A butterfly!

The past few years I have complained bitterly about the lack of butterflies in my yard. So imagine my surprise when I found this guy in the shed. I managed to get it outside to a location under the spice bush. Later it was gone, hopefully under its own power and not inside the tummy of a bird.

I've been unimpressed by the blue star in the front yard, but this year it is really making an effort. You can find more info about this native plant here.

It makes a nice backdrop to the ragwort.

More spring beauties are popping.

I've been considering eliminating the aster in the front yard, but what to put there in its place? How about a ‘Rising Sun’ redbud? I just learned there is such a thing, and it sounds like a beauty. It's going on my wish list.

Red admiral butterfly

The only butterflies I have seen so far this year are the ubiquitous cabbage whites and the red admiral butterflies. Many of us who have grown members of the broccoli family, especially broccoli and cabbage, are quite familiar with the life cycle of cabbage whites. But what about red admirals?

The red admiral butterfly (a.k.a. Vanessa atalanta) has a wide habitat over much of North and South America. Europe, and Asia, with individual variations that improve their adaptation to local climes. While they feed on nectar, their host plants are all the members of the nettle family (Urticaceae). Nettles grow worldwide, with over 50 species, which gives red admirals a leg up on butterflies such as monarchs that rely on only milkweed plants.

Red admirals have two broods in North America, between March and October. The males are quite terratorial, so if you see a pair fluttering together, they are not mating but chasing each other away. The females will mate only with males who hold terratory. Yet these brightly colored butterlies are rather friendly to humans, sometimes even landing on us two-leggeds.

The green to cream eggs blend in well with the undersides of nettles, the black spiny larva feed on the nettles, and the crysallis resembles a dried leaf. Camoflage is important because red admirals do not have a chemical defense like monarchs do. As the weather cools in fall, those in northern areas migrate south.

I no longer have any nettles in my yard. However, red admirals also use members of the Asteraceae family (asters, daisies, sunflowers) and the Cannabaceae family (hemp, hops, hackberry) as hosts. Indian hemp tries to grow in my yard, but it is actually a member of the Apocynaceae (dogbane) family. I think I've seen the red admiral larva around, though, so I will have to keep an eye out for it. Painted lady butterflies are cousins of red admirals.

(This information on red admirals comes from Wikipedia and the U.S. Forest Service.)

On the home front, the redbud trees are simply gorgeous this year, along with the flowering crabs. The cool weather is lengthening bloom time for both. Personally, I think everyone with a yard should be required to plant a redbud. And all the ornamental pears should be whacked before they take over every inch of undeveloped land there is.

The blue star and wild geranium are blooming out front, but they are hidden behind the ragwort, a design flaw that bugs me. If I were more energetic, I might try to replace some of the ragwort with something shorter. Later in the season, once the ragwort is done blooming and I cut the stems back, zinnia will go into those beds.

I haven't given up hope yet on the tulip tree, as there are other trees like locust that are also not leafing out yet. We'll have to wait and see.

Birds and butterflies

The New York Times (I'm a subscriber) is sponsoring a bird watching thing with the Cornell Lab of Orthinology. I signed up (and am having trouble logging into their eBird app) so I can report what I see in my backyard. Most of the birds I see are common for this area, with the exception of migrants passing through. But I do observe interesting behaviors once in a while.

While no one has moved into the bluebird box, I did see three male bluebirds duking it out on the roof of the garden shed. Two of them really got into it, slid off the roof and onto the ground without breaking apart. Two male cardinals were also challenging each other. In other activity, I witnessed the male wren chase off a sparrow that got too close to the wren house, pecking him on the head. Nesting time must bring out the aggression in all these guys.

Other observations: robins will chase away starlings, bluebirds will cede the mealworm feeder to sparrows, the bluejays are more interested in peanut splits these days than whole peanuts. I'm sure my observations are not unique, but it is a fun hobby.

Female cardinal

Despite the chilly weather, a few hardy butterflies have flown through the yard: a swallowtail, a cabbage white, something I can't identify, and this red admiral.

Red admiral

The coneflower plants and rudbeckia goldsturm are in the ground now. I put the coneflower in the last raised bed, which is L-shaped; the rudbeckia went into the L's inner corner. Both are behind the fencing around the birdfeeders, so no dogs can trample them. All that is left are container plants... except for the perennials on the south side of the house that I may move to the birdfeeder area, depending on how much digging I want to do.

While the redbud didn't bloom very profusely this year, the flowering crab and now the hawthorn have made up for their under performance.

Hawthorn

And one of the catmint varieties is trying to add more color to the front yard.

Cat's Pajamas

The Ego trimmer is assembled and charged, but I have yet to use it. More of the ragwort has been cut back, primarily so the flowers behind it - wild geranium, blue star, and columbine - are more visible.

I bought top soil to help shore up the berm around the rain garden, just have to get to it. The rhubarb that I put in a container isn't very happy, so I'm contemplating planting it along the edge of the rain garden. About 0.75" of rain fell last night, so that clay soil should be more amenable to being disturbed.

And that is the week that was.

So THAT'S what smells so good

Recently, when I stepped out the patio door, I smelled something wonderful but could not place. Today I realized it is the common milkweed. I'm surprised there isn't a perfume called Eau de Asclepias syriaca.

I have seen a few butterflies this summer, including a random monarch or two. I wish I knew what this guy is. I initially mistook it for a leaf. The legs and body are fuzzy, like a moth, but it has its wings folded like a butterfly. Anyone know?

The Betty Corning clematis experiment is half fail, half successful. I didn't get the tuteur moved early enough for one, plus I did not provide it with stable support, so now it looks like it is crawling toward the redbud. Another problem is some critter hides underneath it, so the dogs are always nosing around there.

The other BC is doing what I hoped, except this particular variety of clematis does not get tall enough to twine through the tree branches. I will have to rethink this experiment. (Sorry for the poor pic - it was a bit too sunny for quality photography.)

I have tried repeatedly to get some butterflyweed established, even purchasing a variety that is supposed to do well in clay soil. One problem is it is easily overwhelmed by its neighbors, which is my fault. It needs a little elbow room. (In the background are the black hollyhocks.)

I could try to convince you that these hollyhocks are a new variety known as "Lacy Leaf". I plant hollyhocks for two reasons: the blossoms yield a lovely natural dye and the plants act as a trap crop for Japanese beetles. Success on both counts.

As if my bum hip weren't enough, I caught a summer cold (THANKS, JANINE!) and now it is unbearably hot out. A few minutes standing in the sun chatting with my neighbor just about gave me heat stroke. It's a bit too dry (didn't think I'd be saying that after our wet, wet, wet spring) but not so dry I am watering anything... yet.

Are you tired of monarch pix yet?

Another monarch hatched yesterday. The chrysalis had turned black as its surface thinned to reveal the new butterfly within. At least, that is what I was hoping was happening.

I kept checking the habitat throughout the day, but missed the actual emergence of the adult.

The newly emerged adult butterfly is very tame, has no qualms about climbing aboard a human finger.

This time I managed to catch some decent photos of the wings, closed and open.

Some of these photos are with my Olympus SLR, some with my Samsung Galaxy phone camera. Can you tell the difference? I can't.

This fellow picked a cool and wet day to emerge. I left it perched on the outside of the habitat, then last night arranged some shelter to protect it from the rain. It is still sitting there today. Probably needs a little sunshine to get going. (Don't we all?)

Finally

A day after my last post, I went to check the butterfly habitat and was startled to find... A MONARCH BUTTERFLY! It must have been newly hatched, as it was gently waving its wings to dry them. My source said it would take 4 to 9 days for the chrysalis to hatch, and I believe this one took the full nine days.

Taking photos was a bit awkward. I tried to catch one with the wings outstretched but the shutter delay was never timed right. I helped it out of the enclosure - its feet feel sticky - and it flew away (while I chased Finn the indoor-outdoor cat away).

When the caterpillar sheds its skin as it grows, it eats it. However, the shell of the chrysalis is left behind.

Raising butterflies is not quite as simple as it seems. For the habitat I have, I would like a branching structure that reaches from top to bottom, so the caterpillars can climb, and with platforms (or something) for holding fresh milkweed leaves. Even a small tree branch would do, I think. I'll have to ponder that for next year.

I'm bugged

August must be the month for bugginess in the garden. Pollinators seem to be at their busiest, including bees, of course.

I don't know what these orange and black beetles are, but they are everywhere.

Although I do not have photographic proof, I am 95% sure I saw an Eastern Tailed - Blue (Everes comyntas) on the Joe Pye last week. We'll have to settle for this white cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae) which is omnipresent each year, all summer long.

At least I found a monarch, on the zinnias and not the milkweed, nectaring and not laying eggs. Maybe some other summer we'll have caterpillars.

There are lots of other little insects of one sort or another, not inclined to sit still and be photographed, let alone identified. I accept their presence as a good sign, that my yard welcomes all bugs, as long as they stay out of the house proper.

Aye, aye, admiral

Some years there are butterflies in my yard, and some years there aren't. This year we have a plethora of Red Admirals, aka Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus). I read somewhere that they like thistle blossoms, which is too bad; last weekend we frantically yanked up all the Canada thistle because it was starting to bloom. Fortunately, Red Admirals like other flowers as well, including Scabiosa (I think this is 'Butterfly Blue').

The only other butterflies I have seen are Cabbage Whites (Pieris rapae), never a welcome sight.

The end is near

As much as I love gardening, by the end of August, I am done with it. Fortunately, it is about done with me, too. The determinate Roma tomatoes have passed their peak. The butternut squash are turning a lovely shade of beige. Even the zucchini plants are slowing production (although there is a giant zuke out there I can't reach - we'll see just how big it will get). But there is still plenty to feast one's eyes on.

I'm happy to report that I have seen more monarch butterflies this summer. After reading Barbara Kingsolver's Flight Behavior and then seeing few, if any monarchs last year, I was getting a bit concerned. Hopefully, they will hang in there.

One of the best kept secrets regarding nectar plants is the lowly zinnia. Not only do they attract butterflies but hummingbirds as well. And so easy to grow!

In the Learn Something New department, it was only after reading this gardeninacity post that I took a closer look at the seed pods on the swamp milkweed and butterfly weed plants. Very interesting.

And then there are the sunflowers. I can't tell you the varieties of these beauties, as the seeds are from a mixture. Since these are bred for cutting, the plants have multiple blossoms and those blossoms last a long time.

How is your garden winding up?

Make it stop

It may be autumn by the calendar and there may even be a nip in the air at night, but it feels like the late summer harvest just goes on and on. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini - oh, my! One zucchini is becoming zucchini bread as I type, some of the tomatoes are destined for chili, and today's Parade section in the newspaper has a recipe for "Confetti Cornbread" - cornbread with minced red, yellow, orange, and green peppers. I may throw in a hot one as well.

If it weren't autumn, these guys would not keep popping up in the mulch, though.



Dog stinkhorn fungus, aka Mutinus caninus.

And I'm guessing this fellow is preparing for a long flight to Mexico.



Besides this butterfly bush, several other flowering shrubs are still flowering.



I'm guessing first frost will put an end to that. The question is, Do I protect the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and zucchini from that first frost? Opinions are divided.

Other critters, of the avian persuasion, have been active in the yard. I am an eyewitness to seeing robins consuming pokeberries. I also spotted a brown thrasher amongst the robins, but he apparently could not take the competition. Besides the usual sparrows and finches, there have been quite a few noisy blue jays in the area, as well as a downy woodpecker.

Today's chores included mowing (again), harvesting (again), watering (again), plus the construction of a new lasagna bed. I hope to bed the entire garden down with leaves later on, but since I have so few trees, I am debating on which neighbor to rummage leaves from. Last year I invited the households on either side of me to simply dump their leaves into my (chainlink enclosed) backyard, but neither of them did. This year I may just drag a plastic tarp across the street when my truck-owning neighbor runs his leaf blower. Gotta get me some leaves.

C is for Concrete

Tomorrow (!!!) the concrete guys are going to start their thing. I plan to be far away while they work. Watching them tear out and crush the deck sounds too painful. Then there will be much backhoe work. Finally comes the concrete. Theoretically, all this will take two, maybe three days. It's hard to believe the time has finally arrived. Let the remodeling begin!

I meant to move the columbine and blue hosta out of harm's way last weekend, but it was too freakin' hot. I took a half-day of vacation this morning to attend to that task. Still worked up a healthy sweat, even though it was only 70 degrees.

A couple of these kept me company while I worked.



I don't know my butterflies or I would supply you with a name. Several of these were hanging around the butterfly bush, but this one picked the Queen Anne's lace for a resting spot.

Apparently, I don't know my insects in general - the name of this bug is a mystery as well, but it likes the hardy asters.



The detail on this volunteer hollyhock is just stunning.



Oop - another sign that fall is coming - the chrysanthemum is blooming. I love this color.



The cotoneasters look kind of peaked this year, but have produced a bumper crop of fruit. The birds will enjoy these... if the rabbits don't eat them first.



And here are my late summer blooming hostas. I planted them last year, to augment the other hostas that are all done now.



See the little yellow flag in the lower left hand corner? The utility people were out today, marking where the electricity and gas lines cross my yard. I took some "before" pictures of the back of the house, but I'll save those for tomorrow, when I should have some "in progress" pictures for you to compare and contrast.