Pipevine & Wild Lime for Swallowtail Butterflies + A Fabulous Surprise (at the end, the 2nd end😉)

Ajouté : 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]Hey everyone, I am back from my trip and it was a whirlwind, that's for sure. But I can also tell there's been a lot of activity in this garden while I was gone.

[00:00:13]Right up here have some of my pipe vines growing back. Yeah, look at this. There are eggs on the wires.

[00:00:23]Not only there, but there back there is crazy. So, I'm just going to take this pot in to um one of my indoor enclosures and I'm going to make sure that the plant is close by. So when these little eggs hatch, the caterpillars can just climb on.

[00:00:59]So also I found on my aerosolia toomentosa py vine.

[00:01:08]This is how you know it's toomentosa because it's tiny. The elegance flowers are huge.

[00:01:18]But look what's right under the little lower petal.

[00:01:22]There's a bunch of eggs. There's not the cutest thing. And every time I come over, there's flies cuz these are pollinated by flies. So when they hatch, I really want to leave the flower out here cuz I want to get seeds.

[00:01:39]So, when they hatch and start moving around, like they move out to a leaf, I'll probably take them into the outdoor enclosure.

[00:01:49]Fun fact, the flowers on the pipe vine smell like rotting meat, which attracts flies. And the shape of the pipe is kind of like a carnivorous plant, but it's not.

[00:02:08]The fly will actually go inside and down into the little pouch there in the flower.

[00:02:20]And there's little hairs in there that trap it. And so while the fly is in there enjoying its nectar trapped, it's also getting pollen on it. And then after the hairs give up their pollen, they die back and release the fly, which then flies out and travels to another flower.

[00:02:45]Isn't that fabulous?

[00:02:49]And this pipine is growing in oh so nicely.

[00:02:56]And it's all in there inter tangled with the um blackeyed susans that are growing in this planter as well.

[00:03:07]So it kind of gives them a place to hide. But look how nice and big some of these leaves are.

[00:03:16]And there's some more eggs right there.

[00:03:23]We're going to be back in business.

[00:03:26]So, I have a small list of things that I want to get accomplished today. Number one, I want to get my hanging baskets back, but I'm going to change them up a bit. Of course, I mean, you knew you had to know that was coming. Um, and I want to move a wild lime into the outdoor enclosure cuz I have a bunch of giant swallowtail caterpillars. I want to put a lot of them in there on an actual potted plant because I'm constantly having to bring in cutings for them and it's just easier to have them on a potted plant. And I found one of my favorite natives that I don't have anymore. Well, I didn't have growing up on its own. and I'm going to dig it up and move it and do a new wetland planter. So, that'll be coming in this video as well. Mhm. Let's get busy.

[00:04:29]I do want to take care of the hanging baskets first, but this is my potted wild lime. I'm just showing it to you because I happen to be standing by it.

[00:04:38]It's got a lot of good leaves on it. And I just noticed there's a baby right there ready to go into the enclosure. But I have to rearrange things in the enclosure and make space for this plant.

[00:04:58]These are my two verbena hanging baskets and they did fantastic while I was gone and they seem to really love the Florida heat. I'm tempted to order more of them to make more hanging baskets. But before I do that, I remembered I have two planted in the ground over here. And look how big they are. There's one there. And then there's another one over here. So, I'm thinking I can do one each in a hanging basket.

[00:05:36]And I also have some flowers to show you. I came home to that were blooming my lilies. Look how gorgeous they are.

[00:05:49]Let's get in close.

[00:05:54]Spectacular.

[00:05:56]And I think these are the hibiscus mosutos.

[00:06:03]And look at them.

[00:06:07]Okay. So, here you are zoomed in super close.

[00:06:14]It's a really big flower.

[00:06:17]This is in a wetland planter. There's another one blooming right there. And there's so many buds.

[00:06:29]I love it.

[00:06:32]I put this in last year, but it didn't bloom. So, this is my first time having blooms from them.

[00:06:40]These are the butterflies it hosts.

[00:06:45]And these are the moths it hosts. Pretty fabulous.

[00:06:52]Great wetland plants to add to a butterfly garden because they are host to so many. came back here to show you that one of my scarlet hibiscus is blooming also.

[00:07:07]Spectacular. These are huge blooms.

[00:07:19]This is back in the corner of my garden.

[00:07:22]Okay, now I'm going to go pot up the verbas.

[00:07:30]And I don't know if I'll put them in these two hanging baskets. I don't know.

[00:07:34]I got lots of options. I'll let you know.

[00:07:38]Here is one verbina I just dug out.

[00:07:44]And it's just going to go and set in this pot right here.

[00:07:51]And here is the other verbina.

[00:08:02]And for now, I'm just going to set them both right here because they're getting good shape right now. Give them some time to adjust to their new setting.

[00:08:18]And here's the other one.

[00:08:28]And they should be happy there. Get established. A nice little shady spot.

[00:08:36]This little corky stem passion vine I think is getting too much sun. I mean it just bakes all day over here in this corner.

[00:08:47]So, I think I'm gonna move it over to the back corner of the Mexican sunflower garden on that empty shepherd's hook.

[00:09:12]Okay, we'll see how it does there.

[00:09:15]And look, it's is putting on some fruits, which is where you get seeds. And the seeds are really fun to collect from these. Look at the little flower right there. I think it will be happier back here.

[00:09:33]And actually, I think I'll move that shepherd's hook, which I just got that from, up here, cuz I have a plant I really want right here by my garden chair. Let's do it.

[00:09:47]Okay, there we go. Wait, do you see what we're going to put there? But first, I got to get another wire basket out. I ordered some more.

[00:10:00]I'm not using these.

[00:10:05]I'm just putting pots in these because I just think they're so pretty.

[00:10:11]And I have these linked in my Amazon storefront.

[00:10:20]Now, let me go get the plant and show you the gorgeous, gorgeous blooms that are going to be here.

[00:10:28]So, this has been sitting up here with my potted plants that I'm growing for a while now. I got this I think back in March.

[00:10:41]You probably saw me unbox it and I remember talking about the flowers while it is blooming. Look at these flowers.

[00:10:53]They are supposed to attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

[00:11:00]And so I want to back by my chair so I can see if that is true and I will let you know.

[00:11:09]Haven't noticed anything on it, but it just recently started blooming and it's kind of up here where I don't see it all the time. So let's get it back in its new location. And there it is.

[00:11:27]Oh, so pretty.

[00:11:32]I love it.

[00:11:35]All right, I'll let you know how that goes.

[00:11:39]Remember how I said that one of my favorite wetland plants that I thought was gone is I found growing back that where I just moved all that stuff out of that guess full blazing sun is an ideal location for a Florida native wetland pot. So let's pot that up and put that pot back there.

[00:12:04]That's going to be fabulous. This will be right across from my wetland malows pot that we were just looking at. Those Mosuch hibiscus blooms. Mhm.

[00:12:15]Yeah, I think that'll work.

[00:12:18]This is one of the pots that I bought at Target for 40% off and it's got a plugged bottom that you can remove, but I'm leaving the plug in. And this is going to become my new wetland pot. And I'm going to set it down right here because this is my Florida native wetland garden. It used to have a huge sleepy hibiscus growing right in the middle of it that Hurricane Milton kind of destroyed. But I noticed right up here in the very corner is another sleepy hibiscus growing in.

[00:12:59]I'm going to try and dig that out and transplant it into this pot, which is oh my gosh, it's even more perfect because look at the velvety leaves.

[00:13:10]This plant is in the mow group and it is also a host of the same butterflies and mo as the most hibiscus and it'll be right there by them. So that's perfect.

[00:13:24]I'm going to fill it. Get it good and wet before I transfer the little plant in.

[00:13:33]I use my shovel to lift it out.

[00:13:38]And now I should be able to just pick it up. It doesn't have a very big root base.

[00:13:47]And plop it in.

[00:13:52]Then I'll fill him with more soil around it.

[00:13:56]There it is. Moved in. And now I'll fill its pot a lot more.

[00:14:08]And we'll hopefully it will thrive.

[00:14:14]You know, I've got this Mexican sunflower. It's kind of set behind everybody else.

[00:14:22]and it's not growing and thriving as well. I think it's because it predominantly gets shade.

[00:14:29]So, I think we move that pot over to that spot, too. And hopefully that plant will, now that it's getting more sun, grow up more and and get larger as the little sleepy hibiscus grows up beside it.

[00:14:46]I think that'll be awesome there.

[00:14:51]Now, for the enclosure, I think I want to put my wild lime on that little stand where I have the red pantas right now.

[00:15:01]And I'll probably move the red pentas to that corner kind of where the um pestle incense is cuz I really don't need to raise any more golf riddle. So, I'll take that pot out.

[00:15:19]And yeah, that'll give me good access to the wild lime without it being right out where it can catch me with it little thorns.

[00:15:30]I like it. Okay.

[00:15:33]All right. There it is. And there's the red pentus in the corner.

[00:15:38]Now, let's go bring some of the kids out and put them on the new plant in their new little outdoor enclosure. I'm just going to move out the big guys, not the babies.

[00:15:50]Mr. Carpenter Bee flew into the outdoor enclosure and is stuck in there. So, I got to go get him out.

[00:16:02]All right, Mr. Be is out. And you got to be extra cautious coming into this enclosure because this little guy was crawling across the floor.

[00:16:14]So, always have to be super meticulous with focus and paying attention. Can't just come barging in because there's precious little lives in here. Let's go put you on a plant.

[00:16:30]And we're on a plant.

[00:16:42]Okay, first little group of giant swallow tail caterpillars on not very happy wild lime cutings. While the wild lime since it's growing back, its stems are real green and they don't do as well in water.

[00:17:01]So, it's been a challenge keeping them fresh, which is why I'm going to love putting them out here on a potted plant in the outdoor enclosure.

[00:17:18]So, it's been a minute since we've hung out with one of these guys, but these are giant swallow tail caterpillars, and they have an adaptation to make them look like a chunk of bird poop. But when they get older, they also take on, well, they kind of have it now, but they take on even more of a look of a serpent of some kind.

[00:17:40]Either one is supposed to make them unappealing as snack food.

[00:17:47]And they're so cute. These guys are so chill and laidback.

[00:17:53]I love raising them.

[00:17:56]Okay, I'm going to put you on your plant now.

[00:17:59]I just moved him on.

[00:18:03]And this little one.

[00:18:06]Well, I don't want to overcrowd that shrub. And I still have a lot more.

[00:18:12]So, I have another small potted wild lime. I think I'll put them on it. And then move this into the enclosure as well.

[00:18:24]And so they are now right here.

[00:18:29]Oh, they're so cute.

[00:18:32]Look at them all snuggled in there nice and safe.

[00:18:37]That one's starting to take on the more snake like appearance or serpent on its head.

[00:18:51]There's a couple little monarchs in here, too.

[00:19:02]And this guy is still here.

[00:19:14]There is a gorgeous polyama swallow tail.

[00:19:18]Join my zenas.

[00:20:18]just back here in the corner checking out all these beautiful zenas that are blooming. And then I'll look to the other side and what do I see on my wild lime? Can you guess? Can you guess what it is?

[00:20:38]two and an egg. You know that's coming in.

[00:20:46]And you guys, right here on the corner, I have another little potted wild lime. And it's got eggs all over it.

[00:20:58]So, I think I'm just going to take this whole pot into the enclosure, too. I mean, look at all those eggs. Why not?

[00:21:13]Look at this big guy on my Zenia.

[00:21:24]Hey everyone, it's Monday morning and I'm just now coming out to my garden to check on the little giant sawtail caterpillars and I thought of something.

[00:21:40]I thought, you know, I keep calling it the outdoor enclosure, but I finally thought of a better term for the outdoor enclosure.

[00:21:53]How about the butterfly bed and breakfast?

[00:21:58]I think it's perfect. So, I'm heading out to the butterfly bed and breakfast.

[00:22:03]And I want to check on my little giant caterpillars. Make sure they're all settled in well.

[00:22:10]And perfect timing because look, it's little Tom Cruz has he closed so we can see see that butterfly too.

[00:22:26]Look at how perfect we are. Oh, I love it. Not ready to fly yet, but I think I'll move it over to the side so it doesn't have to be stuck here swinging. You want to move?

[00:22:43]It's a very cool location that you picked, mister. But let's just hang you over here.

[00:22:52]Yeah.

[00:22:54]Beautiful male. Handsome male. Gorgeous male. You hear Ray out there barking?

[00:23:00]Oh my gosh. Look at that. Look at that.

[00:23:07]Okay. But we're here to check on caterpillars. So, we're going to let you be, beautiful one.

[00:23:15]And we are looking just fine. And honestly, I think attached to a plant than droopy cutings, it's got to be so much healthier.

[00:23:30]And look here, man. I brought that one in just in time because look, there's babies. They just hatched overnight or this morning. Their eggs are gone. So, it's probably been a little bit.

[00:23:48]Remember the group of three?

[00:23:52]Where's the other one? I thought there were three down here. Oh, there it is.

[00:23:56]Oh my goodness. I love this.

[00:24:00]If you look, another bee in here. Come on out.

[00:24:06]All right. Well, if he doesn't get out, I'll get him out. I might have to get one of those little nets to keep out here permanently.

[00:24:15]Get them basking in the sun.

[00:24:18]Oh, I love this setup.

[00:24:23]I was also going to grab one of these milkweeds to bring in because I have two caterpillars still. in the enclosure, but I think I'm going to bring them out here.

[00:24:39]One queen and one monarch heading out to the enclosure.

[00:24:55]And there we are.

[00:25:08]So, I have this other potted wild lime out here. I think I'm going to take it in and and I'm going to take all my little guys out on their cutings. I'm just going to set them in the base of the plant.

[00:25:27]So they can just climb on and then they'll have this little tree all to themselves.

[00:25:39]Same with this one. Put this taller one back here and lean it in so they'll be touching. And then when they've all moved on, I'll just take those out. And oh my goodness, you know, I love this thing so much. Who knows how long it's going to last. It gets a decent amount of sun and shade.

[00:26:06]So I the like the roof's not just baking in the sun. But let me tell you, even if I had to buy two of these a year and replace them, cuz it'd be easy enough to replace. It's just a popup.

[00:26:19]Um, look, we're going to look for a place to pupate.

[00:26:24]Um, I would replace it because it's that fantastic.

[00:26:29]Or maybe design and build something more sturdy of my own, but that would be at an expense.

[00:26:41]So, right now, this is pretty fabulous.

[00:26:46]I love it.

[00:26:53]And look what's going on here.

[00:27:00]We are getting more polyomus volatail eggs.

[00:27:14]I love it. I love everything. I love this garden. I love sharing it with you.

[00:27:20]And I think we're going to wrap up this video here because I got to get it edited and up for you tonight.

[00:27:30]I'm seeing a zebra long wings regularly now. I love that. Lots of butterflies.

[00:27:43]And here's another look at my tiny little toomentosa flower and a little hidden egg. Still not hatched yet.

[00:27:53]That's just adorable.

[00:27:57]And for our end of the video clip, this one's a fun one. If you live in Florida, give me a sunshine emoji. If you live outside of Florida, give me an emoji that hints to something about where you live. Uhhuh. Like there's a bunch of flag emojis if you're in another country. Um it could be like if you have cold winters and you could give me a snow emoji or if you live in the mountains, a mountain emoji. Just something that hints in it. So, I'll know Florida and where you are and kind of something about what it's like where you are.

[00:28:46]I hope that works. All right, bye everyone.

[00:28:51]Oh, also just a quick update. Uh, these guys are the ones I potted yesterday and they drooped a little and now they're all happy looking again. And I'm sort of going to leave them here for a little bit so they can get acclimated and not have to deal with the blazing Florida sunshine.

[00:29:11]Oh, and my uh sleepy hibiscus perked up too. It was looking droopy. So, I think it's going to be just fine. So, the video is not over. And the best most exciting thing has happened. I got a call from a Florida native plant friend who is delivering me some caterpillars. Can you guess? Can you guess what they are?

[00:29:42]So, I have another plant I've got to go move into the butterfly bed and breakfast.

[00:29:50]This is so awesome. And yes, I'll share when they get here. And tomorrow's my birthday. This couldn't be better. All right, let me go show you what plant I'm moving.

[00:30:05]It's right over here.

[00:30:15]If you know this plant, you know who I'm getting.

[00:30:21]Woohoo. All right, I'm gonna go move it in. I'll be back and I'll let you see their adorableness.

[00:30:32]Okay, we are ready to receive.

[00:30:40]I'm out here wandering around waiting for the arrival of my special delivery.

[00:30:45]And look what I noticed. This is my macrofila pipe vine.

[00:30:50]And those are polyama swallowail eggs.

[00:30:54]As a matter of fact, there's a polydamas right here enjoying the pentas.

[00:31:06]That's fabulous.

[00:31:09]Okay, they're here. And she brought them on the plant, so I put it in here.

[00:31:16]Um, but I think what I'm going to do because they're really babies, I think I'm going to put the plant in an enclosure inside until they get bigger.

[00:31:28]Let's do that and then I'll show them to you up close.

[00:31:32]Cuz this is also a different kind of paw paw than this. This is the maybe triloba common papa and this might be the small flower papa which I do have this type also but I'm not sure how they'll transfer just like the pipe vine you know don't like to switch flavors. So anyway okay I know hurry up show us the caterpillars. Hang on.

[00:32:05]And here we go.

[00:32:08]my very first ever zebra swallow tail caterpillar.

[00:32:16]Like, this is the first time I've ever seen one.

[00:32:21]Like, for real.

[00:32:23]This one's the bigger one.

[00:32:27]This is the first time I have ever seen one of these in person.

[00:32:35]It's incredible.

[00:32:37]What a birthday gift.

[00:32:40]And then here's a little one.

[00:32:44]And here's another little one.

[00:32:50]This is so fun, you guys. And I get to watch them all grow. It looks like there's three.

[00:32:58]Let me peek under.

[00:33:04]Okay, this one is flag papa. Obada.

[00:33:22]Yeah, I see three.

[00:33:25]Okay, please live guys. You have to live.

[00:33:31]You have to live and become butterflies.

[00:33:40]You guys look, he just molted.

[00:33:44]I was coming over to get a picture of it to take and put at the end of the video and literally we are now stealer colors.

[00:33:56]Woohoo.

[00:33:59]Oh my gosh.