How many times have I said that any given my month is my favorite in the garden? Well, now I'm going to say that July is my favorite, because it's butterfly season!
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| Monarch butterfly |
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| Black swallowtail |
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| Tiger swallowtail |
Robin's Nest is a sunny, sunny spot, which has been ideal for butterfly gardening. Butterflies are ectotherms, which means they can't generate their own heat, but instead need to gather it from their environment. That's why they prefer sunny gardens. And that's good news for me.
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| Common wood nymph |
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| Monarch butterfly |
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| 8 spotted forester moth |
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| Viceroy butterfly-NOT monarch |
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| Clearwing hummingbird moth |
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| Blue azure butterfly |
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| Celery looper moth |
Hubby has begun to call me The Crazy Butterfly Lady. That's okay, it's a moniker that I wear with pride. I love them all, but it's the monarch butterflies that are my true favorites. Last month, I featured a monarch here on my blog that I had raised and later released. Since then, I've raised quite a few more. Suddenly, the monarch mamas have discovered my little milkweed patch, leaving me tiny egg presents regularly. I can't resist bringing them inside for raising. I don't have any illusions about saving the monarch population with my efforts, I simply find the whole process fascinating to watch.
However, butterflies aren't the only beauties to be seen here. Roses are not generally at their peak in July, but they do put out blooms now and then.
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| Abraham Darby rose |
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| Fourth of July rose |
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| Chinatown rose |
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| Funny Face rose |
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| Don Juan rose |
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| At Last rose |
Perennials are the backbone of most gardens, and give me some flash here and there.
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| Unknown lily |
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| Girosa lily |
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| Button bush |
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| Karly Rose grass with coneflowers |
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| Unknown bee balm |
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| Front shade garden |
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| Duchess of Albany clematis |
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| Plumbago |
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| Cherry Cheesecake hibiscus |
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| Sunset hyssop |
But annuals are the real stars here in mid summer.
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| Cut and Come Again zinnias |
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| Bachelors buttons |
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| Cut and Come Again zinnias |
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| Unknown sedum |
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| Verbena bonariensis |
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| Tequila Lime zinnia |
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| Mandevillama |
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| Nigella |
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| Alaska nasturtiums |
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| Dazzling Magic dahlia |
I could argue that sunflowers are the queen of annuals. As much as I love sunflowers, the goldfinches tear them up as they devour the seeds. I forgive them for that. How could you not? I just love how they match the petals. And when they hang upside down to reach the juiciest seeds, it really makes me smile.
I will give short shrift to the biggest problem in my garden for 2018, which was the dreaded Japanese beetle invasion. They were horrendous this year! So if you see any holes in the flowers in these photos, try to look the other way. Since I am a butterfly gardener, I choose not to use any pesticides in Robin's Nest. Instead, I knock the stinkers into a cup of soapy water. I was making two or three rounds daily, sending hundreds and hundreds to their doom eventually, and still barely made a dent in the damage they inflicted. For weeks they attacked, but I think they have finally moved on for the season.
In June, I posted that we had abundant rain. Of course that changed completely shortly afterward. The lawn has turned crunchy and brown, despite frequent storms that boil up. You see, storms tend to miss us here in our little corner of Central Ohio. One thing is for sure, that same stormy weather has given us some killer sunsets this summer. I'll end with a few of my favorites. And thanks as usual for stopping by Robin's Nest!
