2026 07 21 - Black milkweed

Yes, they are milkweed.

This is the new milkweed in my garden. The old milkweed by the fire pit would usually get this way but being in a new location I was hopeful.

And there are now about 75 milkweed plants in this area, only about a half dozen produced pods.

Only saw 1 monarch butterfly this year. That is something I can not control. But I do want to figure out how to save the milkweed for the butterfly's and the bees, not the ants.

Besides these 75, there were still about a dozen by the fire pit, fewer than last year. And there are now three next to the house but those are being attact by the ant's also but are not black yet.