Golden Garden, Predatory Wasps and Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar

 

Updated overall garden picture.  Our garden is turning from pinks and purples to yellows, golds and oranges in the overall garden scheme.  We noticed some aphids on the Rose Milkweed and while spraying some soapy water on them, found this Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar as well as some lady bugs that were feasting on the Aphids.

Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar

The Spotted Bee Balm is attracting so many pollinators.  We have so many that I'm not sure how to identify them.  The one below is a predatory wasp that has a fuzzy white triangle on the back of its thorax.

Predatory Wasp

The mystery plants have blossomed and it appears that they are different flowers

Brown Eyed Susan
(Rudbeckia triloba)

Orange Coneflower
(Rudbeckia fulgida)

This garden has been an incredible experience.  It has brought so much life into our yard.  The native plants are making our garden beautiful.  

Summer Changeover and Too Much Water?

Spotted Bee Balm

 Wow!! What a drenching we have had over the last 2 weeks.  We actually have slime growing on the ground outside the garden where the water drains down our sloping lot.  Could we have too much water? After last year's drought, this year must be the complete opposite.

Our early flowers are almost gone by, but we are starting to get later flowers starting to bloom.  The Spotted Bee Balm that were very tiny when we got them are actually starting to blossom (see above). The Brown Eyed Susans are starting to show their buds.  We also found some hitchhiker Coneflowers that were tucked in with the Beardstongue Foxglove and the Anise Hyssop while we were doing some weeding.  We transplanted them and we'll see what color they actually are (my plant ID software said Orange Coneflower, but we'll wait to see what they really are).

Hitchhiker Coneflower

We have a rock wall that is around our patio and we found a really cool toad there.  I've never seen a black toad before - Does anyone know what kind of toad it is?  It has a non-spotted white belly and very few spots on its back.

We're also seeing many more insects around.  We are seeing Monarch Butterflies but so far no pictures  Here are several insects that I've managed to get a picture of.  I'm not 100% sure of what they are so looking for help with ID.

Deer Buffet and Butterflies

Chomped Liatris

Chomped Columbine

 
We have been struck by deer!! Evidently the deer feel that our garden is a smorgasbord for them.  They especially like the Columbine, Liatris, and the Viburnam.  We made a quick trip to Agway and got some Coyote Urine to put around the garden.  This seems to have helped as they haven't been back for a snack since then.  

We are getting many more butterflies now.  We have 2 types of Fritillaries, one that has dark shading ans one that is all the same color (maybe they are the same kind?).  We have some monarchs (no pictures yet) and we have some moths.

All one Color

Shaded

We also found some very tiny orchids in the woods next to our garden,  They are Broadleaf Helleborine. They are not native, but I've never seen them before.

Broad Leafed Helleborine

Overall, this garden is an exceedingly joyous experience. It is hard work, but the pleasures of learning more about the plants that surround us is more than worth it. 

Early July Update

 

Latest View of the Garden

The garden is changing so fast.  It's hard to believe that just a little under 2 months ago we were planting the plants.  This morning we had a small Coopers Hawk come visit our garden for almost an hour.  He was sitting on a branch overlooking the garden and watching for squirrels and chipmunks.  Still no picture of the red newt, but we're working on it.  I'm also finding that my knowledge of the local plants are expanding as I have a new interest in the plants around our garden.

Unknown Mushroom from Woods behind Garden

This mushroom sprouted after Elsa went by.  The rain has brought all sorts of mushrooms out.  I'm working on an ID but so far no luck.

Bee Balm 

Small Bee on Purple Cone Flower

This bee is an unknown to me. but is very busy gathering pollen to turn into honey.  Its leg sacks are so full it could hardly fly.

Fritillary Butterfly

This is a Fritillary butterfly, but I'm not sure which one it is.  Butterflies don't usually sit long enough to get a picture.  We are getting more butterflies as they hatch  The Hummingbirds are also starting to visit the flowers.

 

End of June Update - including a Salamander

 

New Jersey Tea in Full Bloom 

The New Jersey Tea has reached full bloom and is now going past.  Having never seen this plant before I am pleased to say we love it.  It is covered with this tiny white flowers that smell very nice.  When the wind blows (which seems to be always lately), the flowers dance in the wind.  The bees and flies love this plant as well.

Bee Balm

The Bee Balm is also starting to blossom - it's nice to see these starting to show their red colors.  These should also bring in the Hummingbirds to drink.

Purple Coneflower

The purple coneflowers are our next blossomers.  They are interesting the way that the flowers start to show with first green petals, changing to pink petals and then to the pinky-purple color you see in the picture.

This morning we caught our second glance at a Red Newt Salamander.  Unfortunately we never have our camera with us when we see it.  My husband and I will keep trying to catch it for a glamour shot.

More Insects and a Toad

 

American Toad

Things are slowing down on the plant front.  The next to blossom will most likely be the Purple Coneflower.  However, the animals are starting to appear.  We found a small toad on the edge of the garden.  As you can see above, it is very prettily colored. We also have several Garden Ghost Spiders (see below).

Garden Ghost Spider

Green and Black Dragonfly

This dragonfly landed next to me on the patio.  I was fortunate to be able to grab a picture before it took off again.  It is beautiful, but I haven't been able to identify it yet.

Columbine

The Columbine blossomed and quickly went by.  Perhaps it was the heat.  I was lucky to get this picture because they have all gone by now.

New Jersey Tea

The NJ Tea bush is still progressing towards being fully opened.  There are several small bees/hornets buzzing around it but so far I haven't been able to get a picture of them.

General Update:  The longest lasting flower so far has been the Beardstongue, followed by the Anise Hyssop.  The NJ Tea also looks to be a contender for this.  Also the Rose Milkweed that wasn't looking so good has recovered and no is doing well.

Insects and Flowers

 

Full Garden after Weeding (June 7, 2021)

Wow, a little hot weather (3 days above 90F) and what a change in the garden.  Almost everything is doing really well.  We got up and weeded and watered the whole garden this morning before the temperature got too hot.  We now have Columbine blossoming as well as the Viburnam bush.  The NJ Tea is budding (this plant is new to me so I'm very interested in watching how it does).  The Purple Coneflower and Liatris are also budding. The Rose Milkweed is the only one that isn't doing well, we were concerned about this plant after our discussion with the people from CCCD. But there were no other options as the other milkweed was all sold out.  I'm still hopeful that it's just the hot weather.

 Wild Columbine  (Aquilegia canadensis) 

Arrowwood Viburnam (Viburnam dentatum)

We have several types of pollinators visiting us now.  I'm not sure what they all are so I'll put pictures in and update them as I identify them.  Please send me a comment if you know what they are. I'm just learning these so help is appreciated.

Firefly on Viburnam

Agapostemon Green Sweat Bee

Unknown tiny bee on Anise Hyssop

Hebrew Moth(?) on Solar Fountain in Birdbath

 

More Flowers Opening & Insects Arriving

 

White Mountain Laurel

More of the plants are starting to blossom.  It appears that we have 2 different colors of Mountain Laurel.  The first one shown above is mostly white.  While the second one is light pink (see below). They are both very pretty.

Pink Mountain Laurel

The next flower is opening as well.  This is Anise Hyssop.  Right now only one plant has opened but it is a pretty purple flower. 

Anise Hyssop

Last but not least, we're starting to see some activity from butterflies and insects.  I haven't been able to get a picture of the butterflies, but below is a picture of a pair of spiders and another insect that I'm not sure what it is. They appear to both be mating.

 

Final Report Completed and Plant List

 We finished our final report on the garden today and will submit to the Cheshire County Conservation District.  Overall this grant process has not been difficult and it makes you think about what you are doing before you do it.  For a little planning an paperwork, we now have a beautiful pollinator garden.  More pictures to come when the weather is nicer.  For now, here's a list of the plants that we put into the garden.

List of Plants in Garden:

Foxglove Beardtongue - Penstemon digitalis

Purple Coneflower - Echinacea purpurea

Blue Wild Indigo - Baptisia australis

Wild Columbine - Aquilegia canadensis

Rose Milkweed - Asclepias incarnata

Purple Bergamot - Monarda media

Blanket Flower - Gaillardia aristata

Anise Hyssop -Agastache foeniculum

Scarlet Bee Balm - Monarda didyma

Spotted Bee Balm - Monarda punctata

Northern Blazing Star - Liatris scariosa

Showy Goldenrod - Solidago speciosa

Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida)

New Jersey Tea Plant (Ceanothus)

Mountian Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)

Arrowwood Viburnam (Viburnam dentatum)

Ninebark - Little Devil

Finishing the Planting

 

After checking the garden over, we decided we needed one more shrub, so we went to Agway and purchased a Little Diablo Ninebark. It was the perfect finishing touch.

We also added another ½ yard of mulch as it seemed skimpy in a few places.  The garden seems to be finished for right now.  We will have to wait to see if anything else is needed.  Now it’s time to water until the plants are established and watch for weeds.  It’s so beautiful and peaceful, it’s hard to believe that our yard was just dirt last year.

Mulch Day

 

Mulch day – we started early so that we would be finished before it got too hot.  1 ½ yards of mulch later we had spread the mulch around the plants leaving nice pockets to hold water around each plant.  We thought we were done but wanted to think about it so we watered the mulch in and then sat back to enjoy our hard work.

Next, we decided to move our bird bath into the garden.  We had ordered a solar fountain for the bird bath to squirt water into the air from Amazon and that came today so we set that into the bird bath.  We have a titmouse nest in our forested area and they came over to check out the bird bath/fountain.

We’ve had a few Sulfur butterflies and some bees as well today.

Day 2 of Getting the Plants - Layout and Planting

 

What a day!  We went to Garden in the Woods to get the shrubs that we needed for the garden from the Native Plant Trust.  They were out of some of the shrubs we wanted.  We did get the NJ Tea bushes, but the others they didn’t have.  We asked for some assistance and they suggested a Viburnum that wasn’t one of the ones we had researched.  When we got home we found that the 2 we got grow to be much larger than the ones that we wanted (8-12’ instead for 3-5’).  When we got home we unloaded the shrubs and gave them a good drink as they were very dry.  We took a break and then  decided to lay out the plants where we wanted them so we could plant them in the morning.  We had 2 Swallowtail Butterflies swooping around the plants before we were finished.  After dinner, we wanted to get the plants in the ground so went out and with the help of our daughter planted all the plants.  The last 15 or so we planted by flashlight!  Then we watered them in before we went to bed.

Day 1 of Getting our Plants

 

We picked up the perennials today from Bagley Pond Perennials.  They are beautiful.  We had to make a couple of substitutions due to availability, but the plants look great and the new plants should work well with our plan.  We substituted Purple Bergamot for the Native Bergamot and Spotted Bee Balm for the Boneset.  It was good that I had been in contact with Denise and Amanda at Bagley Pond because they were working to fill several large orders and we would have missed out if I hadn’t been working with them.

Tomorrow we go to Garden in the Woods to get the shrubs for the back and then Thursday we start planting.

Bed Preparation Completion

 

The soil is being delivered today we have added several yards of soil to bring the bed up to where it needs to be.  Bob and I are spreading them early in the morning as it gets rather hot in the afternoon.  Our site is mostly sunny all day as it has a southwest exposure.  We are waiting to hear from Bagley Pond Perennials about whether Monday or Tuesday would be best to get most of our plants.  We have made an appointment at Garden in the Woods for Wednesday to get the shrubs that we are planning to put in the back of the garden (NJ Tea and Sweet Pepperbush).  We’re very excited to begin to see our planning taking shape.