They're Back! (Along with a New Friend)

The swallowtails are back this season. The butterfly bush June planted when she lived here really attracts them during these hot days.

They always seem to lose one of the "tails" though. I think it's rough being a butterfly!

This Spicebush swallowtail was also missing one of its wing "tails." This one kept feeding on the butterfly bush and then flitting down to the ground to rest!

Seen for the first time by me (anywhere) and for the first time at Pink Gardens is this moth known as a Hummingbird moth. It really does resemble the variety of hummers we get here with its green neck and non-stop wings. 

It was hard to get a decent photo since they move like a hummer too, very nervously flitting from flower to flower and the wings never stop beating.

If you couldn't see the antennae you'd swear this was a baby hummingbird. That's what I thought it was at first!

Apparently these are the moths from the hornworm caterpillars that can eat every leaf on a tomato plant in two days if you don't find them first. Oddly, though we have the adult moth, I never had to pick off any caterpillars this year. For more information about these moths, click here.

MoreColour!

I call these dahlias in my garden "fraternal twins." They're both blooming on the same plant but are opposites of each other, one light pink with darker pink center and the other darker pink with a lighter center.

June may have moved but her Butterfly bush is doing splendidly! Of course she checks it weekly to make sure I'm taking care of it, lol.

This dahlia is a beautiful creamy white until it fully opens and ages, then this yellow with a bit of pink shows up. I find dahlias utterly fascinating to grow. I hope I'm able to grow them for years to come. 

 This dahlia has very simple petals but I love it. It has a very Sixties "Flower Power" shape to it.

One of the Victorian cast-iron planters in front of Pink Gardens. I outdid myself this year if you ask me, lol! Almost everything in these planters is rooted in water all winter inside and then replanted in the spring. This is a brand new geranium, though, and the yellow Lantana is new as well. I do well with a zero budget! 

Flowers in the Rain, Rain on the Lens

Narcissus looks down into his reflection in the water... 

Creeping Perriwinkle's lavender flowers tuck into the base of my castle-like decaying tree trunk.

Sunny Jonquil can't brighten the soggy afternoon at Pink Gardens,

Azaleas are as wet as the camera lens in this shot. I kept shooting, working around the rain-soaked camera lens.

Raindrop on lens softens the Azalea here, in full bloom just in time for the soaking rain. I think this may become one of my paintings/assemblages.

   

The elegant back of a Narcissus bloom.

Nice double daffodil points its heavy head to the ground during soaking.

The first few leaves of my white Trillium catching some rain.

Spring Tomorrow But I Don't Really See It!

Still winter temperatures around here, but no snow lately. Most of what we had is melting steadily. I'm really ready for Spring and puttering around outside!

 Backyard brook/swamp/creek is full and full of ice.

 Lonely tomato cage and deer netting awaiting the warmer seasons.

A red shamrock and a purple tradescanthia reach for the meager winter sun during a recent snowstorm.

 Morning Glory vines from past seasons tough it out.

These two struggling plants were given to me late last summer and they're both doing fine now.

The peace bench has a winter arrangement on it. I found half of a square paver and from most angles it looks like a pyramid. This is a calm place to sit.

A close-up of the paver and peace bench shows the industrial origins of the granite slab. You can see the scars of mining and drilling on it. 

View from above show the various items in this seasonal arrangement, all things found around the yard by digging.

Common late winter site: My sneakers and melting snow.

Plants like Foxgloves which don't lose their leaves, warm up faster than the bare ground around them.