First, a couple shots of my "flying flowers". The butterflies are gulf fritillaries. The flying fritillary (blurred) had amorous intentions on his/her mind, but the one clinging to the spent flower stalk was interested only in resting. This was one of several "overtures" which the resting fritillary resisted while I watched, trying to get a decent photo.
The second photo is of two bees (carpenter? bumble?) nectaring on Rudbeckia blooms. The entire plant was covered with blooms, and the blooms were hosting dozens of wasps and bees of many different species. Interestingly, the butterflies didn't seem very interested in the Rudbeckia blossoms.
The last photo here is of pokeberry berries. I love the deep purple color of the berries against the bright red of the stems and the dark green of the leaves. The mockingbirds love the taste of the berries, so they disappear fairly rapidly. This is, unfortunately, one of the plants I'm feeling I ought to grub out of the yard to make it more "sellable." Pokeberries are poisonous for humans to eat, despite being such good wildlife food, so it's a plant I wouldn't recommend for a yard where small children play.
I love your pictures. Good luck on getting pokeberry out of the yard. I had one that insisted on growning in my hostas. It was a bitter battle. (Pokeberries and hollyhocks are in the same category in my mind: pretty, but a pain to get rid of.)
ReplyDeleteYou've got nothing on my euwanimous!
ReplyDeleteI'll take pokeberries and hollyhocks over Euonymus anyday! Euonymus just doesn't have ANYTHING to recommend it in my book!
ReplyDeleteUnless you're just looking for something that is impossible to get rid of but very green.
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