Butterfly Love

I finally got some photos of butterflies in my garden. Even though they were the same variety, it is very exciting. I had to click fast, because they certainly don't wait for you. They were flitting about most of the time, as butterflies are wont to do. So I learned patience. A moving object is just hard to photograph.

 

The Gulf Fritilary

They are common visitors in my garden, but so busy in flight, that I hardly get a close look at them. Here it is perched on a passion flower, favorite of the insects and hummingbirds.

Lovely fluttering creature, for a moment I have the honor of breathing in your essence. Quiet you are on a blossom or leaf.

 

Wings closed tight I see the inner beauty of your flight. In your aberrant flight you seem not to know where you fly. But you find the flower or leaf that you need and settle into a momentary stasis. If I could be you for a moment, wings outspread in the sun, flying on the drafts of air. Velvet wings. Searching antenna. Seeking the light and the air.

 

So delicate, so ephemeral, the stuff dreams are made of, I bow to you little flittering creature of the air.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day- October 2009

The blooms today are my old favorites: peony rose, begonia, passion flower, bird of paradise. We've had two days of rain-- most unexpected for us this time of year-- so the garden sparkles today. It's warm, so all the blooms that were in bud are coming out.

The peony rose ( I don't know it's botanical name, so if anyone has an idea, do let me know.)  has got three blossoms and more buds.  The other roses are busy giving me new blooms.  Their stems have all gotten so tall that I will have to prune them back this winter.  The garden is happy when the roses start to bloom again in the fall.  The stress of summer is over and here, we still have weeks of warm weather, with the possibility of another heat wave. So goes our autumn in the Los Angeles area.

These begonias are the work horses of the garden this summer. No matter the weather they keep giving blossoms.  You can see the shadows of the petals on this passion flower bloom. We have very nice clear skies today. A beautiful day.

 

And who else should show his colors today, but the bird of paradise, still unfurling more blossoms than he's ever shown in one season. Happy blooms for a lovely day.

For more Bloom Day shows go to May Dreams Garden.

Love those Leaves

Passion Flower

 

Ornamental Sweet Potato

Variegated Ivy

All leaves have their own personality, especially the ones from different plants.  The above  three leaves have three or five lobes, but on closer examination are quite different.  The Passion Flower leaf reaches its veins into each of the three lobes and has parallel veins, while the Sweet Potato treats each lobe as part of the larger leaf and does not have parallel veins.  The colors of the Ivy almost obscure the veins in this leaf.

At the expense of not getting too technical in this post, I will describe some leaves and leave the others for you to notice the difference. It's only because of this post that I've started to recall some of my high school biology and look at leaves as individuals again.  It's so easy to see the flowers and forget about the leaves that engender them.

Polka-dot plant

 

Caladium

Some leaves are more spectacular than the flower, as the above two.  The Polka-dot leaf has veins that do not follow the pattern of the pink color, while the Caladium does. The Caladium looks as if its sap ran deep pink in the middle of the leaf.

Australian Tree Fern

Staghorn Fern Frond

 

 Mother Fern Leaflet

 

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The ferns are a world all their own.  Leaflets grow off of the main stem in different shapes and sizes.  The spores on the back of the Mother Fern leaflet can form new ferns.  I love the gentle curve of this leaflet.

Yarrow Leaf

 

Boston Fern Leaf

But even ferns are similar to the leaves themselves, as in the two leaves shown above.  The Yarrow may have a more complex form, but both leaves grow out from a central stem. 

Cranesbill Geranium

 

Kalanchoe

 

Begonia

Plumbago Groundcover in Fall

These leaves show the different colors that leaves can have. The colors in the last two photos show on the leaves in different places, some year-round, some due to their exposure to the sun or the turning of leaves in fall. The succulents have no visible veins.

Mexican Heather

 

Hen and Chickens Succulent

Some leaves form a recognizable form, while others have their on creative chaos.

Forget-me-not

 

 Purple Oxalis

Two of my favorite leaves. Seen close the Forget-me-not has a wonderful contrast of colors.  The various colors and the form of the oxalis speak for themselves.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Bird of Paradise

The Bird of Paradise are really blooming now. Two blooms have opened and I have three more. It's a happy plant this year.  They've come back into bloom since the heat wave is over. 

  

 

Passion Flower 

Also the Passion Flower is the hummingbird's best friend with lots of blooms, as well the ants in the photo.

 

Firecracker Sage

 

Autumn Sage

The Autumn Sage and the Firecracker Sage started blooming in the heat and are gathering for a profusion of blooms.

  

  

Echinacea

 

Orange Zinnia Profusion Mix

Wildflower "Jupiter's Beard"

My garden doesn't have a plethora of blooms. However, it does have some little gems, which I share with you. Enjoy!

(See May Dreams Gardens for GBBD)

Beginning

Welcome to the first of many blogs. I think it'll be fun! I've written about my garden for years, but never in such a public way. So this is a beginning for me. I've been a gardener as far back as I can remember. My mother handed me my first spade and said, go to work. I planted Bachelor Buttons, still one of my favorite flowers. My secret garden has been an experiment with new plants and learning what will go best, where. It's never complete, but always in the making.

It's the end of August and the heat has taken it's toll on this southern California garden. It's the time for heat-loving plants. The tomatoes, sown in pots on my patio, are still producing, but wilt in the afternoon sun.




The passion flower vine is blooming profusely, as is the firecracker salvia, both plants for the hummingbirds of this garden. The roses that still bloom are short-lived, as the strong sun wilts and dries them quickly.


I've already ordered my fall vegetable seeds from Seeds of Change. I'm going to convert the sunniest beds into areas for vegetables. Most of my garden is shaded by a large live oak and nearby houses, so there is little garden area for most vegetables. I've spoken with my garden spirits (fairies, gnomes, as they are known by other names) and they feel I am right to try lettuce, chard, radish, cilantro and parsley in those spots.