Zinnias and More

8/19/13

zinnias

     The zinnias I planted from seed have finally started blooming!  I am so glad I planted them on June 2, even though it was a late planting.

cosmos

     The cosmos in the back yard that I planted at the same time as the zinnias are coming along.  One bud is just appearing on the tallest stem.

hardy begonias

Japanese anemones

     Also in the back yard garden, my fall flowers, hardy begonias and Japanese anemones have started blooming.

lavender

     The lavender is in full bloom in the side garden.

marigolds

     The bees just love the marigolds.

reseeded marigolds

     When I cut some of the spent blooms off the marigolds, I threw some of them on the ground in the empty spaces in the garden.  The seeds took root and now more marigold plants are coming up.

tiger swallowtail

spicebush swallowtail

     In the last two weeks I have noticed more butterflies in the garden.  We have had such cloudy, cool, fall-like weather in the last week.  Temperatures did not get out of the 70's during the day, and at night went down in the 50's.  I want summer back for a few more weeks.

Around the Yard

8/13/13

crape myrtle

    
      The crape myrtle tree in the side yard is full of blooms.  I am not a fan of crape myrtles, and I've never had one in any of my yards until we moved here.  But I must admit this tree is beautiful.













  

milkweed plants

     The milkweed Tussock caterpillars are gone from the milkweed plants.  The caterpillars ate lots of leaves on some of the plants.  Now all that's left are the follicles.  When the follicles ripen, they will split open.  Inside will be brown seeds with white, silky, filament-like hairs called coma, which make it easy for seeds to be blown around by the wind.

arbor over gate

     My husband finally finished building the arbor top over the gate into the backyard.  I plan on getting a Carolina jessamine vine to plant next to the gate in hopes that it will grow along the fence and over the arbor.

deck planter flowers

     The diascia that was in this deck railing planter was not doing well, so I replaced it with a red geranium and two ornamental pepper plants.

     We have had so much rain and cloudy weather here.  It is downright depressing.  We have not had a rain-free weekend since Father's Day.  Mushrooms, fungus and other weird things are growing all over the yard.  These are photos of the two I found most interesting.

Creatures Big and Small

8/1/13

side yard garden

    
     The side yard garden is starting to fill in finally with lots of blooms.  I've noticed lots of butterflies, dragonflies and bees visiting lately.
They flit from flower to flower so quickly, it was difficult to get photos of them.

     I did manage to take photos of a few of them and some other animals around the yard.

calico pennant dragonfly

      I don't know a lot about dragonflies, butterflies and moths.  Until I went on the internet and found similar photos, I didn't know the name of this dragonfly.  I don't know the names of the lepidoptera in the two following photos.  Do you?

moth?

 

butterfly

milkweed tussock caterpillar

      I was hoping I would see monarch caterpillars on the milkweed plants, since I've read they feed exclusively on milkweed.  But no.  An internet search identifies these as the milkweed tussock caterpillars.

deer running across the backyard

brave squirrel

     I took this photo through the sliding glass door that goes out to the back patio and back yard.  This squirrel  regularly visits the pots I have on the deck here.  I am guessing he is lured by the smell of the fish emulsion fertilizer I use on the plants occasionally.

zinnia seedlings

     I started this blog post about a week and a half ago, but life gets in the way sometimes.  So these zinnia seedlings are actually bigger than this photo shows.  Although I planted these only five weeks ago, they are almost ready to bloom.  I am so excited that I will have lots of beautiful zinnias (one of my favorite flowers) that I wanted to share their progress.