I’ve written before about my efforts to grow milkweed, not just because it’s one of my favorite wild edibles but because I would like to be part of the chain that helps the monarch butterfly survive. Monarch larvae can only survive on milkweed, and so for years I’ve been nursing along milkweed plants as if they were orchids, never eating any myself because I needed them to grow and spread and maybe offer a home for some monarch larvae. This year, six years after this project originally began, I saw adult monarchs fluttering around my blooming milkweed. I ran for my phone but couldn’t get a good picture, so I borrowed the one above. It remains to be seen whether larvae will make their appearance, but I’m delirious with hope. If you have naturally occurring milkweed in your area, treat it like the resource it is. If you don’t, consider planting some seeds, with the understanding that it may be years before you see blooming plants. Do it for the monarchs, and one day there may be enough for you to eat some too.
My urban homestead 
Posted by Nikki M on June 20, 2020 at 10:30 am
I have no milkweed planted in my yard right now, but my neighbors do so the Monarchs have been coming by. They do hang out on my palms too quite a bit!
Posted by wooddogs3 on June 23, 2020 at 10:45 am
Always glad to hear about monarch sightings.And bless your neighbor for keeping milkweed in their yard.
Posted by julie on June 20, 2020 at 4:53 pm
And the blossoms have such a lovely fragrance!
Posted by wooddogs3 on June 23, 2020 at 10:44 am
Yes, I love that honey-vanilla scent. I have both A. syraica and A. speciosa, showy eilkweed, and the showy variety has very little scent at all, so I’ll be planting more common milkweed.