Gardens-In-The-Sand

Feels like Autumn...

I've admired the foliage on this oenonthra for a number of years... finally caught it in bloom...
Took a bit of doing to winnow out specifically which one this was.
We eventually settled on Oenothera filipes

The bluestem is colouring up nicely...

Threadleaf coreopsis and monarda.

Another pic of the threadleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata)

Coreopsis verticillata is on the state watch list

And... while naturally occurring here.... it is not an easy plant to increase, as the voles eat every bit of it that I attempt to grow in the garden! the plant in the picture is in a container...

Close up of the monarda punctata.

Pink Malvaviscus

euonymus americanus

Hibiscus coccineus and rudbeckia triloba

Spider... eating a butterfly on the lespadeeza...

Watermelon...

The pears are hanging heavily...

Caterpillars, butterflies, birds, other stuff

Buckeye butterfly and caterpillar... The cat is using agalinis purpurea as a host plant.

These treefrog tadpoles are too cute...

Wild sunflower with bee and goldfinch...

I have video posted

Clearer pic of goldfinch.

Fresh coat of paint on the house...

I really like this combination... even though the hibiscus wants more water than it's gettin, and the snake cotton is perfectly adapted to the droughty sandhill environment...

Trippy... I wish I'd been able to get more pics of this particular hawk moth...

datana caterpillars decimating sumac.

Swallowtails and salvia...

I think these guys are tigers... seeing a lot of black tiger swallowtails this year....

Cooler temps

The temps have broke, we're even getting a bit of precip... the plants are happy...

White swamp hibiscus with snake cotton background.... don't you love it when the plants match?

One of the crinums I've collected...

Took this spigelia pic this morning...

These hawk moths have been coming in the house at night to help me watch tv... I like them better in the garden...

I like having fabaceae in the garden... Partridge pea and sesbania.

2 more fabaceae, clitoria and centrosema

Of course, the rain came too late to help the corn... Had to pick it and hang it to dry a little early, as it was sprouting inside the ears on the stalk...

Got some nice height on the corn....

Life ain't nuthin but a daydream...

Li'l gray treefrog...

Triple digit heat

It's been reaching 100 and above for what seems like weeks now... In truth, I really missed the heat over the past couple of years when it failed to reach our normal highs.

Rudbeckia subtomentosa

Finally spotted a bug... Not sure why this particular rudbeckia seems not attractive to the pollinators...

Rudbeckia nitida herbstsonne

And the pollinators are wild for this one... Which I have growing mere feet away...

Starting to pick some of the corn... Nice dark colours on the glass gem.

Reds and yellows from the variegated patch... wish I had some chickens to feed it to... Or better yet... an easy way to turn it into flour...
Imagine home-grown tortillas...