I envisioned a sea of pink...

...evening primrose in one of my flower beds this year. My hubby sowed the seeds this past winter and they took off. Here is a lovely closeup of one of the delicate pink flowers:

What I had forgotten is that they are the host of these lovely cats:

Now, I apologize that you can't tell how large that sucker is, but it is in the range of 4-5 inches and looks like a meaty, green sausage. Yikes!!

Here I am on my hands and knees in my pink evening primrose bed re-discovering what I had forgotten about pink evening primrose!

I am open to suggestions of a description of the look that has crossed my face upon my rediscovery. Thanks goes to hubby who was in the right place at the right time with the camera.

By the way, the cat is the Five-lined Sphinx moth.

They LOVE the pink oenothera, but don't fear, it grows back way to fast! I was pulling it out of my flower beds a while back and had to leave it because of the cats.

Yes, I understand that it is very invasive. I am hoping that the cats will keep it somewhat manageable for me. So far all is well. It helps to have it in a bed that is isolated in the center of the yard and we will see how it does this year.

I love this little flower. I am glad others plant it too. I didn't know it was a host plant but that is another good reason to let it grow. It started blooming real early for me and is still going strong. I have it planted in an area away from my house and other flower beds.

Pretty flower, really BIG cat!

I am so glad you posted this. I have a patch of this that I was seriously thinking of removing from my flower bed completely. It always seems to fill in way more space than I want and I had decided to just get rid of it. The bed originally had a few of these and a few black-eyed Susans mixed in with some alliums and a few cone flowers. Now they are buried in a sea of pink. I am delighted to know it is a host plant. I will allow some of it to remain and transplant some of it somewhere it can spread. I would really like to know the name of the red flower in your picture. It's beautiful! Thanks.
Shirley in Maryland

Hi all,

Thanks for the Oenothera support. It is one of those plants that many have a LOVE/HATE relationship with. English ivy is another plant example that can elicit pretty strong feelings. I confess that English ivy grows in my yard also. Maybe I am just a rebel!! LOL

Actually, I did not plant the ivy, it came with the house. I have just decided to embrace it for awhile (years in fact), but probably not much longer as I want to turn the shady area where the ivy grows into a hosta bed. At least the hostas won't grow up the side of the house, into the house and down the chimney. However, I kind of like the ivy growing across the fireplace mantle. It entered through the window one day and decided to stay.

Anyway, back to the Oenothera. I like it and I like to grow it. The Sphinx moth cats are an interesting addition to my sea of pink and make for a pretty cool little ecosystem in the backyard.

The other plants present with the Oenothera are Ratibida--aka Prairie coneflower/Mexican Hat; Amaryllis--the big, red flowers you asked about Shirley; below the surface of the Oenothera are some rosettes of Echinacea--purple coneflower; and last, but not least, there is also a hardy hibiscus in there somewhere, it's shoots just emerging for the year. The purple coneflower and hibiscus will bloom late summer and fall. I may have to help the purple coneflower along and give it some growing space as the Oenothera is swallowing it up right now.

Thanks again for your interest and posts!,
Kenya

Is that the same as the tomato hornworms that do such feats of chomping on tomato plants? I've been looking for a good alternative host plant for them, so I can move them across the yard from my tomato bed.

I'm glad to know something likes to eat these because I have a huge patch of them. I planted them on purpose but have been a little concerned about their growth. No takers so far tho but I'll keep watching.