A Gardener's Diary

Summer is definitely here and with that I can look to the yard and see the bounty that Spring has given the land. Fledglings are out of the nest and in the trees still squawking for mom and dad to feed them. Second broods are being hatched in protective nests. I hear their little cries as parents tend to their responsibility to bring up another healthy generation. The skies teem with chips and chirps as younglings, mimicking their parents, dare to establish themselves as masters of their own universe. And such tight knit units they are — young blue birds, cardinals, blue jays, finches and wrens all fly through the back yard, siblings chasing one another from one spot to the next.

In the gardens and flower beds, the Spring bloomers have passed the baton to the lovers of summer heat. Lillies are in abundance, a veritable color wheel at their disposal. Anemonies, coneflower, black-eyed susans, globe thistle and russian sage all make appearances, along with coral bells with their champagne-bubble flowers, hosta, hyssop, bee balm and butterfly weed. What do these flowers have in common besides adding rich colors to the flower beds? They are loved by pollinators. Butterflies, honeybees, bumblebees, hummingbirds all flock to these plants, doing what they do best — pollinate. And their reward for this continuation of the species? Deliciously, sweet nectar.

So, please enjoy the photos of a working yard, compliments of the flying world that we cannot do without.

Take a closer look…

Not only does this moth enjoy the nectar deep inside this coneflower, but it will also gather pollen on its hairs that will be dispersed while moving from one flower to another.

Again, take a closer look…

The honeybees also love globe thistle, a most beautiful plant especially when clumped in a mass. Gold finches love the seeds when the bloom starts to wane.

You can always count on a bumblebee to show you how it rolls around inside a flower to gather pollen. You can see it on the hind legs, both here in the anemone,

and on the blossoming Annabelle hydrangea.

This hummingbird hawk moth gets ready to dive into this flower that is planted in a pot.

Look at that proboscis readying to sip the flower’s elixir.

This Eastern tiger swallowtail shows off beautifully.

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Let’s move to the monarch. It dances from one plant to another while lilting on the breezes. It loves the coneflower.

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And, of course, catmint. Nobody discriminates against this plant.

This is the same Spicebush Swallowtail that I saw earlier in the season. From the beginning, I had noticed the loss of some of its lower wings, but it seems to be doing just fine! Really quite lovely.

The photo below just looks like a beautiful summer grouping of flowers, but…

if you look more closely, even the monarch caterpillar gets into the act, essential to propagating the monarch population.

Like I always say, keep your eyes open, something is always there.

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