Tuesday, June 30, 2015

around the yard

Today, I have some assorted photos of things around the yard again.

I was weeding a flower bed when I suddenly noticed this box turtle all closed up in his shell.  He had been there the whole time I was working in that area and I hadn't noticed him.  The markings on his shell are really good camouflage!

I went in to get the camera and also a small chunk of cantaloupe to see if he would eat it.  He must have realized I had left the area, and when I got back outside, he was running toward the field at top speed!
They can move fast when they want to!

He wanted nothing to do with the cantaloupe, so I just quickly snapped this picture and quit harassing him.


So, what's blooming?   This Artemisia has very tiny yellow blooms on it.  These are such dependale perennials, coming back year after year...and it can easily be divided to make more plants.


This is a shady area with a Heuchera, it's small pink blooms are leaning over a Japanese Painted Fern, I need to work on this area - and move some of the plants around. It will have to wait for cool weather, though. It will be lass stressful for the plants (and me!).


This is Orange Butterfly Weed, and it's actually in the field next door.


That orange is so vibrant...I can see several clumps of it farther out in the field.  I sure wish this was in my flower bed!  I have read that it has a long tap root, though, and usually doesn't survive a move.


More orange in these Ditch Lillies, growing in a hard to mow spot by the driveway. Their blooming time is almost over. When the foliage starts turning yellow, I will cut them back and then more green leaves will emerge and look nice for the rest of the summer.


Below are some Day Lilies that I haven't moved yet. They are blooming really well, trying to make me feel guilty about moving the other ones. 

The tall red flowers behind them are Crocosmia. The hummingbirds really like those!


It was a windy day, making it hard to get a photo of the flowers with their stalks waving in the breeze.  Soon, dark clouds rolled in and we had an afternoon thunderstorm.


More rain in the forecast all during the week. 







4 comments:

  1. Your homework assignment is to discover about the uses of artemisia. Terragon and wormwood are a couple of clues. Wonder which type you have???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I have now read a lot of info on Artemisia....as an herbal medicine and even an ingredient in Absinthe. And here I thought it was just pretty to look at!
      I have three different kinds...all wormwoods.

      Delete
  2. In another post you mentioned monarch butterflies. Is this the milkweed you planted. Or a natural stand? I'm used to seeing white, not orange. I recognized it by the flower's shape & growth but not by the color so I had to google butterfly weed...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those orange ones are wild...growing in the field next door.
    The ones I planted are white ones and pink ones...but they haven't bloomed this year. I think the Monarchs use any and all milkweed as larval food plants...and will use no other plant.
    That field gets bushhogged once or twice a summer. I need to get over there and get some seed heads from the orange ones before they get mown down.

    ReplyDelete