Monday, August 25, 2008

A Late August Garden

Today, I thought I would post a little of this and some of that. There are no new flowers as of yet. The summer ones are fading and the fall ones have not quite appeared. My beds are very dry and needing a good rain badly. I have been watering my containers, but am hesitating to water anywhere else. Were I to water, some might come back for a few days, although I know most of them are on the up comimg fall decline. So I am in a quandary as to what to do.

While outside the other evening watering the containers, I saw this giant of a fly siting on the wet patio stone near my outside faucet. I know it's hard to tell from the picture, but he's at least an inch long. Is this what they call a deer fly? Should go to What's That Bug and find out.


A new butterfly this week. A lovely brown velvet looking one with blue and white spots at the bottom of his wings. Not quite a swallow tail, but more tail than a lot of butterflies. Another one to look up. What book do you recommend for identifying butterflies and moths?


The garden is full of Painted Ladys. and the white cabbage butterfly.

But this one is yellow with a pale brown edging. Again, I don't know it's name, but am enjoying watching their type. They seem to like the yellow flowers best. Maybe, they are harder for predators to see on yellow.


I said I had no new flowers yet, and that is true. But just look at what finally has buds! My moon flower is loaded with them.



I took these pictures at night because the ones I took during the day just didn't show the buds very well. The whole top of this plant is covered with buds. A pay back maybe for having to wait so long for blooms?


Betty Prior is still putting out a few blooms. I'm not sure which type of rose I like best. The hybrids can be spectacular but have little scent. The old fashioned singles are lovely and not very showy, but make up for that with a wonderful smell. This one has a slightly spicy fragrance.


Believe it or not, I still have a day lily blooming. This is one of the purple d'oro's. The color has faded some from when she first began to bloom, but I think her still very attractive. And she seems to be blooming just as long as her yellow counterpart. I wonder if there are other colors in the d'oro line?


I have showed the pink cosmos and now I have a deep pink almost purple one blooming. These were some I started indoors way back and I have been very happy with the results. They were easy to start, transplanted well and have provided another flower for the bees and butterflies to enjoy. I am planning on starting more next year.



This mystery plant has been identified. After much googling(a verb now?) I found a site that says it is grain sorghum. How it got into my flower bed is any one's guess, but I'll bet it had to do with birds and what they are best at-pooping!


While life has calmed down some since the departure of the grand girls, it is still keeping me very busy. I thought as you aged things slowed down! Our son-in-law graduated from a MABAS on Friday evening. It is an extensive 6 mo. course requiring attendance 2 night a week for advanced firefighting techniques. He is a volunteer fire fighter in the small town they live in, and when the opportunity to do this presented itself, he committed himself whole heartedly. JOB WELL DONE, J.! We are very proud of him.
We attended a wedding on Saturday at a small town over by Springfield, IL. It was held in a small but lovely Catholic Church. Someone or some group have taken very good care of this 100year old church and the landscaping was beautiful. Huge maple leaf hydrangeas formed the backdrop for lovely old fashioned shrub roses. Double rose of sharon bushes lined the front sidewalk and were alternating colors of pinks and whites. I know- I should have taken pictures!
Last week and this week, I am working an extra day. While that may not sound like much to many of you 5day a week workers, I am still adjusting to working after 10 years of not. And to top it all off, hubby brought home a big box of Michigan peaches last Friday. We have eaten several fresh and now I need to find time to freeze them. Won't they taste wonderful in cobblers this winter?! Ah well, when winter comes there will be time to rest.
Have a great gardening week!


***I apologize for the spacing, blooger is doing it's own thing again today.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great butterfly pics Beckie! I can't wait to see your Moonflower bloom. I haven't been watering much either, just the containers, my hydrangeas & the new stuff. They have such a wonderful fragrance too. Things will be slowing down soon and we will all get our winter's rest. Just in time to recoop for another gardening season ahead. ;)

Cheryl said...

Hi Beckie.......so many butterflies, how wonderful....can't help you identify them Beckie, as they are so different to ours.

Cosmos are great plants aren't they....I grew white last year and was very pleased for them....I shall grow some next year, I really missed them......

I am really excited about the Moonflower.....it sounds as though it is my sort of plant......is a shrub Beckie?? I am very interested in this plant......

Please take care with the extra work......

Oooohh the peaches sound lovely.....I have not got a very sweet tooth but I love anything with fruit in....cobbler is wonderful......autumn again springs to mind...

Your banana loaf always left me drooling...........

Susie said...

Hey Beckie-I'm so glad to see your moonflower vine getting ready to show off. I have a couple of buds on mine but nothing like yours. Your butterfly pics are so pretty. I just love those little things.

Congratulations to your son-in-law on being a volunteer firefighter. My husband was a firefighter in Atlanta, GA before we moved.

Thank goodness for volunteer f.f.'s. If anything ever happens to our house we'll have them taking care of us.

Wish I could send you some of this rain. I didn't go to work today since it is still raining.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Hi Beckie, we are needing rain too. It is sooo dry.

I don't think that is a deer fly. Those are smaller and have black and clear wings and they bite. THis fly looks more like a horse fly. I don't really know though.

Your moon vine will be so pretty when it opens. You will have to go out in the evening to see it. Or you will see it when you come home from work.

Rose said...

Congratulations on the moonflower buds! Remember Mrs. G's favorite saying in freshman Home Ec: "Patience is a virtue." I think gardening definitely teaches us to be patient!
The brown butterfly is beautiful; I haven't seen one like that, but I do have the yellow moths (I think), too.
Looking forward to our day out!

Roses and Lilacs said...

Ummm, those peaches sound good!

Congratulations to your son-in-law. Volunteer fire fighters are the so often overlooked heroes of small town America.
Marnie

beckie said...

PG, I can't believe we are talking about fall already. Where did the summer go? I finally broke down and put the sprinkler on one bed yesterday-it was looking so pitiful and I have a foxglove in there that is just starting to bloom. We haven't had rain in over 3 weeks and while I know that is really nothing compared to some places, all my plants are used to having rain on a regular basis this year. I sound just like the farmers around here. Either there's too much or not enough, and they are always worrying about something.

Cheryl, Rose and I had a short girls' day out today and had planned on getting a butterfly book, but time got away from us so I will have to wait a while longer before I can tell what they are. The cosmos were a mixed seed packet and I have pink, dark pink and white. I can't think why I haven't planted these before as they are so pretty and very delicate looking despite their size. I am going to try to save some seed and plant a bigger area of them next year.

The moon plant is an annual here that vines and then blooms at night with these lovely 6" trumpet like flowers. A cousin has them growing up her deck and they are so lovely of an evening and have an exotic smell.

I froze the peaches and got 8 quart bags, plus we ate some fresh-wonderful. I ought to send you that banana recipe, I get a lot of compliments on it. Another cool day treat.

Susie, thanks! J. is a great guy who does everything 110%. The fire department is lucky to have him. The volunteers do a great service to these small towns.

Lisa, you are probably right. Things like that fly give me the creeps, but I find them fascinating at the same time. Would have been nice if our rain had spread it's self out a little instead of getting it all this spring. Oh well, at least what we had brought the water tables up some. If you do get rain, send it our way!

Rose, I should have asked you today what Mrs. G's name is-I can't remember, but do remember her sayings. Thanks for a fun day today. I think we both needed it.

Marnie, The peaches came from up in your area. Of course they were brought in from Michigan to the little produce stand. The volunteers do a great servive and many of them take extra training on their own time. Around here, we have several good groups-we are fortunate.

Kim said...

I think your unknown butterfly is a swallowtail, maybe a Pipevine? I also agree that your caterpillar is a Monarch. I have one on my blog here. I enjoyed your photos!

I don't use Blogger, but you can find my blog here Instrument of Grace.

My Mother's Garden said...

Hi Beckie~
Your Moonflowers are sooo pretty, I bet they smell delightful. I grew those once a few years back and seeing yours has inspired me to give them another try. I sometimes shy away from vines, because down here in S. Fl. they really start to take over. I love the dragonfly art picture on your blog, did you make it?

Karrita