I have grown about 15 milkweed plants from seed. This is the first year the plants haven't been stripped of leaves. I have seen no monarchs here at all this summer. There are a lot of other types of butterflies all over my garden.

Hi susanzone5(z5NY) thanks for your interesting comment, sad to hear you didn't get the monarch caterpillars this year. I read someone else's comment a while ago (I think it was on Houzz) that there are variations in the number of (a specific) species visiting a garden every year & this is not a concern but rather the way nature is. I haven't researched this so I'm not sure how valid it is. I didn't see monarchs for a few years & this year they are back. I saw one caterpillar, there may have been more I didn't see. I'm impressed you grew milkweed from seed to provide habitat - that is so important to the survival of monarchs. There's lots of other insects that need milkweed to survive, a whole community of different insects. So even if you didn't see monarchs this year you are doing something very positive for the environment. Another thought, do you have other native pants (indigenous to NY state) growing? I believe (& it's only my thought not researched or anything) that a wildflower environment is key to attracting monarchs, not just milkweed but other native plants. The reason I think this is, in my garden, over a few years (partly due to neglect on my part) the quantity & variety of native plants increased. This year there was a huge increase in insect population/diversity as a a result. Same for birds because they feed insects to their young. And this was the year the monarchs came back. Maybe there is an optimum number/diversity of wild flowers (indigenous plants) that creates this healthy ecosystem that attracts monarchs... Thanks again, let me know what you think. I'd be very interested to know if you get monarchs next year.

Yes, AG, I live in the foothills of the Catskills by a reservoir, with forest and fields all around, full of native plants and wildflowers. The only really cultivated gardens are around my house (deerproof plants only) and inside my fenced-in garden (small pest mammals' delight, the bane of my garden existence.)

I have just recently discovered black swallowtail caterpillars on my dill. Took me a while to ID them since I've never had them. This will be fun.

In the spring I had my cabbages literally covered with hundreds of cabbage moth larvae. The next day every one of them was gone. I imagine the birds fed them to their babies. Yay! However, these moths are on their third larval cycle, and my kale is completely ravaged at this point since the birds are no longer feeding babies.

My asters are covered with all kinds of bees, and the butterflies are loving my zinnias. At this point, aphids have taken over the milkweed since they are still covered in leaves, but it's nice to see all the seed pods ripe and seeds flying all over. The birds are enjoying all the different flower seeds that have ripened. Fun to watch.

Now that two months of the daytime mosquitoes are gone, I can be in my garden all day. I just love autumn.

Susan, your garden sounds beautiful & very eco friendly! I also had a swallowtail caterpillar on dill this year, they look similar to monarch caterpillars don't they? I also grow a lot of deer proof plants, but there's plenty to choose from so I don't really mind. Lots of aphids and ladybugs this year on clumps of native Heliopsis, many milk weed bugs on the Heliopsis also. From my observation, the Heliopsis supports an insect community in the same way that milkweed does. Increased numbers of bumblebees compared to last year, which I was delighted to see. Right now I'm doing battle with invasive Japanese Stilt Grass, trying to cut it down before the seeds disperse. Enjoying the lovely fall weather, as you say it's great weather for gardening. I live in the mid Hudson Valley region too.

I went to Maraleen's for a butterfly tour last year. What a wonderful experience! Go in the late summer when all her millions of flowers are blooming all over her many gardens. She also shows slides of her trips to places where the butterflies migrate while you have tea and cookies. She is so entertaining and expert throughout the tour.