Tag Archives: butterfly weed

An Un-tended Native Flower Garden

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I unfortunately have been unable to “take care” of my native flower garden this year.  In fact, today (June 14) was the first day since weed-whacking the entire garden last fall, that I got up the courage to take a look at what has come back up this year. I was pleased to find so many old friends doing not too badly.  Hopefully my untended garden will still be a haven for bees and butterflies.

The first thing I noticed was a row of Butterfly Weed.

B Weed mid June

Then I took a look at my Common Milkweed patch.  It is definitely thriving, now coming into full bloom with bees all over it.

C milkweed 06:14

milkweed with bee

The Culver’s Root has re-appeared, very tall this year and just beginning to look like Culver’s Root.

Culvers root 06:14

The Purple Coneflowers are just coming into bloom.

P Coneflower 06:14

The Daisy Fleabane is pretty much in bloom now.

Daisy Fleabane mid-june

I THINK this is the New York Ironweed that I planted last year.

NY Ironweed mid-June

A tiny bit of very early goldenrod is already in flower.

early goldenrod mid-june

Notably absent or still quite small:

 

M fistulosa 06:14

M. fistulosa mid-June 2016

  • Sweet Joe-Pye Weed.  I may see small amounts of it coming up, but apparently not thriving. This is another one I miss because it attracted so many bees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe My Milkweed Patch Is Sincere Enough!

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Last Friday, July 24th, I went out into my backyard with a brick of suet for my suet feeder.  Something fluttering caught my eye, and it was a monarch butterfly coming around from the side of my house into my backyard!  I was transfixed, and watched in awe as it investigated my butterfly garden and swamp milkweed in the back.  Then I followed it around my house as it literally checked and rechecked every milkweed plant I have in the yard!  I must have circled the house 4 or 5 times, suet cake in hand, and NO CAMERA.  As I’ve said many a time, my neighbors must think I’m batty, and one did actually stop her car as she drove by and asked me what I was looking at, and then she spotted the monarch for me as it circled around from the back of the house again to my side yard. I was able to get a good enough look at it to determine that it was a female, and she landed on the underside of several of my common milkweed plants before finally settling down on a butterfly weed in bloom for a bit of a drink before taking off for good.

That evening I started checking my milkweed plants for eggs and found what could be one egg, and then yesterday I found another, then two more today, all on common milkweed.  They are all on leaves where I saw her land, ever so briefly.  It is so hard to tell the difference between a monarch egg, which is ridged and pointed, and milkweed latex, which is a round drop, so I’m reluctant to call them all eggs, but they certainly could be.  If they are eggs, they should hatch by the end of the week. Time will tell!

Here are some pictures I took with my phone, but they are a little blurry because the camera couldn’t focus well that close:

Possible monarch egg near the center of the picture

Possible monarch egg near the center of the picture.  It looks a little pointed.

Another possible egg

Another possible egg

Side view of another egg. Note how it is slightly pointed.

Side view of another egg. Note how it is slightly pointed.

Fourth possible egg!

Fourth possible egg!

Early Summer, Delaware-Style

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The 4th of July has come and gone, and my summer flowers are starting to ramp it up.  The early-bloomers are humming with bees, and the late-bloomers are finally having a growth spurt after hanging back and letting the other ones go first.  My wrens fledged a few weeks ago, causing quite a ruckus in the backyard for about two weeks, then Mr. and Mrs. Wren decided to get in the “family way” again, so now she is sitting on eggs and he is still proclaiming his territory and keeping a close eye on the box.  After a brief hiatus in hummingbird activity while they were nesting, the hummers are back again in full force, and I am having a hard time keeping up with them so the feeder doesn’t run dry!  So here are some pictures showing what is going on:

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My Indian Pink was especially beautiful this year

I finally got a blossom on my common milkweed and the bumblebees found it right away!

I finally got a blossom on my common milkweed and the bumblebees found it right away!

The butterfly weed in my hot, front garden is pretty happy

The butterfly weed in my hot front garden is pretty happy, and I actually saw a hummingbird visiting it last week!

Butterfly weed

Butterfly weed

The bee balm bloomed extravagantly and the bumblebees and hummingbirds have loved it!

The bee balm bloomed extravagantly and the bumblebees and hummingbirds have loved it!

Close-up of a bee balm flower

Close-up of a bee balm flower

My liatris is blooming very nicely after all the rain we've had this summer

My liatris is blooming very nicely after all the rain we’ve had this summer

I planted this little beautyberry bush last fall, expecting it to die over the winter, but it has done really well, even putting out a few blossoms, which a VERY tiny bee has found!

I planted this little beautyberry bush last fall, expecting it to die over the winter, but it has done really well, even putting out a few blossoms, which a VERY tiny bee has found! Click on the picture to enlarge it.

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Tiny bee, about 1/8″ long, in the center

My common sneezeweed, inappropriately named, finally decided it could survive in my hot garden!

My common sneezeweed, inappropriately named, finally decided it could survive in my hot garden!

Native honeysuckle. This is its second time blooming since spring.

Native honeysuckle. This is its second time blooming since spring.

Surprise visitors to my backyard! I have been hearing red-shouldered hawks screaming all spring and summer in my neighborhood, so I figured there was a nest nearby. This sight greeted me when I came down for breakfast last weekend--a young hawk sitting above my wren box, an adult on the fence, and a mockingbird harassing the adult!

Surprise visitors to my backyard! I have been hearing red-shouldered hawks screaming all spring and summer in my neighborhood, so I figured there was a nest nearby. This sight greeted me when I came down for breakfast last weekend–a young hawk sitting above my wren box, an adult on the fence, and a mockingbird harassing the adult!

And finally, my pokeweed is flourishing this year, practically looking like a tree! I harvested the berries last year (the ones the birds didn't get first!) and took them in to TriState Bird Rescue for the birds to eat over the winter.

And finally, my pokeweed is flourishing this year, practically looking like a tree! I harvested the berries last year (the ones the birds didn’t get first!) and took them in to TriState Bird Rescue for the birds to eat over the winter.

Some Old Friends

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Finally some old friends are showing up.

My Sweet Joe Pye Weed has put in an appearance:

Sweet Joe Pye Weed Starting to Come Up

Sweet Joe Pye Weed Starting to Come Up

My common milkweed is suddenly popping up.  As I recall by the end of last year my original one plant had transmogrified into at least 8 plants. I wonder how many there will be this spring.

Common Milkweed Coming Up

Common Milkweed Coming Up

The Penstemon is putting in an appearance:

Penstemon Coming Up

Penstemon Coming Up

I have several plants that I think may be Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa).  I’m not positive as I think it is a little early for Butterfly Weed to be this far along.  But at this point I don’t know what else it might be.

Butterfly Weed Coming Up?

Butterfly Weed Coming Up?

This is the way my Climbing Aster (Aster carolinianus) looks from a distance.  Old dead wood, right?

Climbing Aster from a Distance 04/19/15

Climbing Aster from a Distance 04/19/15

Last year I was “cleaning up” by cutting away this old “dead” stuff, when I realized there were green leaves growing out of it!  This year I know better.  Here’s a view closer up.  If you look closely you can see that there are green leaves growing out of the brown stems.

Climbing Aster Up Close

Climbing Aster Up Close

Finally, I don’t know that these would classify as “old friends” but the inch worms are back this year!  I keep discovering them crawling on the back of my neck after I’ve been out in the yard.  Sorry, they are too small for me to photograph.