Morning

I love the morning in my garden.  As the sun rises over the fence and wall, it lights up each section of the flowers one at a time and the butterflies wake up and come out to play.  I go out with my camera and sit in my chair or sometimes on the wet, dewy ground and just watch and listen.  Cardinals, doves, blue jays, mockingbirds, titmice and hawks are common.  Less common, we are starting to get some warblers and I had a Loggerhead Shrike in the large oak behind our back wall last week. 

While I am waiting for the butterflies to come out and play, I walk the path in front of my two gardens, looking for weeds, caterpillars and any new blooms.  I was in awe of this giant hibiscus bloom this morning.  It is such a beautiful shade of pale yellow tinged with a blush peach and is as large as a small salad plate.  I know it will probably only last for the day but it is breathtaking.

The skippers come out first.  Darting rapidly in and out of the flowers and foliage, looking for a place to perch and sun their wings in the rays.  This little one was sunning himself in the yellow/red garden and when I crouched down to take his picture he turned his head to look at me with those large eyes!  I normally crop the photos closer but I love the Red and Orange Blanket Flower in the background. 

Eventually I got another picture of this one on leaves of Cosmos that I planted from a seed mixture weeks ago.  The seeds have sprouted up so high I realized I planted them in the wrong place at the front of the garden! 

An unwelcome guest at the table of my caterpillar garden is these pests.  There are a couple different kinds I have seen.  I think this one is called a striped armyworm.  There is another kind that has spots, I believe it is Spodoptera Ornithogalli.  They eat my flower blossoms from the inside out!  When I find them, I squish them

In contrast to the lush floral arrangement that is the nectar side of my butterfly garden, I have grouped a lot of host plants on the other side..which means when the caterpillars are finished feasting it looks pitiful and bare. I had an untamed philodendron in the corner that I have been slowly trying to manage.  I need to find a solution to cover up the bareness of these plants when they are devoured after each generation of butterflies. My husband says I can't just go out and buy more host plants every time they are eaten to nubs anymore.

I am curious what will happen to my pentas when it gets cooler.  I have read other gardener's blogs from this area that say if the frost kills them, they will come back.  I hope so.  They have grown so big from the quart and smaller plants I bought from the local nurseries.  I have a lot of the brown striped lizards in my yard but I  enjoy finding the green ones and this guy was enjoying the morning warmth; I almost didn't see him.