Glorious Composite Flowers And Pollination

You just can't beat composite flowers for color and long lasting flowers in the garden.  These flowers are composed of ray flowers, the large red and yellow petals seen here, and disk flowers which we will examine more closely.  The Monarch Butterfly has become a  famous poster child for the pollination movement and no wonder just look at it!  Even the Postal Service agrees. The Monarch beat out the bee 12 to 8. Their Protect pollinator stamps came out on August 1, 2017 and are now sold out.  You can still see them online.

But there are many more pollinators than Monarch Butterflies and Honeybees.   Here a bee or a fly of a different sort is visiting the ring of tiny yellow flowers.

Early in the morning when fog fills the air and dew glistens on a Gloriosa Daisy, today's ring of disk flowers can be seen as buds.  The flowers will open later when the sun dries the dew and it is time  for the pollinators to begin their search for nectar and pollen.

This solid color flower has a ring of tiny flowers with nice yellow pollen.  Before long the pollen will be collected by this pollinator and perhaps others.  Tomorrow the process will be repeated.  This continues until the entire disk has its turn to bloom.

Last weekend I cut some Gloriosa Daisies to bring a little of their cheery color indoors.  In my kitchen where there are no pollinators and there is no rain to wash the pollen away, the rings of flowers with pollen last for several days.  The ring of buds for tomorrow can be easily seen in this picture.

Pollinating a flower isn't always easy.  Sometime a Flower spider is waiting there to eat you!

It's June? Seriously?

I looked at the calendar and May had thirty-one days this year just like always.  How did it go by so darn fast?  We have not had Lemon Lily flowers for several years.  They  have usually been frosted in May but not this year!  Early this morning I saw the cheery yellow flowers from the house.  I wanted to get out there while it was still cool.  Since there are weeds popping up everywhere,  I chose to work right next to these lovely flowers.  The first thing I did was stick my nose into this flower coming face to face with a Flower spider.  I backed off and so did she but she only went to the other side of the flower where I could no longer see her.  The whole area around the lilies was filled with fragrance.  It was a pleasure to remove unwanted plants and give these beauties their place in the sun.  While I was out there, two  blue Indigo Buntings stopped by close enough for me to enjoy their iridescent color and twittering.  I stopped to watch them and  the  House Wrens that seem to have babies  to feed in the pink birdhouse.  

The Robin's Plantain, also known as Blue Spring Daisy, is blooming now too.  It is a native from a patch that  used to grow in the back meadow.   It is a plant I have rarely seen elsewhere.  It could use some help holding its spot.  Perhaps it will get moved to the top of the list for my next time spent in the garden.

Gorgeous flowers are blooming everywhere.  This is the Blue Flag that grows in front of the house..

All of the Iris are opening now.  This family heirloom goes back to my Mom and my Grandmother.  The fragrance of this flower is a memory from my childhood.  Not big and showy, but hardy, fragrant and lovely, this is one of the plants that garden visitors ask me to share.  I do that often and gladly!  It is cooling off now.  Perhaps I can do a little more before it rains!

Don't Miss The Flower Spider!

No time to write a long post so we will use blog magic to go back in time to read about this gorgeous flower spider.  Click on the words flower spider. for your link to the past. When you get there you can do it again. I've gotta go!

Waiting for the Garden to Dry Off

I made an early trip out to the garden, slogging through the wet shin deep grass, to pick a few red strawberries for breakfast.  I chased three rabbits from the garden on the way.  Our inability to get the grass around the garden cut has given them cover and they take advantage of it. Yesterday a wild turkey and her babies spent the entire afternoon in the "short" grass around the garden.  I could see the wet hen clearly, her shoulders and neck were above the grass.   Ed saw the babies, but I never did .  We really want things to dry off so we can mow around the garden.  Now it is too easy for the critters to slip into the garden under cover.  That can be murder on the plants.  It also makes it so that we can't see what is out there.  Seeing the wet turkey hen was nice, but I wanted to see the babies too!

My Clematis is beginning to bloom.

Jane's Rugosa rose looks lovely when wet and still has its beautiful scent.

Our friendly flower spider can still be found in the same iris.  It looks quite comfortable and fairly dry under its flower petal roof.

I discovered another patch of nettles along the edge of the driveway. They must have come up after the Red Admirals had passed by.  Here the plants are still green and growing.  This butterfly is not one that I have been able to identify.  I don't think I've ever seen one like it before.

The morning fog has lifted and the rain has stopped.  Perhaps this is the day things will dry off enough for us to make some progress.  Today we hope for partly sunny.  I heard that tomorrow there is a possibility that it won't rain at all.  A wise, blue, furry monster name Grover once said, "Where there's life there's is hope."   There's still lots of hope here at the Stone Wall Garden.

Still Wonderful When Wet

So far every day in June we have had rain.  Most days have been partly cloudy.  I know partly sunny is a more positive way to say that, but as a description of the weather it would not be anywhere near the truth.  Even here where our beds are as well drained as they come, anything you want to do in the garden is a muddy affair.  So far today actually is  partly sunny.  Imagine my delight when I saw this clearwing humming bird moth, Hemaris thysbe and  the flower spider, on Ed's 'Silver Edge' Siberian iris.  After getting soaked to the skin yesterday by a surprise shower, I had left the camera in the house.  I was so sure they would be gone by the time I got back outside, but it seemed worth the effort to try.  When I got back I had time to take just one picture before the hummingbird moth darted off.   I still remember when I saw my very first humming bird moth. I was fascinated.   Seeing one still fills me with delight.  Actually getting a good picture of one is priceless!

Amy's old friend , the flower spider  is not camera shy.  I think it looks bigger than it was  just four days ago.  Apparently the 'Silver Edge' iris is home for now.   The spider barely moved.  I would expect to find this spider right here as long as the flowers last.   It is very welcome in the garden.  With all this moisture,  bugs are everywhere.  I say stick around, eat all you can, have a family.  We can use the help!

A Close Look at Iris, Photos by Amy

It's fun to focus the camera on the incredible colors and intricate patterns of iris in bloom.  Here  velvety blue petals of 'Silver Edge', Siberian iris, make a beautiful  home for a flower spider, Masumena vatia.

This spider is supposed to be able to change colors to match its surroundings.  Apparently white to yellow is common.  Here the spider looks to me like it has a definite tinge of blue.

I love this shot of Mom's iris.  The velvety purple petal with white streaks and a delicate white edge combine with  ruffled white petals to make a gorgeous photograph.  Amy captured everything but the fragrance.

'Ego' is a perfect name for these deep blue iris.  There is nothing shy about these frilly blossoms.  Perhaps we can consider the black bug in the lower right of the picture to be a beauty mark added to accent the lovely curve of the nearby petal.

Blue flag, Iris versicolor, is a native here in New York.  It is a slender wild relative, but it still shows the deep color and intricate patterns to rival its many well bred iris cousins.

This overhead shot really shows off the gold pattern on the lower petals.  Nature comes up with fascinating designs.  The petals have been nibbled on by some insect.  Most of the iris flowers are experiencing insect attack.  2012 in the Stone Wall Garden appears to be the year of the insect!