Thursday, May 24, 2012

Powell Gardens

The Pipevine Swallowtail greeted us when we went to
Powell Gardens.
They seem to be more prolific this year.

We planned to spend the day.
I had a list of plants I wanted to see and I wanted to
talk with the gardeners about growing fig trees.

I waited until their summer display of Fairy Houses

and Forts were installed.

I love the little houses made from gourds

and found garden items.

The Forts were interesting.

I am so inspired!

These garden Fairies are very busy folks.

What I love about this troop of Fairies
is they are never too busy to answer questions.

I always have lots of questions.

The Orchids in the conservatory are gorgeous.
I just might need to replace mine.

There are birds and critters in the gardens.
Always happy to see a snake.

We are bug hunters.
Seeing Great Spangled Fritillaries in the day lilies
made me gasp with delight.

Flowers always look naked without their bugs!

It has been years since I have seen the Eastern Amberwing.
These are small dragonflies that mimic wasp behavior.

We also saw a few Zebra Swallowtails.
I am keeping field notes this year.
We saw Zebra Swallowtails and Great Spangled Fritillaries
last Sunday. They must be emerging.
We stopped for lunch and I saw a kite sculpture with a tag.
I knew it would be perfect in my gardens.

It is too!

I have my Field Guide to Insects on my desk.
This metallic green beetle should be easy to identify.
Yet with over 24,000 species of beetles
 in North America it could take me awhile.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Butterflies

It was mostly cloudy today.
The gardens were too wet to work .
When I saw the female Tiger Swallowtail
 in the Chinese Lilac I knew I would be
 spending my day with the butterflies.


A Pipevine Swallowtail entertained me for an hour.


I love her hearts on her upper underwings.

It was very windy so I cut a blossom
and put it in a bowl of water on the deck.

A Painted Lady came down out of the wind.


In came another similar Lady.
She had different eye spots.
I looked in my field guide.
New to my backyard, The American Lady!
This is my first sighting of the Eastern Comma.

I refilled the seed feeders and the jelly bowls.
I am happy the female Orioles have found the treats.

Sitting with butterflies and watching poppies bloom
is a perfect way to spend a cloudy, windy Wednesday.