Geranium and Evening Primrose, Native Milkweed, Victoria Blue Salvia

Sometimes you plant two plants side by side and it really works. I find this combination of perennial geranium and evening primrose is one that I'm happy with.  

The native milkweed is blooming. I've always liked the look of them and they have a sweet fragrance.  The leaves are soft but, at the same time, sculptural. Of course, the monarch butterfly larva feed on them. I hope to see some caterpillars soon.

I tried to grow swamp milkweed which grows wild in some damp places around here.  I was able to start a few plants from seed but the swamp milkweed leaf beetle, a round red and black beetle, ate them.  Last year, I planted some butterfly weed which is the same family as the wild swamp milkweed.  It grew over last summer but this spring when it was about 2' tall, the swamp milkweed leaf beetle totally stripped it  in a couple of days. The beetle will sometimes eat the regular milkweed but perhaps that is more toxic than the swamp milkweed so the regular milkweed never gets totally destroyed. 

It's so interesting how some insects have such specific plants that they eat. I'm glad my whole garden isn't being eaten by beetles.

This is Victoria Blue salvia.  I've often grown it and never had any issues with it.  It isn't in bloom in May so it is a somewhat overlooked plant at the plant centres. I find it pretty and it blooms steadily from June to frost.

 It has very sturdy stems which make it good as a cut flower.

A Story - Susie

 Here is another very short story.

                  Susie

After getting into bed at her foster home, Katie quietly called to Ginger, the Labrador, who slept in her room.

"Ginger," she whispered, "I am going to tell you more about Susie."

Ginger came and sat near her, ready for the bedtime story and some pats.

"Susie likes cheesies better than chips, just like me.  She doesn't like shouting and hitting.  She's really smart and runs super fast.  We used to play in the back alley.  We pretended we were princesses and had unicorns."

Katie paused and smiled.  "She's my best friend.  You are, too."

"I told you she's a mouse, right?"

              Tall native grass, looks lovely blowing in the wind.

Large Yellow Dahlia, Red Yarrow, Wasp Mimic Mantidfly

I bought this lovely lemon yellow dahlia this spring.  The package showed red edging to the petals but it is still really nice plain yellow.  It's quite large - 4".  I really like dahlias but often have trouble with earwigs.  So far they haven't attacked this one although I've seen the odd earwig in the garden.

I rarely have success overwintering the dahlia tubers.  I watched a couple of Youtubers from Colorado who had substantial plantings of dahlias.  They got tired of digging them up, storing them and replanting them so they both independently tried to just put a  big mulch over them.  It worked quite well - about  80% survived.  So I am going to try that with the two dahlias I have planted in the ground.  They put a tarp on the ground over the dahlia tubers and then put lots of stray, leaves, etc.  They recommended not putting the mulch directly on the ground as it would make a cozy spot for mice and other little creatures.

The little yellow and orange dahlia that I planted in a pot I will try to overwinter in the pot in the basement. I will let it dry out and just give it a tiny bit of water once in a while.  At least the tubers shouldn't get moldy that way.

I bought this red yarrow recently.  I like yarrow but it needs a really good draining soil. My soil is on the heavy side so yarrow usually does not survive the winter.  It's not a temperature problem.  It's a drainage problem. I planted this one on a bit of a slope so perhaps I will have better success with it.

I saw this interesting insect on a clematis this morning.  I used Google.image.com to identify it.  On the Google image page there are two symbols (microphone, camera) to the right of the search bar.  Click on the camera and it gives you a page where you can upload a photo. It gave me several results which were all images or videos of my insect.  It is a Wasp Mimic Mantidfly and is a member of the Neuroptera family which includes lacewings.  It is mimicking a paper wasp. It eats small insect, particularly spiders.  Likes to be on the edge of woodlands which is exactly where it was.  The triangle up near its head is a folded up leg.  Always fun to see a new insect.

 

Siberian Iris, Giant Fleeceflower, Dahlia, Fuchsia

Last year for some strange reason, the Siberian iris didn't bloom.  I feared that they wouldn't ever bloom again but this year, obviously, they did.  The dark purple blue is so striking.  They are planted by the ditch by the road so anyone driving by gets to enjoy them, too. On the lower left of the photo, are a couple of lighter blooms that are a different variety.

The giant fleeceflower gets bigger every year.  I really like it.  I think part of what I like is that with our short season we rarely can grow a large plant.  The fleeceflower dies back totally in the winter and from the beginning of May to mid-June it grows 5'.  Amazing.   The little white flowers are alive with lots of small bees and wasps enjoying the flowers.

The grocery store had its nursery plants on sale at half price.  Well, I can't resist that.  I thought this dahlia was really fun and it's got lots of buds.

I also picked up three different fuchsias which I planted together in a pot.

I think I will try to overwinter them in the house.  Such pretty flowers and nice to have three different colours.
 

A Story. - Lightning.

 Since I get fewer views on Youtube than I get on this blog, I've decided to put my very short stories up here instead.  They will go up about once a week.  

                                    Lightning

Paul had mentored Brad for several weeks and they were developing a good rapport.  Brad was at the residential centre for juveniles because of drug charges, petty theft.  They worked together cutting grass, tending gardens.  Gradually, Brad began to talk about his past:  his foster homes, his mother's addictions.  He shared with Brad that he wanted a job to earn some money.

Paul arranged an off-site work placement with a landscaper one day a week.

Brad was happier; Paul celebrated their progress.

But one morning, Brad, like lighting thunder, lashed out, yelling, swearing, punching Paul.  The past was not so easily left behind.

This story is loosely based on the experience of a friend of mine who worked with youth in a residential centre.  My friend, a kind-hearted soul, didn't stay in the field.  He got too emotionally involved with the kids and couldn't handle the realities of troubled lives. For those people who do stay in the work long-term, I have nothing but admiration.

And since this is a gardening blog, here is a little pink rose covered in raindrops.

Take care.

Pink Poppy and Light Purple Onion with Green Bee

Although I have the usual orangey-red poppy, I like this frilly pink one better. Just makes you think of party dresses.

This nice little clump of allium (allium atropurpureum) self-sowed. It struggled a bit when we had a dry spell, but I watered it from time to time and it has bloomed very nicely.  Unlike the purple globe allium that blooms in May, this one blooms almost a month later.  The flowers are not a full globe but are more vase shaped.  The colour looks different depending on the light but on the whole they are more pinkish than the round ones.

This photo of the same patch shows you how pink they can look.  The little green bee, that is less than an inch long, was really enjoying the allium.  Other small pollinators also like it.  The green bee is very flashy with its iridescent colour.

When I first saw this photo, I thought the bee had green eyes.  On further inspection, I realized that its antennae were simply outlining some of its back and that its eyes are large black ones on the side.  It's easier to see that in the first photo.
 

Luna Moth, Polyphemus moth, White Admiral Butterfly

June is a good time of year in Ontario to see moths.  This is a polyphemus moth.

The White Admiral butterfly doesn't look very special from a distance, but up close it has interesting details in blue and red.

I was happy to see that we had a luna moth.  In fact, we had two luna moths. I like the positioning of the little white moth with the big luna moth.

 The velvety textures of the edge of the wings and legs are wonderful.  What a dramatic face with the black eyes and thick antenna.  A very special moth.