Monarda (Bergamot)

The bergamot flowers in our back garden provide a nice splash of red that’s quite obvious from the house. As you get closer you might notice a small swarm of tiny flies around them. The flies land on the flowers occasionally but are easier to see when they land on the leaves. Even then, it’s hard to get close enough to capture them very well. In addition to insect pictures, I also took a few of the flower parts. The cluster of flowers in the bergamot (Monarda) head blooms over time. In this picture, the flowers in the center are finished and the flowers around the rim, with their bright red petals, are in bloom.

Campanula

More insect pictures today, but I think this one of Campanula flowers is nicer and we haven’t had as many flowers lately. I got more pictures of the green blow fly but nothing significantly better than what I’ve already posted. I also took some pictures of a small spider of unknown type. I think it might be a lynx spider of the species Oxyopes aglossus, but the picture wasn’t really good enough to be sure. Anyway, this is a nice picture of a pretty little flower, don’t you think?

Hemerocallis

It was quite warm today, around 95°F (35°C) but thanks to modern technology, specifically air conditioning, we can remain in cool comfort when needed. When I got home, however, I went out back to see what critters were about. I’ll post an insect photo separately.

The smaller day lilies have been blooming for some little while now but the larger varieties are just getting started. This is a semi-abstract image of one of them. Hemerocallis combines two Greek words which mean “day” and “beautiful” alluding to the fact that the flowers, which are quite beautiful, last but a single day.

Hardy Gardenia

Dorothy spent the afternoon at her grandma’s house today, doing some of her summer reading (Brave New World) and getting some rest after a week at camp. When I went to pick her up in the evening I took a few pictures of the hardy gardenia growing in mom’s front yard. I wish I could have recorded the fragrance for you. It can be almost overpowering but it’s such a lovely smell that it’s hard to care. I brought a few home and put them in the kitchen and we’ve been enjoying them here.

Echinacea purpurea ‘PowWow White’

I did take some more pictures of bees today but they are enough like yesterday’s picture that I won’t bore you with them. We happened to stop at the American Plant Food garden center on River Road today. While Cathy shopped, I took a few pictures, both of bees and of flowers (and sometimes both, obviously). This is a coneflower that, despite it’s specific name, is not purple. At the variety name indicates, it’s white. I do like coneflowers.

Their generic name, Echinacea comes from the Greek word meaning “sea urchin,” from the appearance of the center of the flower. What you might consider to be their petals are actually bracts surrounding the compound flower or inflorescence. The bracts tend to get chewed up a bit by insects so it’s sometimes hard to find particularly photogenic examples. This one, however, is quite nice and I very much like the pure white bracts.

Asclepias tuberosa

It was a rainy day today and I didn’t get out to take pictures. Also, I’m still trying to take things a bit easy. When I got home it was a little dark out but I took a few pictures of the Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) flowers, which are just starting to open up. We have this orange variety and another that is pure yellow. I think the flowers are pretty cool and perhaps a little alien. I expect to be revisiting these again as they continue to open up. They are also a good place to get bee pictures.

Pink Hydrangea

We had a lovely time and Ralph and Tsai-Hong’s this afternoon, visiting with family, enjoying a beautiful, reasonably cool day, celebrating two family birthdays, and generally just relaxing. Their garden is in a bit of a lull after the amazing flush from the roses. The hydrangeas are just starting to come out and will be nice and pink soon. Right now they only have a touch of color and that’s sort of nice, as well.

Asiatic Lilies

I took a few more pictures of the Asiatic lilies this afternoon. We have them in containers as well as a few spots in our garden. Most of them and all the bright orange ones, came from my dad’s garden. They produce little bulbils or bulblets in the axils of the leaves. These bulbils can be planted and will grow into new plants identical to their parent. Cathy collected these from my dad’s lilies and put them in pots and now we have quite a few. I’m not sure you could have too many of them, they are so bright and cheerful.