Oh my! I recognize the word debris! My husband and I talked after Katrina about how we never used that word except after a hurricane! And when I think of hurricanes, the first thing that comes to mind is the endless sound of chain saws. I'll never forget Hurricane Elena, when we still lived in Gulfport. Somebody in our neighborhood already had his chain saw going before the storm was even over! My neighbor here gave me a funny look when she saw how much things had "grown up" at my house. I'm not going to give up on trees, no matter how many hurricanes go through here. Who would want to live in a treeless world? Sherry

OK, here's the update. I took the dog out for an hour this morning. When I left, the caterpillar was hanging upside down in a "J" shape. When I returned he had gone into the pupa stage; it happened in one hour! I was astonished. It's a beautiful nearly iridescent green. Research tells me this phase takes 10 days. I took the paper off the top of the vase (which was there before to keep it from crawling out) and set the vase outside in the shade which seems the most natural environment for it.

Glad to hear it, James. Hope you get many more. It was windy today here in Central Florida. There were butterflies, but not as many as days when it's sunny with little wind.

Butterfly gardening is one of the more popular topics in the gardening classes taught in our free Gardeners of Southwest Florida group. The reliably mild climate here on south Florida’s Gulf coast (Zone 10b) keeps our gardens constantly full of butterflies, beautifying our properties every month of the year. The group’s website informs the more than 1,300 families who are current members of the group which plants to add to their gardens to attract each local species of butterfly. The extensive and informative website includes hundreds of photos and full details of the 123 previous and upcoming free gardening classes. Here in our own garden in Naples, we used to see some butterflies and caterpillars fall prey to hungry birds and lizards, so we found a way to save them in the future. We permanently installed a large covered screened enclosure measuring 60 feet long, 36 feet wide, and 12 feet tall. We added appropriate plants to offer nectar for the butterflies and food for their caterpillars, and introduced a few of each species into the enclosure. They started breeding immediately, and because the screening protected them from predators, the booming butterfly population was soon greatly enhancing the beauty of the enclosure. The photos we’ve posted here show only some of our monarchs and their cats, but we also breed five other local species of butterflies in the enclosure. Occasionally we see other butterflies outside in the garden trying to come through the screen to reach the larval plants inside on which to lay their eggs. Because we use the enclosure as a spacious, mosquito-free, sunny dining area for ourselves and our visitors, we’re surrounded by hundreds of these colorful “flying flowers” as the butterflies flutter by all around us. To thank us for providing them with an environment safe from predators, the butterflies give us great satisfaction in living among them at nature intended. Anyone interested in learning more about butterfly gardening and scores of other techniques to become better gardeners can instantly become members of the Gardeners of Southwest Florida group on its website at www.meetup.com/FloridaGardeners, with no obligation. Membership and everything else is free, because all expenses are paid by group leaders Peter Kacalanos and Suzanne Cherney. It’s a great way to meet other local gardeners around Naples and Fort Myers, and to visit some of their gardens during the free gardening classes. Here are a few of the members posing for a group photo after a class held in the screened enclosure of our garden: