( CC-BY-SA-3.0 ( by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA ( via Wikimedia Commons Seed Experiment p. 9 Riddles & Jokes p. 10

2 All About Butterflies by Jessie Dold Butterflies are a very special part of the garden. They are both beautiful, and pollinate plants. But there is more to butterflies than pretty wings and bright colors. Let s learn more about them! Butterflies have four life stages, and the change from one into another is called metamorphosis. It starts when an adult butterfly lays an egg on a host plant. Each type of butterfly has a host plant they like the most. Western Tiger Swallowtails like to lay their eggs on alders and cottonwood, for example. When the egg hatches, it becomes a caterpillar. The caterpillar eats a lot and grows fast. Soon, it grows big enough to become a chrysalis. Western Tiger Swallowtail - A chrysalis has a tough, protective body in which it begins to grow into a butterfly. When it is in this state, it does not eat or move. Finally, an adult butterfly hatches from the chrysalis. It first stands still and stretches its wings, and once the wings are strong enough, it can fly. It then searches for both nectar from flowers, and a mate. harlequin butterfly life cycle 2 Now that we know more about how a butterfly grows, we can learn more about how to attract them to your garden. You need

3 two types of plants: a host plant where the adult butterfly can lay their eggs, and a caterpillar can eat and grow, and a nectar plant, where adults can feed on the nectar in flowers. Host plants can be big trees like cottonwoods, willows, and pines. Several different butterflies might be attracted to the cottonwoods and willows, but Pine Whites will only visit pines. https- commons.wikimedia.org wiki File%3ANeophasia_menapia%2C_MM Pine Whites Unmown patches of grass will be food and shelter to caterpillars of Woodland Skippers and common Wood Nymphs. If you don t mind sharing your food, herbs like parsley, borage, and nasturtium will bring Anise Swallowtails, Painted Ladies, and Sara Orangetips. Some flowers, like sunflowers, lupines, and violets will be a host plant to some and nectar to others. By Judy Gallagher [CC BY 2.0 ( via Wikimedia Commons Woodland Skippers Wood Nymph Anise Swallowtail Larvae By Bento00 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons By Ian Kirk from Broadstone, Dorset, UK - Orange Tip ButterflyUploaded by tm, CC BY 2.0, Orangetips Painted Lady Nectar plants often have showy flowers. They are usually brightly colored, with red, pink, purple, orange, or yellow being the butterfly s favorites. They will either have a flat flower, which will act as a landing pad so the butterfly can rest and sip its nectar, or it will have a tube shape flower, and the butterfly will use its long tongue to reach the nectar. Some flowers may feed a wide variety of butterflies, like asters, bee balm, and By Calibas (Own work) [GFDL ( or CC BY-SA ( via Wikimedia Commons Anise Swallowtail milkweed. Many of the herbs found in your garden have tasty nectar as well, including lavender, mint, and oregano. Even those pesky dandelions provide nectar for several species! 3

4 MAY APRIL MARCH GIFTS 4 March 1lb Bulk Seed Potatoes Did you know that the seed for a potato is a potato? A new potato plant can grow out of each little dent (called an eye ). For each pound of potatoes you plant in the spring, you can harvest up to ten pounds in the fall. April Nasturtium Seed Packet Grow nasturtium flowers for bright color, and lily pad shaped leaves. Nasturtium flowers and leaves are also edible. Add them to a salad for a fun, pretty salad with a spicy tang. Float them in water or freeze in ice cubes. Or add them to a sandwich for a mustard like taste. May 4 Color Spot Annual Once spring is in full swing, we ll have lots of beautiful annual flowers, from petite little petunias to stately salvias. Junior Gardeners can choose any $2.19 color spot annual they want to take home for free in April.

5 EVENTS Sunday, March 11 th from 1:00 pm - 2:00pm Make a Teacup Fairy Garden. March is the time for leprechauns and four-leaf clovers! Create a magical miniature fairy garden in a tea cup to entice the fairies. Cost for this activity is $8.49. Class size limited to 25. Call or come in to reserve a spot. Sunday, April 8 th from 1:00 pm - 2:00pm Make Pressed Flower Bookmarks. We will make bookmarks using dried flowers from our greenhouse. Cost for this activity is $3.00 Show your Junior Gardener s Membership card to receive your free gift. If you don t have one, just ask any cashier. 5

6 Weeds by C Song I have loved weeds since I was a young girl. Hunting for wild flowers in the spring was like a treasure hunt. I love how strong and tough weeds are. When I see a dandelion growing through a crack in the sidewalk, I feel more courageous. It is fun to learn about the weeds that grow in your own yard; learn which ones are edible and medicinal. But it s really important to learn to correctly identify a weed before you use it for food or medicine. Some weeds, even dandelions, can look a lot like other weeds. Some weeds are eaten as vegetables like dandelions and purslane. Some weeds, like plantain can be used as medicine. Both these plants look like a dandelion. It s hard to tell the difference before they bloom. The one on the right is Hypochaeris radicata, or Cat s Tongue because the leaves are rough like a cat s tongue. It is not edible. The one on the left is a dandelion, or Taraxacum. All parts of a dandelion are edible and used as a medicine and for food. Plantago lanceolata Portulaca oleracea Purslane is eaten as a vegetable in many countries. Plantago major Plantain has been used to heal wounds, cure fever, and to draw out toxins from stings and bites. You can use the crushed leaves on a bee sting.

7 Haiku Poetry by H.G. Vail The sun overhead A wild rosebush near the door And lilacs blooming come here hummingbird you are a beautiful bird and you re cute and small first flowers of spring I greet you with smile and bow a verbal kowtow April becomes June And summers all around us So joyful and warm if I were a tree I would be an aspen trembling in a gentle breeze ripe dandelion writes light verse and lets loose to fly in the wind see the fairy bells white lily-of-the-valley a summer flower I love a crow s walk the way a robin listens a sparrow scratching plant things that grow fast radishes and sweet clover pussy willow slips 7

8 Ask Professor Pansy Paul - age 13 asks What makes a four-leaf clover so special? Dear Paul, Trifolium repens, the common name for clover, gets it s name from the Latin prefix tri meaning three. A four-leaf clover is simply a Trifolium with an extra leaf. It is estimated that for every single four-leaf clover, there are 10,000 three-leaf clovers. Possible explanations for the special extra leaf are either genetic, environmental, or a type of developmental mutation. In Irish tradition, whomever finds a four-leaf clover will be blessed with good fortune. Each leaf represents one of the four Blessings, hope, faith, love and luck. The Irish held the four-leaf clover in high esteem and considered finding one good luck. Ava - age 3 asks What flowers do butterflies like best? Dear Ava, Butterflies like colorful flowers that are either flat, so they can land on them, or tube-shaped, so they can stick their tongue into them. Their favorite colors are red, pink purple, yellow and blue. Some of their favorite flat flowers include purple asters, and yarrow, which comes in many colors. Among their favorite tube shaped flowers are bee balm, which can be red, pink, or purple, and salvia, which comes in many shades of blue and purple, and sometimes pink, white or yellow. 8

9 Watch a Seed Grow Here is an easy experiment to do at home. You can also come see this experiment in our Junior Gardener club house right now! What you will need: scissors paper towels clear plastic bottle or plastic bag large beans (scarlet runner or lima beans work best) Cut the bottom off the clear bottle, or you can do this experiment using a plastic bag instead of a bottle. Fill the bottle with crumpled up paper towels. Slide beans gently down the side of the bottle so that the paper towel holds the seeds against the side of the bottle and you can see the seeds. Slowly add water until the paper towel is wet, but not soggy. Dump out any extra water. Keep bottle in a sunny window. Add water as needed to keep the paper towel moist. The roots will grow first. They will drink up the water to help the plant grow. Later, the seed will split and a green shoot will start growing toward the light. Small leaves will start to emerge as the shoot gets taller, reaching to the light so the leaves can photosynthesize the sun s energy and transfer down the stem and into the growing seed. You can transplant your seeds (plants) outside once it warms up, or keep them inside and watch how they grow. 9

10 Riddles & Jokes Why was the cucumber mad? Why is the mushroom always invited to parties? Tulips. Because he s a fungi. Why can t you press a 4 leaf clover? Because you can t press your luck. He was in a pickle. What do people think of the center of cherries? They re the pits. What do you call two young married spiders? A Newly webs. What do you get when you plant kisses? Make sure to check our website and the newsletter to find out what s coming up! 10