Male Monarch Butterfly
Following up on my “It’s a Girl!” post from three weeks ago, my last two Monarch butterflies emerged from their chrysalises. Yesterday, a male (mid-rib vein dots on lower wing) and today, a female. They are beautiful and healthy, off into the world!
Female Monarch butterfly
Trying to feature more of my vase collection, I’m showing two vases this week, one bold and one demure.
The first is a blue, stoneware jug filled with bold, bright Zinnias (Z. elegans ‘Sprite’ mix and the only gold cactus-flowering type that survived the slugs).
The second is a more delicate, pastel arrangement in a 1940s hobnail milk-glass perfume decanter (it has a glass stopper). My mother had a similar one when I was growing up. I found this one in a vintage shop.
The highlight of the arrangement is my first Dahlia ‘Moonstruck’ bloom, perfect in creamy-white with a touch of lemon. Above it, starry, white clusters of Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum) have green eyes and dark stamens. Love-In-Mist (Nigella damascena) flowers in raspberry and green-tinged white, along with a few seed pods complement the dark pink Cosmos (C. ‘Sensation’). Sprigs of purple Catmint (Nepeta racemosa) finish the vase.
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In the Garden, who hosts a weekly meme to showcase arrangements created from our gardens. Wander over to see what gardeners all over the world are arranging this week.
I took a photo of this Zinnia blossom because I thought it looked like a tiny birthday cake, complete with candles aglow. It wasn’t until I processed the photo on my computer that I saw someone was already eating it.
Happy Birthday!
Nothing speaks of summer sunshine better than sunflowers (Helianthus annuus). Using my Artesa sunflower pocket vase, I’ve arranged three varieties, ‘Italian White,’ Lemon Queen’ and an unmarked gift packet item that I believe is ‘Pro-Cut Orange.’ Wild goldenrod (Solidago sp.) finishes the look.
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In the Garden, who hosts a weekly meme to showcase arrangements created from our gardens. Wander over to see what gardeners all over the world are arranging this week.
Millions of Americans witnessed yesterday’s solar eclipse, either through special glasses, livestreamed online or through pinhole devices. Where I live, we were predicted to have only 60% totality, so I wasn’t all that hyped. However, out of curiosity, I created a pinhole in a piece of paper and with it casting a shadow on another piece of paper, went outside from time to time to view the eclipse. Underwhelming, at best.
Inside, I worked on my laptop in between checking outside. Around the 2:45 p.m. peak, I glanced down and saw the above. My closed blinds created the perfect pinhole viewer!
I then went into my sunspace, which has a trellis with vines growing on it to reduce heat buildup, and saw in the shadows on the tiled floor many little crescents. I was delighted! Who needs those special glasses anyway?
Special thanks to Val for sharing Evolutionary Mystic’s post where I learned to look for these natural effects that occur during eclipses.
August 22, 2017
The sunflowers along the back have begun to bloom, Helianthus annuus ‘Lemon Queen’ and ‘Italian White’ are to the left with a packet of mixed that look like they are all a variety used for the cut flower trade, not what I expected. Beautiful multi-branched ‘Hella Sonnenblume’ are 12-14′ tall and always amaze me. Towards the back, pink self-sown ‘Sensation’ Cosmos, a smattering of yellow Calendula and white Nicotiana alata. Only a few of my sown zinnias survived the slugs, one ‘Cactus’ and a several ‘Mixed Sprite.’
For inquiring minds, below on the left are neat, green rows of Holy Basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) and Orca beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). A few tomatoes and potatoes are in there as well. In general, I only feature the flower end of the garden in the Tuesday View.
The above photos contrast today’s view the that of two weeks ago. The orange double Daylilies (Hemerocallis), Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro) and pink Astilbe taquettii have gone by, leaving the pink coneflower, white and pink Phlox paniculata to carry on the show.
At the front, more yellow Calendula and white Nicotiana, yellow Daylily (Hemerocallis) ‘Hyperion,’ Lamb’s Ears (Stachys byzantina), a few Zinnia ‘Double Cherry Profusion,’ Japanese Blood Grass (Imperata cylindrica) surrounded by Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella sativa) seed heads and a few more dots of white Nicotiana at the end.
Thanks to Cathy at Words and Herbs for hosting The Tuesday View, a meme showing the view of one or more of our gardens over the course of a growing season. Visit to see links to other garden views from around the world.
Summer Sweet (Clethra alnifolia) lives up to its name by filling the air with its sweet perfume. A small shrub native to eastern US, it will flower in sun or light shade, growing 3-6′ tall and 4-8′ wide. Mine hovers around 4-5′ tall in a 6-8′ oval and is covered with racemes of pink-tipped buds opening to white blooms attracting pollinators.
To the vase, I added white and pink phlox (P. paniculata), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), the grass-like flowers of Plume Poppy (Macleaya cordata) and a few blades of Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’).
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In the Garden, who hosts a weekly meme to showcase arrangements created from our gardens. Wander over to see what gardeners all over the world are arranging this week.
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