In the Garden

I can’t resist posting pictures of the butterflies.  Each week it seems I’m getting another variety of Swallowtail and this week two different types arrived!  This has definitely been the best year I’ve had for butterflies.

In the Garden, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Zebra Longwing on Pagoda Plant
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, In the Garden
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Giant Swallowtail on hummingbird bush.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
One more pic of the Eastern Swallowtail

The other variety showed up yesterday.  This one is a Palamedes Swallowtail and is huge!  I didn’t get a very good picture of it but will try for a better one for next week.

Palamedes Swallowtail, the the Garden
Palamedes Swallowtail

I planted this vine to cover up the fence and it does a really good job.  It’s an annual and I can never remember its name but always find the seed packet at Home Depot.  Might be a cross vine.  It has sweet little red trumpets on a delicate fringelike vine.

Zebra Longwing
Zebra Longwing

I have a lot of butterfly and hummingbird plants but I think this patch of sunshine flowers attract most of the butterflies.  There are some cosmos, zinnias, black-eyed susan, and purple coneflowers.  I mow them down when they get really ugly in November and they all come back the next year.  So easy!  So rewarding!

Cosmos, in the garden
Cosmos and Zinnias

 

Cosmos, in the garden
Cosmos
Eastern Black Swallowtail
I can’t get a picture of a hummingbird but this eastern black swallowtail struck a pose.

And one last picture from the garden, not only butterfly friendly, birds like to hide in the jatropha.  This guy is waiting for me to fill the bird feeders.

Cardinal, in the Garden
Cardinal