Thank you, I love those too.
Josephine.
Mullein is not native to Texas or North America, but it naturalized
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VETH
This message was edited Aug 24, 2007 2:36 PM
Gardening with Texas Native Plants & Wildflowers, part 15.
Linda.....just to let you know..... the blooms on my prairie flame sumac are covered in honey bees during early morning here lately. Thank goodness! :)
Melanie
Good to have you back Melanie.
:) I've missed my "second" home... :) Haven't even had the energy to get online here and share all of my little discoveries from the gardens. Such a happy time out there from all of the rains....and lots of new critters making themselves comfy under new shade! :)
Melanie
Just a photo that I took yesterday morning of my late Summer blooms. :)
Melanie
My Blue Mist is doing well too... :)
Melanie
Very nice Melanie, the butterflies really love the blue mist, don't they?
They do indeed... :)
I have Gregg's Mistflower and it's like butterfly candy when it's blooming. Have you seen any caterpillars on your milkweed, Melanie?
Oddly enough, I haven't, Linda....I've also got some "Scarlet" Milkweed growing from seed as well.....about to bloom...and nothing on those yet either.... Lovely photo, by the way... :)
Melanie
I finally got a Hop Bush....but I can't seem to find any info on it. Thin papery seed pods? Any information, Linda or Josephine?
Melanie.. :)
"Dodonaea viscosa" Not a native, darn it.....but interesting nonetheless..... :)
Well I looked it up and it is a very pretty shrub, native to Hawai.
At least it's a native of America!
Distribution
USA: AZ, FL, HI
Native Distribution: S. AZ; s. FL
Native Habitat: Dry, rocky slopes & canyons; grassy savannas; coastal hammocks
lol, True....bronc......and drought resistant... :)
Melanie
Melanie, I stand corrected, I went to Google thinking that the wildflower center wouldn't have it, and they said Hawaii, sorry, I am glad it is native a lot closer to us, that way it won't be so frost tender.
Josephine.
tis ok...Josephine.... :)
I picked up a Beautyberry and a compact Sage as well, already flowering. Now the Beautyberry is another quandry...as to where to put it, since they apparently grow quite large. Since I have sooo many mockingbird kids in the backyard....I thought that they would enjoy the berry treats when ready... :)
Melanie
Yes they will, keep in mind too that the beauty berry likes plenty of water, so put it where it will be easy to water.
Very true.... I have a one in a very dry area trying to get it to grow there.. so far it is still alive.
I found this Passiflora affinis vine dangling from up in a tree in a place behind our community mailboxes where water drains when it rains enough. It must be happy...making lots of berries. I'm surprised the Gulf Fritillary haven't eaten it up. I guess they prefer the vines I have in my yard, which is kind of a buffet for them with different passiflora vines.
That is very neat Linda, mine are all eaten up, as well as the ones at the Fielder house.
We are getting lots of Queens and some Monarchs there now.
Josephine.
Do y'all allow the larvae to feed on your plants?
Oh Yes!!! and some of them we take in and raise to adulthood. A very wonderful hobby.
I bet your little girl would love it.
Josephine.
Yeah, but what about the plants? I can't just let them destroy my plants. Maybe I should plant some plants just for them. The hackberry butterflies have me in an anti-butterfly mode since they destroyed my trees last year and tried again this year, but I got 'em with Bt spray. It's kind of a drag when all the big trees you have are hackberries, and then an army of worms wants to come strip them of their leaves. What do you recommend that I do, Josephine?
Was it the Hackberry butterfly that stripped them? or was it the bag worm?
We have a Hackberry tree in the corner of our yard and it has never been stripped, may be what you had was a different kind of caterpilar?
The bagworms have been bad this year, I have a lovely Possum Haw that was totally encased in webwoms from tip to trunk, totally stripped and i left it alone, when they were finished the webs desintegrated and the leaves came back, except for the berries, I don't think those are going to mature.
I do know that sometimes when we are under attack it is very hard to let things be, and I think that short of doing nothing, you did the next best thing.
You might try sitting tight another time and see what happens.
Josephine.
It was the Hackberry butterfly larvae. I know what the bagworms look like and it definately was not them. I think I'll stop chasing the grackles off, though. I was watching them eat the larvae one day. I always looked at grackles as a nuisance, but it turns out they are my allie. What plants should I put in a butterfly garden? I know one kind of cat that looks like a Bordered Patch larvae loves the Johnny Jump ups.
Well, here is the article I wrote about building a native plant butterfly garden, I hope it helps.
I also wrote one about raising butterflies.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/89/
Josephine.
Everything I need to know is right there! Thanks Josephine!
You are welcome, might also check this one about how to raise them, of course there are many ways to do it, but this one works best for me.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/97/
Both articles are very well written and very informative! They are like flying flowers aren't they? Thanks Josephine!
I went out to my back porch yesterday and found wee caterpillars all over my potted parsley that I use for cooking. They had totally stripped my little plant, lol.... but I let them be anyway..... :)
Melanie
Good for them and you Malanie, I hope they will reward you with their beauty very soon.
Melanie, I'm jealous... I planted 3 types of parsley to get the cats and they never showed up. Got to eat well myself, tho. ;o)
lol kip.....all that I had for myself were little "nibbly bits" left over for my spaghetti sauce....lol
Melanie :)
Kip, I can see that you must be feeling better, at least I hope so.
Take care my friend. Josephine.
I've got lots of parsley, but the Black Swallowtails mostly preferred the fennel this year.
Hey Guys, one of you gave me seeds of Mirabilis longiflora, I think it may have been Linda, but I am not sure.
I planted some and put them in a hanging pot, they have done very well and are blooming now.
The only problem is that they are totally nocturnal, and they won't open until really dark so we had to take the picture by flashlight. They are very pretty.
Here is the plant.
The buds are 5 inches long.
And the flowers, they are very small but very pretty, unfortunately unless you go out with a flashlight you won't see them.
What an unusual bloom, Josephine...I've never seen those before...probably because I was sleeping, lol. :)
Melanie