Tuesday, August 17, 2021

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.  

Monday, August 2, 2021

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.