On the 25th of every month Simply Susan! posts favorites from her garden for the month. I'm joining in on the fun.
Okay, I know these aren't flowers, but they are ON flowers. Blue plumbago, milkweed, zinnias and pentas seem to be the favorite flowers for the butterflies this month. That makes them favorites of mine too.
The cannas began blooming just this week! I love when they bloom as they fill in the back fence area with big blooms that can be seen from the back porch. Late in the summer last year a hummingbird would visit them . I haven't seen any hummingbirds yet this year but I'm hoping that, now more flowers are blooming, they will come.
Go on over to Simply Susan! and see what's filling other gardeners with joy this month.
I'm glad you picked butterflies as your favorites for June. Very appropriate!
ReplyDeleteI thought I saw the first hummingbird yesterday, making a quick pass through the garden to check it out!
Girlfriend, those are flying flowers! Love them! I've never grown zinnias, but clearly, I need to get some. I've seen many hummingbirds this year. You need some bottlebrush, powderpuffs, and firebush (Hamelia patens), if you don't have those already. You will see the hummers year-round. I see them often on aloe blooms as well, for the short time they're in bloom.
ReplyDeleteNanaK: I swear that I have posted a comment earlier today, but why I don't see it? hmmm...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I was envying your butterflies collage. They are so beautiful, and I am jealous that you are able to capture those pictures of them! Most seen butterfly in my garden is white peacock one, but I also see some others, such as Gulf Fritillary and a black stripped one, but I am not quick enough to capture the pictures!
Your canna lily is very beautiful, and I am still waiting for mine to bloom. The foliage alone is beautiful though.
Love your 'flying flowers'. Those are great shots of them. They can be hard to photograph at times.
ReplyDeleteYour blooms are all pretty.
FlowerLady
NICE selections! The butterflies are definitely a great choice. They seem to be everywhere, and you have so many varieties represented. Love the cannas!!!
ReplyDeleteGrower Jim - Don't you love watching those hummingbirds? I hope I'll be seeing some soon.
ReplyDeleteFloridagirl - Hummers year round? Lucky you! I usually see some late summer to fall when the red firespike blooms. I just purchased some firebushes (2) to replace the one that did not come back after this winter. I would see the hummers on that bush and the tibouchina and even my cannas. Hope this year they'll be back. I never see but one at a time though.
Ami - I love having the butterflies. This year there is an abundance of swallowtails and those American Ladies for some reason. Someone must be growing their larval food. I have always loved my cannas and this year I got 2 new varieties. One, with red leaves hasn't bloomed yet. But as you say - those leaves are worth growing the plant.
FlowerLady - Thanks for the kind comments. I love trying to "catch" the butterflies with the camera.
Kimberly - I'm glad you like my butterflies. I just love having them all around while I'm outside. My cannas always make me happy in the summer. But, I need to have a background plant for their dormant time. Now that it is growing season again I seem to have forgotten the bleak look of this past January.
NanaK,
ReplyDeleteThe butterflies are among my favorite flowers! We strive hard to 'grow' them and they need equal attention as the stationary flowers. You've gotten some really nice shots of them with your new camera. Way to go.
Even though I cut mine off~~ I have to admit the canna flowers really do grab one's attention from a distance. But my hummingbirds seem to love the crepes and the mexican petunias and of course the coral honeysuckly vine this year. You've got me wondering if I left the red flowers on the cannas if they might visit those. hmmm???
Meems
honeysuckly??? Oh dear. More coffee please.
ReplyDeleteMeems - Ha ha! I just bought a tiny coral honeysuckle to put against my fence. Hope I'll see some hummingbirds on it.
ReplyDeleteAnd now we have butterfly larva showing up. I love looking for and watching the caterpillars!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots, Nana! (Watch for lubbers on your canna. They love 'em.)
Hi Kay...I just returned from vacation and am catching up on seeing everyone's faves. I love the butterfly photos...great job. You know what they call butterflies...flying flowers, so I think they qualify as flowers. I just dug up some cannas from my aunt's house but haven't gotten around to planting them yet. They have such beautiful flowers. I had some years ago but had problems with leaf curlers...worms. Do you have any problems with them? Thanks for joing in again this month.
ReplyDeleteHi again, NanaK. Yes, we have hummers year-round here. Honest truth. When I look at the migration maps, I can see that we are very near the winter/summer range borderline, which I guess is the reason. It may help as well that I live very near the woods and a river.
ReplyDeleteI have many, many, many nectar plants in this garden, but firebush, powderpuff, and bottlebrush are the ones they seem to repeatedly visit throughout the day. And aloe when it's in bloom. This past winter, when the firebush and powderpuff were fried, I still saw them daily feeding from the bottlebrushes (I have one weeping tree and two bush-type.)