It was a lot of heavy work but with the help of community service volunteers from the local International Mosaic Church we were able to provide more pit space for water and oxygen to penetrate to the roots of Brower Park’s trees. Mulch will protect the roots and as it breaks down provide nourishment for the trees.

As our two Community Service volunteers from Queens weeded our Prospect Place Welcome garden they were covered in sticky burs. We were rewarded by the appearance of a Monarch Butterfly in our Milkweed patch.

The Milkweed cotton tickles.

As Tomas, a steadfast volunteer, works harvesting milkweed seeds he observes many new insects that have been attracted to the milkweed plants. Milkweed plants attract aphids and ladybugs provide natural insect control. Ladybugs dine on aphids. Tomas, also discovered the Milkweed bug. It likes to drain the fluids from the Milkweed seed pods. We were able to identify the bugs using our Field Guide of insects. Notice that the Milkweed bug is orange and black. Similar coloring to the Monarch Butterfly.

Milkweed bug

Lady bug

Milkweed is not the only plant that produces seed pods. The Blue Wild Indigo [Baptisia australis] also has seeds pods that turn from green to almost black. We are collecting these seed pods as well for their seeds.

Today has been a busy day for Friends of Brower Park volunteers. Tomas helped  harvest sunflower seeds.

With Janice and other community volunteers.

We turned the leaf mold [compost) that we have been preparing for use in our beds. It’s amazing how last Autumn’s fallen leaves have decomposed into compost through the work of volunteers. Of course Marco and friends can’t turn the compost without investigating the life living and working beneath the surface.

We also collected Maple tree samaras for Josh, the horticulturist at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.

And most exciting Tomas spotted two insects we have not seen before in our milkweed patch: a praying mantis and a grasshopper. Can you find them in the photographs below?

Praying Mantis

Grasshopper

We planted milkweed to save the Monarch butterfly. Word went out and an ecosystem has begun to reestablish itself. The milkweed plant is the only plant that the Monarch butterfly will lay its eggs on and the only plant that the Monarch caterpillar will eat. Milkweed bugs dine on the fluid within the milkweed seed pods. Adult milkweed bugs lay their eggs on the Milkweed and now there are hundreds of nymphs [immature insects] taking possession of the late Autumn pods. We have already harvested our seeds and we are happy to share what remains. Milkweed bugs go through 3 stages of growth from egg to nymph to adult unlike the Monarch butterfly that metamorphoses from a caterpillar to an adult butterfly.