Syrphid Fly on Marigold

Photograph taken on Wednesday, June 17, 2020 by Henry
Syrphid Fly on Marigold

Syrphid Fly on Marigold

I went out to take some pictures of flowers today. There are a few sitting on a table that I set up for Cathy to work on and that seemed like a nice place to sit and take pictures. I took some of a coral bells plant (Heuchera x ‘Blondie’) and then I noticed this syrphid file (Family Syrphidae) on a marigold blossom. There’s only so close I can get with my 100mm macro and I’d like some way to get closer. I’ve thought about buying a Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 lens that gives magnifications of 1 to 5 times, basically picking up where my current lens leaves off. It’s manual focus, but at that close range, focus is as much a matter of moving the camera closer or further away from the subject.

Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Syrphid Fly on Marigold

Day Lily

Photograph taken on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 by Henry
Orange Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva)

Orange Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva)

The day lilies are starting to bloom. These are descendants from some we dug up in the woods of Pennsylvania, near our property. They are growing around what used to be a homestead, many years ago. There is a hole in the ground with the remains of stone walls and the base of a chimney. Around that are orange day lilies (Hemerocallis fulva) and periwinkle (Vinca minor) growing in great profusion. It’s in the shade as trees have grown up over it and in consequence the day lilies don’t bloom as well as they might, but we took a few home and planted them in the sun, where they bloomed quite happily. That was at our old house and we dug up and brought some of those with us here, where they continue to give a great show every year.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Day Lily

Blue Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea)

Photograph taken on Monday, June 15, 2020 by Henry
Blue Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea)

Blue Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea)

This may actually be a hybrid of the blue passion flower (Passiflora caerulea) with something else, as that plant is generally only marginally hardy here and this one is clearly doing well. But I’m not sure. It is growing a few blocks from our house and we saw the buds on in a while back so I wanted to come get some photos of the blooms. We pass it on our walks sometimes, depending on the route we take. It’s growing in a nice, sunny location on a mailbox and is covered with blooms.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Blue Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea)

Campanula latifolia

Photograph taken on Sunday, June 14, 2020 by Henry
Campanula latifolia

Campanula latifolia

This bellflower (Campanula latifolia) has been coming up in our back garden for quite a few years. It’s on the edge of the central bed that we’ve been trying to rejuvenate and it seems to be doing well enough. I think we should encourage it because it’s a really lovely flower. As it is, we get four or five stems and I certainly wouldn’t mind a couple dozen. The Missouri Botanical Garden says it “spreads freely and agressively by both rhizomes and self-seeding under optimum growing conditions.” I’d say our growing conditions are not optimum, then, because it’s keeping itself to itself.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Campanula latifolia

Bumble Bee on Lavender

Photograph taken on Saturday, June 13, 2020 by Henry
Bumble Bee on Lavender

Bumble Bee on Lavender

I sat in the middle of the front garden this afternoon and took a few pictures. There were some bumble bees (Bombus impatiens, the common eastern bumble bee) moving from flower to flower and I waited for one to land on the lavender (this is a variety of Spanish lavender, Lavandula stoechas called ‘Anouk Supreme’). I only got four photos and none of them are quite what I was hoping for but this one isn’t too bad. When I’m in the yard, especially when it’s hot, I generally favor the shade but if I’m looking for photos, especially insect photos, the sun is the place to be.

Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Bumble Bee on Lavender

Plant Bug on Feverfew

Photograph taken on Friday, June 12, 2020 by Henry
Plant Bug on Feverfew

Plant Bug on Feverfew

I was taking pictures of the feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) growing in the back of our garden when I happened to notice this little plant bug. I don’t know what type it is and I’m not sure the photos I got are good enough for more than a general identification, so I’ll just leave it as a plant bug (Family Miridae). We’re in the in-between phase when there are fewer things in bloom. The flush of spring ephemerals is well past and most of them have already lost their leaves for the summer. The roses have finished their first flush but those that repeat will be with us off an on all summer. The Asiatic lilies and a few smaller things are the only sources of blooms right now. I’m not complaining, mind you, just saying.

Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Plant Bug on Feverfew

Rose ‘Crépuscule’

Photograph taken on Thursday, June 11, 2020 by Henry
Rose ‘Crépuscule’

Rose ‘Crépuscule’

Crépuscule is a word we don’t see very often and in fact, when I bought this rose (a Noisette rose bred by Francis Dubreuil in France in 1904), I had to look up its meaning. Recently, reading The Tale of Genji, I actually came across the adjectival form of the word in English, crepuscular. I admit that I had to remind myself of its meaning, which is ‘twilight’. I had thought this rose dead a few years ago after a particularly cold spell killed it back to the ground. As it started growing up again, I didn’t know if it was on a different root stock or not, but now that it’s blooming again, I know that it’s on its own roots. It still hasn’t fully recovered and it’s nowhere near as big as it was. It’s growing on a frame on the end of the house that’s about 12 feet high and was up to the top of it before dying back.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rose ‘Crépuscule’

Dorothy’s Quilt For The Yorks

Photograph taken on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 by Henry
Dorothy's Quilt For The Yorks

Dorothy’s Quilt For The Yorks

Dorothy and three of the folks she’s living with came down for a three day visit. It was really nice to have them here and we had a really good time with them. They left this morning and stopped to see friends in two different places on the way home. One of those stops was to see Andrew and Rachel. Dorothy had made this quilt as a wedding present for them and wanted me to take a few pictures of it before she gave it to them, so we’d have a record of it. I think it turned out quite nicely and of course they loved it. I took one picture with Dorothy looking over the top of it, but we decided to feature just the quilt today. I also took pictures of Dorothy with Peter, Marissa, and Renee before they left (I know you’re shocked that I’d do that).

Beyond simply having them here, which was really, really nice, I really enjoyed our trip to Pennsylvania. It was a lot of fun and yet quite poignant. Memories.

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Dorothy’s Quilt For The Yorks

Purslane

Photograph taken on Tuesday, June 09, 2020 by Henry
Purslane ‘Pizzaz Nano Fuchsia’

Purslane ‘Pizzaz Nano Fuchsia’

Purslane, otherwise known as Portulaca oleracea subsp. sativa, is a pretty, flowering annual plant native to India. It is hardy and will self-seed if conditions are right although we generally need to buy more each year. This one is called ‘Pizzaz Nano Fuchsia’ and it’s pretty hot pink. It is an edible plant, used as a salad green or even cooked in stews in some places, although we’ve never tried it ourselves. I might give it a try, but I generally enjoy it well enough in the garden that I think I’ll leave most, if not all, of it there.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Purslane

Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Photograph taken on Monday, June 08, 2020 by Henry
Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on Asiatic Lily

Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on Asiatic Lily

We had our first sighting of a tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) today and it was nice enough to perch on the Asiatic lilies growing in our front garden. I’ve actually seen a few butterflies around but haven’t had a chance to get any photos. Soon we’ll have them in abundance, especially when the Buddleia starts to bloom. These Asiatic lilies are surrounded by tiger lily plants (Lilium lancifolium), which are considerably taller and I’m not sure these can get the attention they deserve. On the other hand, this makes them harder for the deer to get to, which is a plus.

Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Mountain Bluet (Centaurea montana)

Photograph taken on Sunday, June 07, 2020 by Henry
Mountain Bluet (Centaurea montana)

Mountain Bluet (Centaurea montana)

The mountain bluet (Centaurea montana), also known as perennial cornflower or perennial bachelor’s button, has a pretty, blue flower and does well in the perennial border. Dorothy and three of her housemates drove down late yesterday and today we took a drive out to Rocklands Farm Winery. They have just reopened and it was really nice to be out. Actually, we spent most of our time there visiting with Greg and Janis, which I really enjoyed. This flower is in Janis’ garden and I took it as we ate our lunches and got caught up with what everyone is doing. For information on Rocklands, see https://www.rocklandsfarmmd.com/.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mountain Bluet (Centaurea montana)

Red Strawflower

Photograph taken on Saturday, June 06, 2020 by Henry
Red Strawflower (Xerochrysum bracteatum)

Red Strawflower (Xerochrysum bracteatum)

We’ve had strawflower (Xerochrysum bracteatum) each of the last few years and I really like it quite a lot. Also known as everlasting flower, it provides color over a really long period. The central part of the flower turns dark but the almost woody bracts keep their color. This year, we happened to come across this bright red variety. I have to say, it’s really a stunner. The yellow one is nice, but this one is just amazing. I think maybe next year I’ll get more than one. I don’t know that I could get tired of this color.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Red Strawflower

Day Lily Leaves

Photograph taken on Friday, June 05, 2020 by Henry
Day Lily Leaves With Rain Droplets

Day Lily Leaves With Rain Droplets

We had rain today. I have no complaints as we could use the rain. I didn’t go out much, though, so only got a few photos today, taken at about 8:20 PM as it was getting on towards dusk. The droplets of rain on leaves are a favorite subject of mine and today’s are on day lily leaves, right outside our back door. I took others, including some on tiger lilies in the front yard, but those didn’t turn out very well.

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Day Lily Leaves

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Photograph taken on Thursday, June 04, 2020 by Henry
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Cathy and I took a walk in the neighborhood this evening. It was quite warm and humid but it’s still good to get out from time to time. I took some pictures of a purple clematis on a mailbox that turned out pretty well but I thought I’d share this photo of an eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis). It’s not as sharp as I’d like, but all things considered, it’s not too bad. These can be seen year round in our area and it’s always a treat. Maybe we’ll put up a bluebird box in the yard next year. It would be wonderful to have them in the yard.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, June 03, 2020 by Henry
Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

I took some photos of some yellow flowering sedum this afternoon but they didn’t turn out very well. You’d be stuck with them except I happened to see this Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) on a stem and got down on the ground to get a few photos of it. This plant has a flower cluster similar to Queen Anne’s lace but that’s not what it is. It’s a very aggressive weed that we picked up somewhere along the way and we really need to do something about it. But it made for a nice photograph, in this case. It may be Chaerophyllum aromaticum but I really don’t know. Whatever it is, you really don’t want any.

Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

Dianthus armeria (Deptford Pink)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, June 02, 2020 by Henry
Dianthus armeria (Deptford Pink)

Dianthus armeria (Deptford Pink)

This is a pretty little flower that’s starting to appear in our garden. It is Dianthus armeria, the so-called Deptford Pink, native to Europe and not naturalized over much of North America. It is an annual or biennial and grows between two and three feet tall with very thin stems topped by these lovely little pink flowers, which are about a centimeter across. It self seeds pretty well but isn’t aggressive enough to be a problem at least in our garden. Most of those we have are growing in containers on the driveway or around that area.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Dianthus armeria (Deptford Pink)

Rose ‘Dr. W. Van Fleet’

Photograph taken on Monday, June 01, 2020 by Henry
Rose 'Dr. W. Van Fleet'

Rose ‘Dr. W. Van Fleet’

Last year my second cousin, Lyn, gave me a cutting of a climbing rose he has growing behind his house in North Carolina. It’s been in a pot since then but I finally got it planted this weekend.

Lyn said that the rose this came from was it turn taken from a rose that was given to his mother by Virginia, the wife of my grandfather’s (and Lyn’s grandmother’s) first cousin, Archie.

I’m pretty sure this is the rose ‘Dr. W. Van Fleet’, a repeat flowering sport of which became ‘New Dawn’ and was the first plant to receive a patent (i.e. plant patent ID #1). Interestingly, another rose on his property, one which has been there since it was his grandparents’ house, is almost certainly ‘American Pillar’, a rambling rose bred in the first years of the twentieth century by Dr. William Van Fleet (in Glendale, Maryland).

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Rose ‘Dr. W. Van Fleet’

Pink Spiderwort

Photograph taken on Sunday, May 31, 2020 by Henry
Pink Spiderwort

Pink Spiderwort

We have two of these pink spiderworts in the side garden. They really are nice and I took some photos today with this one in the foreground and with the more usual blue flowered variety being it. We don’t remember the name of this variety and it may be a type of Tradescantia ohiensis, the Ohio spiderwort, rather than T. virginiana. There are others, too, of course. Anyway, it’s a really nice flower and lovely in the border. The flowers open in the morning and then close up during the heat of the day, so best appreciated early. This was taken from about the same spot as yesterday’s photo of the wren.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Pink Spiderwort

House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 30, 2020 by Henry
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)

House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)

I was out front sitting in a lawn chair taking photos of the spiderword (Tradescantia virginiana) when one of our house wrens flew up and landed briefly in the small apple tree growing near by. Then it flew to the nesting box (for lack of a better term—it’s a ceramic bottle, basically) and posed for me before disappearing inside. The other was around, as well, singing up a storm. These are very vocal little birds with a lot of volume relative to their size and we love having them. They are a lot easier to hear than to see, as small as they are.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)

Allium moly (Golden Garlic)

Photograph taken on Friday, May 29, 2020 by Henry
Allium moly (Golden Garlic)

Allium moly (Golden Garlic)

I really should plant more of this as well as other ornamental onions. This is Allium moly, often called golden garlic, and it’s a lovely little bulb, blooming later than many of the spring bulbs. Its flowers are smaller than daffodils but it makes up for that by being one of the few things in bloom right now. In theory it spreads and needs to be controlled when growing in ideal conditions. Clearly that’s not what it has here, but it seems happy enough. Another Allium that I’ve had but don’t now is Allium caeruleum, which has pale blue flowers. I think I’ll order some of that, too, this fall, along with a bunch more deffodils.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Allium moly (Golden Garlic)