Butterfly Musings

Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly feeding on Lantana

~

I took a break from watering the garden Sunday morning to spend some time with the butterflies happily feeding in the late September sunshine.  Their movement enlivens the space as they drift and swoop from flower to flower.

I’m always a bit surprised when one takes off and floats up into the surrounding trees, or across the roof and out of sight.  For all of their apparent fragility, they are surprisingly resilient and tough.

~

~

Judith tells me that the 30 odd Eastern Black Swallowtail cats she adopted from our fennel plants a few weeks ago have all gone into chrysalis now.  She has been feeding them organic parsley as she fattened them up and prepared them for their magnificent metamorphosis.

What a wonderful process to observe.  I can’t wait until they begin to emerge, and at least a few of them ‘come home’ to our garden once again.

~

~

I wonder whether this beautiful swallowtail I photographed Sunday might have been one of the little cats I found on some of our parsley in August.  I just left them be, hoping they would survive to one day fly.

~

~

Living in such close relationship with these beautiful butterflies has transformed my idea of tending a garden.  Now, if I could plant only a single type of flowering plant in summer, I would plant Lantana.  I would plant Lantana because it is such a magnet for butterflies.  They love it, and growing it almost guarantees there will be winged visitors all summer long.

~

~

But beyond planting the best of the nectar plants:  Lantana, Agastache, Buddleia, Hibiscus, Verbena, Zinnia. One also needs to have a selection of host plants.  Yes, butterflies want to eat.  But they really want a home where they can shelter, lay their eggs, and raise their generations.

~

~

Planting host plants implies accepting that the butterfly larvae will eat their leaves.  They may be unsightly for a while.  But that is a reasonable trade-off when one considers that all of those cats have the opportunity to become butterflies.

Please understand that wildlife gardening requires a complete re-thinking of what traditional gardeners assume and expect.  Rather than trying to eliminate insects and their ‘damage,’ we invite and welcome them.  We look after their needs as faithfully as we put out food and water for our cat or dog.

~

Black Swallowtail cats enjoy the parsley. Find end of season parsley on sale now. A biennial, it will return next spring.

~

Many native trees and shrubs serve as host plants for native butterflies.  If you want to know more about what to plant to host and feed butterflies commonly seen in coastal Virginia, please see the list compiled by the Butterfly Society of Virginia.  Even if you only have space for a flower pot or two, you can enjoy the magic of caterpillars by growing host herbs like parsley, fennel and dill for swallowtails; some milkweed for Monarchs, or even a few native violets.

~

Monarch cats on potted Asclepias

~

Once we better understand insects, and the crucial role they play in our environment, we come to understand their interrelationships with one another, and with the plants in our garden.  We welcome the many sorts of bees and wasps, feed the butterflies, admire the beetles and listen for the music of the crickets and katydids.

~

~

I’ve found the secret is to plant a tremendous diversity of plants, and plant abundantly, so that what damage there  may be to certain leaves can be overlooked or at least put into context and accepted.

Once one decides to welcome and nurture butterflies, bees, and the many other insects who show up for dinner, it is crucial to abstain from using insecticides and avoid herbicides.  The more one observes, the more one realizes that insects are an intricate part of the web of life.  Birds will turn up to feast on some of them, and their own food webs will develop to keep everything in balance.  Diversity leads to sustainability.

~

~

Wildlife seek shelter, food, water, places to rest and safe places to raise their young.  The more of these our gardens provide, the more we can assist in helping diminished and endangered populations rebound.

Each of us with a bit of land to garden can help restore the web of life so often broken by over development and encroachment on wild spaces.  As if by magic, we find turtles and toads, lizards, many sorts of birds, squirrels, and butterflies sharing our garden with us.

~

~

When the butterflies come home to our garden spaces, we know we have been blessed with their beauty.

~

~

Woodland Gnome 2019

.

“I love nature dearly and all creatures

that contribute to make it what it is.

I see the beauty in all expressions of life,

and I see how blind so many of us still are.

Our planet is remarkably abundant

and there’s more than enough for us all.

It is greed and shortsightedness that create the illusion

of scarcity.”
.

Yossi Ghinsberg

~

Sunday Dinner: Sweetness

Lycoris radiata

~

“We love with all our heart

but we also keep our heart light and pliable.

It has space. It breathes.

It waits on life to give instructions.

It sings with sweetness when the winds are soft and warm.

It stands with calm patience when the storm is brewing.

It lets go when endings have left their irrefutable mark.

It moves. It heals.

It hopes.”

.

Donna Goddard

~

Begonia grandis

~

“True happiness is to enjoy the present,

without anxious dependence upon the future,

not to amuse ourselves

with either hopes or fears

but to rest satisfied with what we have,

which is sufficient,

for he that is so wants nothing.

The greatest blessings of mankind

are within us and within our reach.

A wise man is content with his lot,

whatever it may be,

without wishing for what he has not.”

.

Seneca

~

~

“It is the tenderness that breaks our hearts.

The loveliness that leaves us stranded on the shore,

watching the boats sail away.

It is the sweetness that makes us want to reach out

and touch the soft skin of another person.

And it is the grace that comes to us,

undeserving though we may be.”

.

Robert Goolrick

~

~

“If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again,

I won’t look any further than my own back yard.

Because if it isn’t there,

I never really lost it to begin with.”

.

Noel Langley

~

~

“She hated the way roses smelled,

their sweetness too fragile.

She wanted a garden of evergreens.

A garden of stones. A garden of swords.”

.

Keirsten White

~

~

“Happiness is not a goal…

it’s a by-product of a life well lived.”

.

Eleanor Roosevelt

~

Magnolia liliflora reblooming to greet September.

~

“Should I refuse the honey

because the bee stings?”

.

Marty Rubin

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2019

~

~

“Yes, there is a Nirvanah;

it is leading your sheep to a green pasture,

and in putting your child to sleep,

and in writing the last line of your poem”
.

Kahlil Gibran

Sunday Dinner: Accomplishments

~

The resolve to accomplish your goals is what counts.

If you earnestly put your mind to something,

your brain, your body, your environment-

-everything-

-will start working toward achieving that end. 

Daisaku Ikeda

~

~

“I am only one, but I am one.

I cannot do everything, but I can do something.

And because I cannot do everything,

I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

.

Edward Everett Hale

~

~

“There is no limit to the amount of good you can do

if you don’t care who gets the credit.”

.

Ronald Reagan

~

~

“Do the best you can in every task,

no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time.

No one learns more about a problem

than the person at the bottom.”

.

Sandra Day O’Connor

~

~

“It’s no use saying, “We are doing our best.”

You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.”

.

Winston S. Churchill

~

~

“To accomplish great things,

we must dream as well as act.”

.

Anatole France

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2018

~

~

“If you can’t do great things, Mother Teresa used to say,

do little things with great love.

If you can’t do them with great love,

do them with a little love.

If you can’t do them with a little love,

do them anyway.

Love grows when people serve.”

.

John Ortberg

A Different Texture

~

“To develop a complete mind:

Study the science of art.

Study the art of science.

Develop your senses-

especially learn how to see.

Realize that everything

connects to everything else.”

.

Leonardo da Vinci

~

~

“All our knowledge has its origin in our perceptions”

.

Leonardo da Vinci

~

~

“A painter should begin every canvas

with a wash of black,

because all things in nature are dark

except where exposed by the light.”

.

Leonardo da Vinci

~

~

“Wisdom is the daughter of experience”

.

Leonardo da Vinci

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2017

*

For the Daily Post’s

Weekly Photo Challenge:  Textures

“…focus on the tactile elements…”

~

~

“To become an artist you have to be curious.”

.

Leonardo da Vinci

~

Blossom XXVII: Life

~

“You think that it’s not magic that keeps you alive?

Just ‘cause you understand

the mechanics of how something works,

doesn’t make it any less of a miracle.

Which is just another word for magic.

We’re all kept alive by magic, Sookie.

My magic’s just a little different from yours, that’s all.”

.

Charlaine Harris

~

~

“To love. To be loved.

To never forget your own insignificance.

To never get used

to the unspeakable violence

and the vulgar disparity of life around you.

To seek joy in the saddest places.

To pursue beauty to its lair.

To never simplify what is complicated

or complicate what is simple.

To respect strength, never power.

Above all, to watch.

To try and understand.

To never look away.

And never, never to forget.”

.

Arundhati Roy

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2017

~

“It means much to have loved,

to have been happy,

to have laid my hand on the living Garden,

even for a day.”

.

Jorge Luis Borges

~

Asclepias incarnata

Fabulous Friday: What is Beauty?

~

We live surrounded by beauty.  But how do you define it?  Everyone has their own idea of what is beautiful, and what is not.

This is a conversation that has been going on for a very, very long time.  We know that people living many thousands of years ago discussed this a lot, and had their own, very definite ideas.

~

~

Anything in any way beautiful

derives its beauty from itself

and asks nothing beyond itself.

Praise is no part of it,

for nothing is made worse or better by praise.

.

Marcus Aurelius

~

~

We gardeners generally intend to cultivate beauty through our efforts.  That isn’t to say our gardens are always beautiful, though.   Beauty happens, but there is a lot of cleaning up of the ‘not so beautiful’ too.

And that is the space which interests me: when there might be disagreement as to whether or not something is beautiful.

~

Do you find this Eucomis beautiful?  Would you grow it?

~

“Everything has beauty,

but not everyone sees it.”

.

Confucius

.

Most of us find flowers beautiful.

But what about the perfect insects which drink their nectar?  What about the beetles eating their petals?  Can you see their beauty, too?

~

~

Perhaps my perception of beauty is a little skewed, but I find the insects, in their geometric grace and perfection, beautiful.

There is beauty in every leaf, every petal, every stem.  The longer you gaze, the more beauty one absorbs.

~

~

I was so pleased, when I walked through the garden this afternoon, to find these beautiful wasps enjoying our Allium blossoms.  There must have been 20 or more of them, each enjoying the sweet nectar at their feet.  They were peacefully sharing the bounty with bees and other pollinators.

~

~

There are people in my life who would have squealed and backed away at the sight of these busy insects.  But I was too fascinated to fear them, and instead took great joy in making their portraits.  They are interesting visitors, and we rarely see such large, colorful wasps.

~

~

Our garden’s bounty this week includes golden parsley flowers and creamy white carrot flowers, in addition to the Alliums.  There are Echinaceas now, lavender, Coreopsis, Salvias, crepe myrtle, Basil, and more.  All these tiny nectar filled flowers attract plenty of attention from hungry pollinators!

~

~

It’s a feast for our eyes, too.  Sometimes, it is hard to imagine the abundance of our June garden until it returns.

We’re celebrating the solstice this week, and we are surrounded by such beauty here, that it is a true and heartfelt celebration

~

~

I’ve always valued beauty.  To me, beauty can cause happiness, just as food expresses love.  There is beauty in truth, though you can argue that beauty may often be based in illusion.

We could discuss this all evening, couldn’t we? 

.

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,

we must carry it with us, or we find it not.”

.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

~

~

Rather than ‘over-think’ it, which may be the antithesis of beauty, let’s just enjoy it.

Let’s simply celebrate this Fabulous Friday, this Beautiful high summer day; and like the bees, drink in as much sweet nectar as our eyes and hearts will hold.

~

Caladium ‘Highlighter,’ a new introduction this year. Do you find it beautiful?

~

Woodland Gnome 2017

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth

find reserves of strength that will endure

as long as life lasts.”

.

Rachel Carson

~

Clematis ‘Violet Elizabeth’

~

Fabulous Friday:  Happiness is Contagious, Let’s infect one another!

Fabulous Friday: Pollinators

~

We love hearing the low hum of bees, feeling their subtle movements, as we move about our garden.  We admire the focused attention they give to each blossom in their relentless search for nectar and honey.

~

~

Butterflies skim above the shrubs, silently landing on one flower, and then another, as they uncurl their straw-like tongues to sip sunwarmed nectar.  They drink intently, their bright wings opening and closing lazily, ready to instantly lift off if startled.

~

~

Our garden hosts hundreds of species.  Some we see, others we never notice.  I’ll always remember the late summer evening we returned home well after dark.  As we pulled into our drive, we were curious about the tiny, glowing animals flying around from flower to flower among our stand of ginger lilies.  They looked like tiny fairies.  We stopped and watched them flit and hover, sip and rest in a beautifully choreographed nocturnal dance.

Finally, I got out of the car and crept closer to see if I could identify these night time pollinators.  They were hummingbirds, enjoying the cool darkness as they gorged on sweet ginger lily nectar.

~

Butterfly Ginger Lily

~

Gardeners curate their gardens in many ways, for many different purposes.  Depending on where we live, we work within the constraints of our space, our climate, our free time, our environment and maybe even our community’s covenants.  Most of us remain aware of our neighbors, and what they expect to see when they look across the street at our home.

Which may be why so many homeowners maintain large, well kept lawns and neat foundation plantings.  Neighborhoods across the United States strive to ‘keep up appearances’ with neatly clipped front yards.  It seems easiest to plant slow growing evergreen shrubs, a few trees, and then hire a lawn care service to take care of it for us.

~

~

But these neatly maintained lawns and low maintenance shrubs do little to support our pollinators and other wildlife.  They are sterile, and often toxic.  The same chemicals which maintain our lawns pollute the nearby waterways and kill beneficial insects, as well as those we might want to target.  Without insects, birds lose their main source of protein and calcium.

~

~

We curate our garden to attract as many species of birds and pollinators as we can.  We also welcome turtles, lizards, toads, frogs and the occasional snake.  We host rabbits and squirrels, and I know that other mammals, like fox, raccoon and possums roam our community by night.  We listen to owls calling to one another across the ravines.  Sometimes we’ll see a hawk swoop down to catch a vole or mouse.

~

~

We are surrounded by wildlife.  We live in a forest bordering wetlands.  And we make a conscious decision to integrate our lives and our garden into this teeming web of life.  Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, dragonflies, song birds, and brightly colored wasps bring movement, life and sometimes living poetry to our garden.

We enjoy feeling their presence around us.  We enjoy watching them going about their lives.

~

~

Wherever you live, you can make a decision to do your part to support pollinators and other wildlife, too.  The  more of us engaged in this effort, the more seamless our efforts become.  In other words, our little oasis of safe haven and food for pollinators grows larger as more and more of us wake up, and create habitat in their outdoor spaces, too.

~

~

Here are the main principles to follow.  Each of us will interpret these individually in ways appropriate to our own circumstances:

1.  Abstain from using toxic chemicals outdoors.  Especially, don’t use any insecticides on individual plants, in the air, or on our lawns.
2. Allow some area to provide shelter to birds and insects.  This might be a thicket of shrubs, a brush pile, native trees, a bee hive, or even a Mason bee box.
3. Incorporate native trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses and perennials into your planting to directly provide for the needs of wildlife in your area.  Many birds and insects have symbiotic relationships with native plants of a particular area.  Growing natives attracts and supports more of these species.
4. Select and allow flowering plants which will produce nectar over the entire season.  If your climate is warm enough, provide nectar year round through your plant selections.  Keep in mind that some of the most beneficial ‘nectar plants,’ like clover and many wildflowers,  might appear as ‘weeds’ to humans.
5. Provide a dependable source of fresh, clean water.

   ~

   

   ~

Did you notice the repeated use of the word, ‘allow’ in these guidelines?  ‘Allowing’ is an important guiding principle for wildlife gardeners.  We relax a little, and put the needs of the native wildlife ahead of our own preoccupation with neatness and control.

We might allow a few native tree seedlings, self sown, to grow where they appear.  We might allow clover and dandelions to colonize patches of our lawn.  We might allow a stand of native goldenrod to grow in our perennial border among our carefully chosen hybrids.  We might allow vines to sprawl in some part of our landscape, offering food and shelter to many small creatures.

~

~

The more we allow the natural web of life to re-emerge in our curated landscapes, the more diversity we will enjoy.  Insects attract birds.  Birds drop seeds.  Seeds sprout into new plants we hadn’t planned on.  New plants attract more pollinators.  It is a fascinating process to watch unfold.

How to begin?  First, make a commitment to nurture life instead of spreading death.  Stop using poisons and pesticides.

~

~

Once your outdoor space is no longer toxic, plant a few of the most important food source plants for the pollinators you hope to attract. Find suggestions for your region at the Xerces Society For Invertebrate Conservation.

If  you have the space, begin by planting trees and shrubs.  These will give the most ‘bang for your buck’ because they are long lived and produce many, many flowers on each plant.  Remember, too, that many herbs, even if they aren’t native to your region, provide copious nectar all summer long.

~

~

If you live in an apartment or condo, you might have room for a hanging basket or a few large containers on your porch or balcony.  Include a few nectar rich plants, like Lantana and herbs, in your planting.  Any outdoor space, even roofs, walls and balconies, may be enriched and enlivened with careful plant choices.

~

~

As much as I respect those gardeners who champion native plants, I will never advice another gardener to plant only natives.  I believe a plant’s function, and how well it meets the gardener’s needs, outweighs its provenance.  If we can include some percentage of carefully selected native plants, then we can also choose wisely from the enormous variety of interesting plants on the market today.

~

~

There are many non-native plants available which also provide shelter for birds and insects; nectar rich flowers; and fruit, seeds or berries enjoyed by birds.

Some, like Mahonia aquifolium are native on the West Coast of North America, but not here in Virginia.  They still naturalize here and grow easily, providing winter flowers for pollinators and spring berries for our birds.  Others, like Lantana cultivars, have a species form native in American tropics; but also many interesting hybrids which  grow well  in cooler regions.

~

~

Many Mediterranean herbs provide rich sources of nectar, as do common Asian shrubs, like Pyracantha and Camellia.

And there are wildlife friendly native plants, like poison ivy, that most of us would never allow to naturalize in our own garden.  However environmentally conscious we may want to be, our garden remains our personal space and must bring us comfort and joy.  Gardens are human spaces first; enjoyed, curated and tended by people.

~

~

It adds to our enjoyment of our garden when we invite beauty, in the form of pollinators, into our personal space.  We are like stage managers, tending a safe environment, ready for the music and drama these beautiful creatures always bring to it.

~

~

Woodland Gnome 2017

*

“He that plants trees loves others besides himself.”

.

Thomas Fuller

.

Happiness is contagious!  Let’s infect one another!

Wednesday Vignette: Connected

~

“Just as the wave cannot exist for itself,

but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean,

so must I never live my life for itself,

but always in the experience which is going on around me.”

.

Albert Schweitzer

~

~

“There is a deep interconnectedness of all life on earth,

from the tiniest organisms,

to the largest ecosystems,

and absolutely between each person.”

.

Bryant McGill

~

~

“When we know ourselves to be connected to all others,

acting compassionately is simply the natural thing to do. ”

.

Rachel Naomi Remen

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2017

~

~

“…the Ultimate Truth: nothing exists in the universe

that is separate from anything else.

Everything is intrinsically connected,

irrevocably interdependent,

interactive, interwoven into the fabric of all of life.”

.

Neale Donald Walsch

 

 

 

In A Vase on Thursday

~

Cutting flowers from the garden is still a very hard thing for me to do.  The bees didn’t help the matter at all as they buzzed around the Mexican Sage I was dropping in a glass of water, as soon as I had cut it.  They were bewildered, and a bit annoyed, that I was taking their favorite flowers.

~

~

I walked right past the gorgeous Camellias, not wanting to cut their woody stems, which will keep on growing once the flowers drop.

Some will observe that cutting encourages new growth; a moot point in late October.  Others will chime in that frost can take them down at any time, anyway.

~

~

Whatever the merits of the arguments, I wanted to fill this silver coffee pot with flowers before my guests arrive in a few short hours.  It had grown a bit dusty and tarnished over the summer.

I enjoy the firm deadline an invitation imposes for one to seek out those pesky cobwebs normally ignored; clean out the stacks of catalogs by my chair, and perhaps shine a piece or two of silver.

And to cut flowers….

~

~

As usual, I’ve cut things I hope will root in the vase.  There are my two favorite Salvias in bloom this month:  Salvia leucantha and Salvia elegans.  And though only the Pineapple Sage is called elegant in its proper name, I find both to be very elegant in the fall garden.

~

~

The Salvia leucantha grow through an Artemisia in the front garden, and so I used a bit as filler.  I like its pale foliage against the silver coffee pot.  There are also a few branches of our African Rose Mallow, Hibiscus acetosella.

~

~

Cathy, continues to post her vase each Monday, and I think of her fondly as each Monday comes and goes.  I expect these flowers to still look lovely after the weekend, and perhaps I’ll consider myself a few days early instead of four days late!  Positive thinking is a habit, after all, isn’t it?

~

~

Our weather has turned nice again and I’ve been putting a few potted things back outside to enjoy our late October Indian Summer.  We certainly are enjoying these comfortable, sunny days.  And the small creatures in the garden, particularly the bees, celebrate all of the flowers still blooming so beautifully.

~

~

Woodland Gnome 2015

~

Autumn Lives at Brent and Becky Heath’s Display Gardens

~

We visited Brent and Becky Heath’s gardens at their Bulb Shop in Gloucester, Virginia, today.

~

~

Their gardening staff maintain several acres of themed display gardens where one may wander and view thousands of plants growing under various conditions.

~

~

Of course the many different bulbs they offer are featured players in these garden designs.  But a rich tapestry of shrubs and trees, annuals and perennials frame the many garden beds.

~

~

And everywhere there is a whimsically light touch to delight the visitor.

~

~

We found an observation hut filled with humming beehives.

~

~

Bees come and go freely at a safe distance from garden visitors.  Worker honeybees collect nectar alongside many other species of bees and small wasps.

~

~

These gardens were composed to support many different pollinators, birds, frogs, toads and fish.  They are vibrantly alive even as autumn pushes summer into memory.

~

~

Vivid Dahlias, Chrysanthemums and Asters dominate many of the beds now.  But the autumn flowering Crinum lilies, Colchicum, and fall blooming Crocus bloom throughout.

~

~

Camellia sasanqua have begun opening as the many Hydrangea cultivars finish for another year.

~

~

Lazily wandering the paths of these gardens, one absorbs a rich education in how plants respond in our climate and in the various microclimates where they’ve been planted.

~

~

One may encounter the same cultivar again and again in different exposures and paired with different companions.

~

~

Many of the catalog offerings are planted up front in long rows, where one may compare them side by side.  This more regimented display is a quick study for gardening newbies selecting one variety or another.

~

~

But the quiet display gardens behind the bulb shop draw us ever deeper into their orbit.

~

~

Benches beckon one to sit and watch butterflies lazily drifting from flower to flower.

~

~

The music of flowing water draws one further on to explore elusive paths among the rocks and conifers.  There is always just one more garden to explore, one more mass of blossoms to admire.

~

~

A gardener approached as we were leaving, and named the particular Asters blooming today.

~

~

He told me where to find interesting Salvias next spring.  We discussed the winter coming and shared hopes that tender perennials might survive it.  He knows and loves every inch of these gardens, and is happy to share a bit of what he knows with curious visitors.  We’ve chatted before, and I look forward to learning more from him on future visits.

~

~

Grasses glistened in the afternoon sun.  Bare, berry covered branches stood out vividly against a deeply blue sky.

~

~

Patches of orange and red blazed in the surrounding trees.  Gigantic spiders spin sparkling webs between shrubs.

~

~

The breeze was fresh, and almost cool.

~

~

Winter will have visited before we return.  We plan to come back in early December for Amaryllis just before bulb sales end for another season.

~

~

By then the garden will have transformed, yet again.  It may be quieter, in winter, but the woody bones of this special place and the many evergreens will ensure it remains interesting and beautiful.

~

~

We’ll look forward to viewing hardy Cyclamen and perennials which shrug off our cold.

~

~

And there will surely be more gardening lessons to absorb from these special gardens.

~

~

Woodland Gnome 2015

~