The Backyard

The Backyard

Monday, May 4, 2009

Milkweed and Broccoli?



Here's an odd combo -- but I'm letting it be. Milkweed, to many folks, is a weed. My view on Milkweed is its a beneficial native plant to feed the Monarch butterlies. It comes up late in the spring when it gets warm and often pops up in the most unexpected places. This year, its coming up smack dab in the middle of the broccoli patch. But I decided I'm sacrificing a broccoli plant or two, to be sure I have monarch breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Actually, I may not be sacrificing anything because the two may be quite compatiable. It turns out, Milkweed shoots (the way they look here) are quite edible, along with many other parts of the plant including the flower heads just before they open. Be sure to read the article in the link -- its an interesting tidbit about eating milkweed that I never knew. So let the milkweed grow in your garden. It truly is a whole lot more than a "weed."




And I have this crazy cat that can't sit still for a second. Her name is MoMo, and this is typical of her actions -- climbing whatever she can to get "high." She loves sitting in the arbovitae waiting for birds.

2 comments:

DailySAHM said...

Gwen wants to have a "monarch butterfly way station," so we will be planting milkweed. I was going to order it from here (http://www.butterflybushes.com/milkweed.htm). Do you know of a place locally that I can drive to get it?

Chili said...

I don't... but then again I haven't really been in any nurseries lately - Stauffer's of KH might have some. You could call before you start running around.