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A Gardener's Notebook: The latest incarnation of my column detailing the trails and tribulations of my garden. Join the list and ask your own questions about gardening Subscribe

A few months ago I found 2 small vines languishing on the north side of the house. I transplanted them to a more hospitable area and they started to grow rather nicely. I had hoped that they were Passion Flower and as the leaves got larger it seemed I was right. This week I had another indication that I was right but, unfortunately, it might mean the loss of the vines altogether.

I have heard from my other gardening friends that Passion Flower vines are the favorite food of a particular type of caterpillar. It is possible that this is a Gulf fritillary. I tried to look it up but my reference book is surprising short on caterpillar descriptions. If you can identify this one, join the AGN mailing list and drop us a line. These caterpillars can completely defoliate a plant and since these vines were just getting started it happened quite quickly. I noticed one day that the leaves were nearly all gone and thought that the plants had died. I then remembered hearing about these caterpillars and almost immediately found one happily munching away. This one was so happy I was able to snap a picture of him or her. Although they are not supposed to kill healthy plants I am afraid these transplants may not recover. Oh well, I can't feel too bad as I didn't pay anything for the plants and at least there will be one pretty butterfly in the garden in a few weeks.

Other butterfly plants

Over the years we have lived with this garden we have found that the Lantana attracts butterflies as well. Small white and brown butterflies can be seen flitting about nearly any time of day in the summer. I have been wanting to add a Buddleia davidii or Butterly Bush to my garden but haven't yet developed a sunny enough spot for it. I saw one in a friend's garden and quickly realized that it grows much larger than I originally thought. This might be one plant that will have to go into some other garden, some other time.

End of season clean-up

This month we have been starting our end of season clean-up duties. One of the biggest chores is cleaning up the falling leaves from all the trees on the property. If we let them lie until the rains come, they quickly compress down into a thick mat that is difficult to rake up and impossible to use the leaf blower on.

I have an electric leaf blower since this is one of the only ways I can clear off the pea gravel paths with out removing the gravel itself. Even the blower lifts the smaller pebbles and quite a few of them end up in the compost pile. I still haven't found a good solution for replacing the gravel paths but something will have to be done soon. The gravel has washed away in spots and the rain can create some muddy areas.

Pumpkins are starting to show up here in Van Nuys and that means we only have a few weeks until Halloween. Last year we took an excursion on the Fillmore and Western Railway's Pumpkin Train in Fillmore, California which provides a train trip in restored railroad cars to a private pumpkin patch. We hope to do it again this year. They also have a Christmas Tree Train that runs during the holidays. Check it out if you are in the Los Angeles area.

Keep Digging!

Douglas