Today in the orchard
Butterflyweed at Finley Lane, August 11, 2025
This was a day to stay indoors, a good place to be when the temperatures are in the mid-90’s. It was still 91 F when I went outside to do some work at 4 PM. From 4-8 PM the conditions were quite nice for catching up on building compost piles and inventorying the apple crop. Turns out we have a lot of fruit out there. This could be an exciting year if we can get a bit of rain. It is dry, and we need it. I also gave a tour for a photographer from Downeast Magazine. Stay tuned for the October issue.
For years I’ve been trying to establish Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa), a close relative of the pale-pink-flowering common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Happily we have lots of the Common Milkweed in the orchards, but Butterflyweed has brilliant orange flowers, and I do love orange. I’ve made several unsuccessful attempts to get it started … until now. Today I noticed the orange flowers. Hooray!
