Birthdays are as much about reflection as celebration. Looking back on the first year of the Texas Butterfly Ranch blog, it’s curious to see what readers read the most. Read on for a recap of the most widely read blogposts of our first twelve months.
#1 Milkweed Guide to Central and South Texas
Our Milkweed Guide: Choose Best Plants for Monarch Butterflies post continues to generate interest. Most days of the week it is the most viewed blogpost here. Why?
Butterfly gardeners and others want region-specific tips and guidance on choosing appropriate milkweed species for their Central and South Texas gardens.
#2 Vladimir Nabokov as Darwin Doubter
The ongoing popularity of the offbeat post, Butterflies Made a Darwin Doubter of Vladimir Nabokov, surprises. Perhaps referencing the conservative Discovery Institute is what continues to provoke readers. Hmm.
#3 Who’s Got Pesticide-Free Milkweed? Some Local Nurseries Do
For those of us who cultivate Monarch and Queen caterpillars, it’s supremely disappointing to bring a happy milkweed plant back from the nursery to feed future butterflies only to have the caterpillars drop dead the next day from ingesting leaves containing pesticides. Our guide to local area nurseries that carry pesticide-free milkweed will be updated soon, but appears to have served an unmet need by providing names, addresses and phone numbers of Austin and San Antonio nurseries that offer worthy caterpillar food.
#4 Better than Mudpies: How to Make Seed Balls
This post on how to make seedballs generates steady views and I suspect will spike as summer recedes and gardeners head back outside to plant wildflowers. Not a bad idea to get ready for fall and re-read Happy Solstice! Celebrate by Making Seedballs For Next Year’s Butterfly Garden.
#5 On the Butterfly Trail in Michoacan, Mexico
Readers appreciated this description and video of my trip with my husband Bob to the Monarch butterfly roosts in Mexico. The sight of 450 million Monarch butterflies exploding off of the oyamel trees made for a magical mystical tour for me, and a vacation I will always remember. Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading about it.
I have tons of healthy pesticide free milkweed here in NC, but no Monarchs. When they return on their way to Mexico, I’m sure it will be drying up as usual. I have cut some of it back in hopes of sprouting fresh growth. We’ll see.
Good luck, Ann. Not sure what your temperatures are, but it’s too hot for native milkweed here, and even the Tropical milkweed is having a hard time taking the severe heat. Let us know how it goes.