A Welcome Reprieve

After a wicked hot summer this Labor Day Weekend was a breath of fresh air~ literally. Blue skies, wispy clouds...

...a relaxing breeze...




What have we here?



A perfect perch!



'Cripple Creek' still going...



Some fresh new blooms on the Dianthus.



and a return to more summer like weather today.



A wonderful three day weekend♥

Holiday Snapshots in the Garden

Since the Fourth of July fell on Sunday this year it was really like just another day for me... other than the grilling of hamburgers for lunch and some celebratory adult beverages in the evening. Before heading off to work I thought I'd share some of the day in photos.

The garden is in a lull for blooms with daylily season almost over and many perennials on strike for lack of water and TLC from the gardener. Buddleia 'Potter's Purple' is the place to be for all of the butterflies in the neighborhood.






Old faithful Echinacea 'Magnus' is blooming now too. I never thought it would make it this many years but it is a true stalwart.



The Bronze Fennel contributing fireworks to the garden with the shape of its flowers and umbels.



For everyone who has this week as vacation~ Enjoy! (and for everyone else: hang in there,lol.)

Why It's Called Butterfly Weed

This past week brought some much needed rain but the garden seems to be in a lull when it comes to flowers. The one flower that really pops right now is Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa.

This morning with Salvia farinacea


This afternoon with Black Swallowtail




Gray Hairstreak


American Painted Lady and Gray Hairstreak



I've never noticed any larval activity on my plants but they sure do a good job of providing nectar.

Camera Critters~ The Little Butterflies

The last Sunday in September was an enjoyable one for me with pleasant weather and some new photo subjects in the garden. As soon as I ventured out with the camera I spotted this Pearl Crescent but I could only capture it while it was sunning in the grass.



I believe that this is an Eastern Tailed Blue. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this or any ID here.





Gray Hairstreak





Bees







A dewey Ladybird Beetle or Ladybug



A wasp of some sort



These bugs are everywhere in the garden but I'm not sure of an ID.



In a recent post over at clay and limestone there was some discussion about pokeweed. This is Mockingbird heaven- Wax Myrtle AND pokeweed,lol.



For more pics like this visit Camera Critters.

What's Happening

I have been trying all season to get some photos of the black Swallowtail butterflies that flutter through the garden. I'm not the best at IDing these but I believe this may be the dark form of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. I've been very surprised that my Bronze Fennel is still untouched since it's a larval food source for the TSTs which are so plentiful here.

Daylily 'So Lovely' is an older hybrid that is a good late bloomer for me. It and Volcan Fuego are the only two registered daylilies still blooming for me now.

The Dave's Garden Round Up that I attended almost 2 weeks ago was planned around an Open House date for Plant Delights Nursery which is a very reasonable drive from LWG. Lucky for me my DH had given me a gift certificate to PDN for my birthday and I could shop;) This was one of my acquisitions~ Salvia 'California Sunset'. I've had my eye on it for quite a while and hope it will settle right into the garden to stay for awhile.

These are the very first flowers for me from Zephyranthes 'Grandjax', a hybrid rain lily that a fellow DGer shared with me last fall. I just love these little guys who are shaped just like Z. candida.