Gardens-In-The-Sand

Butterflies

Summer means butterflies at Gardens in the Sand...
People in the area complain that they aren't seeing pollinators...

I doubt that anyone is going to see butterflies when they are busily putting out 7-dust on everything... they're not getting any better veggies than I am...

And... Butterflies can't eat grass...

Yay! Monarchs... Finally.

She's laying eggs!

Spicebush Swallowtail

Gulf Fritillary... I like to get pics of those ultra-violet spots on the bottoms of the wings... when I can.

Georgia state butterfly...

When I started gardening here... these tygers were rare... I got busy planting poplar trees... I have lots now...

Black form... Gorgeous!

It's always a bit of a challenge to get multiples... when they're mating... it's a bit more so...

Some veggies n stuff

Jerusalem artichoke, (Helianthus tuberosus L.)

The flowers seem early.

I'm not going to have corn on the cob for the 4th of July... but maybe next week...

Cucumber patch

Getting some nice cow peas...

These brugs seem early too.

Bi-colour 4 0'clocks

Crinum

kudzu bugs

Drowning the kudzu bugs.

Early June

Goldfinch says... the poppies r through, so bring on the rudbeckia...

another pic of the r.maxima.

The butterflyweed is a show-stopper

Plenty of bees

Spicebush swallowtail butterfly

Tiger swallowtail n spicebush

Tiger again.

Heliotropium amplexicaule is always a big draw.

American painted lady visits clasping heliotrope.

buckeye butterfly

Frog... check out those gold spots...

rabbits r pissin me off.

And they're eating the echinacea...

You know, I only had the one wild delphinium... I can't grow any new ones when y'all are deadheading my flowers...

Ok, I finally got enough... I decided to make a nice broth fer them...

I collected some brugmansia leaves, and some datura root and made a nice tea... after it cooled, I poured it over stuff.

Seems to be working.

Some May Flowers for the end of May

Ground Cherry (Physalis sp.)

I posted a pic of this physalis in the edibles post last week, but didn't have a good pic of the bloom.

In the 6 years I've been out here, this year is the first that I've noticed all the ground cherries... They seem to be all over!

This isn't one of the native passionflowers, and it's been difficult to establish out here... Seems like it takes 2 years to get blooms, and then it dies and I must plant it again...