I got lucky.

When I got up this morning, the first thing I did was head outside to the garden to check the Monarch caterpillar. He was still hanging in the 'J' position! That meant my vigil would continue, in hopes of being able to witness the transformation into a chrysalis. . .

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Posted by Kylee Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-09-05, 06:14:45

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It was a beautiful Labor Day holiday here at Our Little Acre, though a tad bit warm for our tastes at 90°. The humidity was low and there was a slight breeze though, so that made it better, especially in the shade.

I worked in the garden, deadheading and watering, and as I made my way around the back of Max's Garden, I looked down and there on the ground under the stone bench, was a big fat Monarch caterpillar. What was he doing way over here? The nearest Asclepias was at least 25-30 feet away. . . .

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Posted by Kylee Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-09-03, 06:22:46

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This hummingbird is scanning the yard for others to chase off. Moments after I snapped this he took off to fight another bird.

There are tons of butterflies in the garden right now. The butterfly bush is very popular.

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Posted by Lisa Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, birds on 2008-09-02, 05:45:26

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Posted by Amy Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-09-02, 05:43:18

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In my mind's eye, I thought I would be able to focus the camera crisply on the bee while the obedient plant flapped madly in the wind, providing an interesting effect. In reality, the bee had to move so quickly to take pollen from the moving flowers, that I managed about thirty messy shots of his head up the blossoms. ..

reBlogged to flowers beneficials on Aug 29, 2008, 5:50AM

Posted by empressofdirt@gmail.com (M.J.Will) Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, flowers on 2008-08-30, 06:22:31

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It's Monarch caterpillar time at Our Little Acre. We grow four different Asclepias (Asclepias tuberosa, Asclepias tuberosa 'Hello Yellow', Asclepias curassavica, and Asclepias incarnata), and every single one has one or more Monarch caterpillars munching happily away. . .

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Posted by Kylee Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-08-28, 06:01:06

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Posted by Rosengeranium Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-08-28, 05:58:07

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Posted by Country Gardener Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-08-27, 06:18:58

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I haven't been lucky enough to have many praying mantids reside in my garden, but every time I run across one of these fascinating creatures, I have to resist the...

reBlogged to beneficials on Aug 25, 2008, 10:36AM

Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-08-26, 05:44:18

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Posted by Sandy Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-08-26, 05:42:24

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Posted by Sandy Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, berries on 2008-08-20, 05:59:11

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Walking through the garden near lunchtime yesterday, we came upon this newly-emerged female Black Swallowtail. Her colors were vibrant and fresh, and she was nearly motionless.


By the time I got back with the camera, she started to move around a bit. That's how I determined that she was a she. If she was a he, there would be a prominent band of yellow spots on the upper surface of the wings. But since she is a she, she wears less yellow and more blue. . . .

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Posted by Entangled Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-08-19, 05:50:51

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I have a little pot on my porch filled with herbs: rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, and Italian parsley. I'm not much of a cook, though I would like to be....

reBlogged to parsely beneficials on Aug 18, 2008, 5:15AM

Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, parsely on 2008-08-19, 05:34:18

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This PM decided to take up residence on a Coronation Gold yarrow for the summer. He has doubled in size since I first spotted him and has changed from all green to green and brown. Normally I deadhead the yarrow, but not this year.















I didn't post often this spring but here's a picture of a snapping turtle looking for a place to lay eggs. Steve took this picture into his 4th grade classroom since they were studying reptiles at the time.

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Posted by Earth Girl Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-08-18, 06:20:46

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Looks like my butterfly bush is living up to it's name.

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Posted by Lisa Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, buddleia on 2008-08-18, 06:17:42

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It’s summertime (the living is easy) and it’s Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - those are reasons enough for me to want to eat, drink and be generally merry. But not only that, Blithewold is 100 years young this year and hundreds of people will be celebrating in high style at the “Celebration of a Century” Gala this Saturday. I wish I could work the red carpet like Joan Rivers and broadcast the best and worst dressed. Instead, I’ll present my picks for best and worst dressed in the garden. ..

reBlogged to flowers beneficials on Aug 14, 2008, 3:00PM

Posted by Kris Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, flowers on 2008-08-15, 06:15:27

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Posted by Sandy Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-08-14, 07:48:16

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Posted by Sandy Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-08-01, 05:58:59

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Posted by noreply@blogger.com (IBOY) Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-07-31, 06:17:10

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When I was at the butterfly sanctuary recently, there was a sign saying there are over 1,983 recorded species in 67 families of butterflies and moths. There are 142 species in Ontario, Canada. That made me feel a little better for not recalling their names, though really I could do better with the more common ones.

On a recent perfect-weather kind of day, a whole bunch of these guys were hanging around the garden, mostly flitting too fast for me to photograph. When am I going to remember to put the camera on continuous shooting so I can assure getting the open wing shot?

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Posted by empressofdirt@gmail.com (M.J.Will) Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-07-31, 06:10:28

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Posted by Amy Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, whimsy on 2008-07-29, 07:04:12

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The boys are back. And I was wondering where they'd got to. Whereas by this time of year the caterpillarium is usually fully inhabited, this year I've not even had to think about it. Until last week that is. . . .

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Posted by Sue Swift Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-07-25, 07:03:17

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Every garden needs pollinators and bees are among the best. Without them there would be limited flowers and even fewer fruits and vegetables. To attract bees and other...

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Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-07-23, 05:56:38

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Early yesterday morning I sat on the swing reading, well, I sat on the swing attempting to read. It was kind of hard to read with a hummingbird close-by. This one was very busy guarding the feeder and was flitting around chasing all the birds away. It didn't even want the sparrows in the yard. Here is the shot before cropping...

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Posted by Robin's Nesting Place Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, birds on 2008-07-23, 05:52:03

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When you're clearing brush from a meadow in a nature preserve, and a yellowjacket from a nearby nest jumps you, just brush them off and briskly retreat; don't swat them on your clothing and expect to go about your business as if nothing had happened. The smell of smashed yellowjacket on your shirt is like waving a red flag in front of every other yellowjacket in the place. Trust me, I know...now.
(Picture above of an equally disgruntled honeybee)

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Posted by noreply@blogger.com (IBOY) Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-07-22, 06:05:57

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Upside down drinking the flowers nectar.The bees love these flowers too.High above my garden the white flowers adorn the green hedging. . . .

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Posted by snappy Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, flowers on 2008-07-22, 06:04:01

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I'm in love. He needs a name. Any suggestions?

UPDATE:
I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of name suggestions offered. And I have sent the authorities to evaluate those of you who asked whether I had kissed or licked him. Please note that what happens in the garden, stays in the garden.

(I was sure someone would suggest that TOAD was actually Manley but I managed to escape that one.)

After very careful consideration, i.e. uttering each name out loud with the toad in mind, it seems that while the name Todd does indeed seem to be his* (*gender assumption, no validation) actual name, and the high-school-teacher-trying-to-be-hip short form, Mr. T. does seem to roll off my tongue, and catch a fly or two.

So thank you Nancy (for Todd), cindee (for Mr. T.), and gregra&gar (for being Todd/Toad) and the rest of you for playing along. His name shall remain Todd but I shall address him as Mr. T.

If I had a dollar for every time Mr. T. has startled me in the garden and I have uttered other funnier toadly expletives, I would be a wealthy Empress.

Now that we have resolved this issue, I feel I can garden unencumbered. Ish.

wherever you go, there you are!

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Posted by empressofdirt@gmail.com (M.J.Will) Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-07-18, 05:59:37

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Posted by Sandy Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-07-18, 05:54:05

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In early May, I spotted six Black Swallowtail caterpillars on my reseeded dill plants.
The cats were large - at least to the fourth instar, and a couple looked closer to the fifth and ready to pupate. I was surprised at their size since it was so early in the year and I hadn't yet seen a BST anywhere in the yard so they must have been from overwintered eggs. DH and I kept a pretty close eye on them as the dill was just starting to get some growth on it and there was no way it would last through all six to pupation. . .

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Posted by Tina Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-07-12, 06:07:06

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The butterfly is fine but the milkweed ain't doing so good. It was Annie's fault. As I was shooting these blooms in a nearby pasture, she snuck up behind me and scared the butterfly away then yanked at the flower orb. She likes mouthfuls of flowers. She doesn't eat them, she just dethrones them and spits them out with no pity for the ruined beauty. I returned home this evening to find plants pulled out of pots, with little balls of dirt sprinkled on the front porch. Annie chews on my roses, she thinks my currants are candy, and wreaks havoc on daylillies. And to add insult to injury, when she isn't sneaking around sleeping on my deck cushions, she pulls them off and uses them as a chew toy. I am weary of my Annie's antics.

reBlogged to flowers beneficials on Jul 8, 2008, 10:36PM

Posted by Marie Freeman Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, flowers on 2008-07-11, 06:36:55

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A couple of photos of critters, and one new bloom today.

I caught this camouflaged critter near the composter. I'm not sure which of us scared the other more. This thing is really hard to see on ground that's brown and bumpy.

American Toad (Bufo americanus)



At first I wasn't sure what it was, so I called it a frog, since according to my son with his Aristotelian exactness, "All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads." Now I'm pretty sure this critter is an American toad. . . .

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Posted by Karen Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, flowers on 2008-07-11, 06:23:47

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Have you heard of the Fourth of July butterfly counts? I have my own undisciplined, unscientific version which consists of hanging around the Butterfly Airport (Verbena bonariensis) and watching.


OK that first picture was a moth, not a butterfly, but looks to me just like a plane taking off. I haven't been able to get a good photo of the larger scene with all the butterflies fluttering around the flowers - this is the best one. . ..

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Posted by Entangled Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-07-07, 07:00:33

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I had a strange feeling of déjà vu earlier today. As I was watering the Bronze Fennel I'd just planted that my mom shared with me, I looked to my right, where the Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) grows, to see if we had any Monarch caterpillars yet. We've been seeing Monarch butterflies for a month or more now, so I figured it was just a matter of time before we saw some caterpillars. . . .

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Posted by Kylee Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-07-03, 06:30:26

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Posted by Nickie Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, berries on 2008-07-03, 06:19:12

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Posted by kathy Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-07-02, 06:43:37

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We had a surprise on our front porch this morning. When my son opened the door he saw the turtle and called for me to come with my camera. This turtle was moving around pretty fast and my son called him "Zippy". . ..

reBlogged to birds beneficials on Jun 8, 2008, 1:51PM

Posted by noreply@blogger.com (Robin's Nesting Place) Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials, birds on 2008-06-09, 06:27:39

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Update: They flew away today, June 17. We had five that made it. One sneaked out of its container, found a spot to hide somewhere among our bookcases, cocooned, metamorphosed, and flew about the sunroom this morning until I caught (carefully, delicately) with tongs and let it free outside. We put the rest of the cocoons outside on the gazebo and missed their transformation and departure.

For all our labors, they left us husks of their former selves.

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Posted by Central FLA Gardener Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-06-09, 06:26:15

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reBlogged to beneficials on Jun 5, 2008, 6:51PM

Posted by noreply@blogger.com (Mr. McGregor's Daughter) Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-06-06, 06:34:40

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I had picked up my last dill plant, planning to toss it into my compost barrel. Noticed just in time that it had Black Swallowtail caterpillars all over it. Thirteen, on a tiny, nearly-dead plant. They were making quick work of what was left of its vitality. I have plenty of Florence Fennel in the garden, so I stuck a couple long fronds into the pot, alongside the dill. Within seconds, the caterpillars were happily munching on the fennel.

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Posted by Central FLA Gardener Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-06-03, 06:36:23

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I am a highly superstitious person. I always throw salt over my shoulder when I spill it. I always make wishes on white horses, when I go under train tracks and when I see hay wagons. But there is one thing I never, ever do and that is kill a spider. I am certain Death of Spiders. ..

reBlogged to beneficials on Jun 2, 2008, 2:15PM

Posted by Hanna Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-06-03, 06:30:44

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Guest blog
by Jessica McFadden,
A Parent in Silver Spring

The butterflies are here! Now through mid-September from 10-4 each day at Brookside Gardens, your child and you can be surrounded by live butterflies. "Wings of Fancy" features Asian, Costa Rican and North American butterflies flying freely through the south conservatory and feasting on fruit and tropical flowering nectar plants. Butterfly nirvana is achievable right in Wheaton. . .

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Posted by WashingtonGardener Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-06-03, 06:28:53

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Posted by Sandy Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-06-03, 06:21:49

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Posted by Robin's Nesting Place Reblogged by Old Roses to beneficials on 2008-05-31, 05:52:41

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