What's happening in your mid summer garden?

If it's a "she", she'll lay her eggs in a casing that looks like it's made of paper mache...which overwinter in the casing...they hatch in the spring, so be cautious about spraying chemicals if you want to have more of them.

VERY COOL insects !

We've seen ONE here.

You both probably have more of them than you realize. They are very well camouflaged with their environment and don't move very much. They "lie in wait" ready to snatch up their prey.

I see them occassionally here, so you must have them where you both are...being rural as it is.

I've not had any issues with either the guava or the Brugmansia that lives next to it as far as insect infestations - I normally deal with this with a swift jet of water first, then move up to insecticidal soap - but now that I see this little beneficial, I'll stick to the jets of water if need be! I literally jumped when I saw her, then was in awe of her perfect camouflage! They move slowly and gracefully. When I tried to take pics, I had to move the branch, and she seemed to be watching me! Really a cool find today.

I have seen 2 over 2 years. The first one was 2 years ago when our Miniature Pinscher was a pup and they had ashowdown. The mantis was very defensive and a tad offensive standing up to the dog. That wouldn't happen today, but I was surprised at her (mantis) assertiveness!!!

Well, of course she's 'assertive'...let's not forget that she kills the male...lol...

It's too bad they can't make an insecticidal soap that can tell the difference between beneficial insects and the ones that harm our plants :-(
Did you know that hummingbirds don't live on the nector they get from flowers? They just use the nector as fuel so they can fly the way they do. The bulk of their diet is actually insects. Same thing for chickadees, bushtits, warblers, vireos, wrens, flycatchers, phoebes, swallows etc..
When people think of birds, they think of them eating seeds, but far more of them either just eat insects or also eat insects. It is the bigger birds that steal our fruit.......and I don't mind sharing with them. I have more than enough.
So the next time a little flock of chickadees or bushtits comes through your yard, remember that they are literally coming your plants for insects!!

I hope that everyone who is following this thread who even just likes fuchsias, will go to the new thread started by hummer_girl and throw their name into the hat for a new forum by leaving a note there. The subject really doesn't have a specific region, it needs it own space. Please help!

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1026402/

I took this picture TODAY! It just opened. I also have a Daylily at home with two blooms on it and several more on two other scapes. What's up with that!?

One of the Cleos.

And another

I had two tomato seeds in my pocket about 6 weeks ago and decided to drop them into the flower bed to see what would happen. This is what happened. It's going everywhere and it's full of little tomatoes.

Edited to say:
There's also a cantaloupe vine in there.

This message was edited Aug 25, 2009 9:11 AM

A friend of mine gave me a sickly quart Ruellia back in May. This is what it looks like now. Must be a really good spot.

You must have some really good dirt there desertpirate. How fun to get those bonus tomatoes. Now what were you doing just walking around with tomato seeds in your pocket?????

DP, will you come lay hands on some of my plants?

Doss - probably time for a new thread. How about "What's happening in your late summer garden?"

OK dokey. Here it is
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1031234/