From Lynn's Garden

What’s blooming in January?

lynnfromthegarden — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:02:17 +0000

Grape holly bloom clusters.

Unseasonably warm weather has caused some buds to open early. Yesterday I walked around taking pictures of the blooms. The honeybees were taking full advantage of the pollen and nectar from the flowering apricot, Lenten Roses (hellebores), ‘John Clayton’ honeysuckle and Oregon Grape Holly (Mahonia). These little jewels get me prepared for the real winter weather to come.

This freckled bloom isn't usually seen until late February.

Fragrant blooms of flowering apricot have opened a month early.

2011 in review

lynnfromthegarden — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 03:01:23 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,400 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Season’s Greetings

lynnfromthegarden — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:18:23 +0000

December is usually quiet in the garden. Most plants have yielded to their age-old cycle of resting, but for some, this is a time to shine. My Pink Icicle camellia has more blooms on it than it has ever had. John Clayton honeysuckle is still blooming (see last post) AND it has berries, a double bonus. I wish peace and happiness to you all and to all creatures, great and small.

Pink Icicle hardy camellia

Nutcrackers from my son, Mark's, decorations

November’s Pleasures

lynnfromthegarden — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:16:31 +0000

November is usually a brilliant month. There is something about the fall sunlight on the colored leaves and flowers that shows them at their best. Bright contrast and details of leaves not seen with the chlorophyll present. I’m pairing the last rose of fall with the first camellia to bloom and ‘John Clayton’ honeysuckle that has some blooms all year long. Happy Thanksgiving.

'John Clayton' honeysuckle with crossvine

Queen of Denmark

'Pink Icicle' camellia

Ephemeral . . . word for Wednesday.

lynnfromthegarden — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:16:19 +0000

The word for Wednesday is ephemeral: fleeting, short-lived, impermanent. Two examples: the web of the zipper spider or Argiope aurantica and the spider herself.

web and black and gold garden spider

Arkansas Autumn Walk

lynnfromthegarden — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:03:42 +0000

multicolored leaves of Sassafras

Here are some of the views of autumn from a walk around our yard. Japanese Anemone ‘Andrea Atkinson’ is in full bloom, too. Savor the fragrance of fall and the colors. Enjoy!

'Andrea Atkinson' Japanese Anemone

'Empress' toadlily, a jewel of a fall flower

October Glory maple
horse chestnut and Southern red oak

Evolve . . . word for Wednesday

lynnfromthegarden — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 01:30:09 +0000

Moth caterpillar in defensive posture.

Caterpillars change and grow by spitting their skin. A new, larger one is under the old, tight skin. They change through several instars (stages). Then they weave a cocoon and change into a moth. This is the caterpillar of the Pandorus Sphinx. It is a beautiful, large moth, a feeder on night-blooming plants with a proboscis (tongue) about four inches long.

Larger instar.

The Pandorus Sphinx has good protective coloration because it blends in with its surroundings. One of the nectar flowers is the night-blooming Moon Flower Datura.

Moon Flower Datura

Pandorus Sphinx

Fall Glory Reigns at Botanical Garden of the Ozarks

lynnfromthegarden — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:59:03 +0000

Flowers at the entrance to the Totemeier Center. The garden is located between Fayetteville and Springdale on Crossover Road. Kudos go to Susan Regan, Gerald Klingaman and all the staff and volunteers for such creative and thoughtful designs.

Full flower borders highlight metal sculpture.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

lynnfromthegarden — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:03:11 +0000

Garden

North Berm with Castor Bean and Hibiscuses

Bloggers

‘Diana’ Rose of Sharon

Bloom

Texas Star Hibiscus, H. coccineus

Day

PeeGee Hydrangea with Red Banded Hair-Streak

Creature Feature

lynnfromthegarden — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:35:38 +0000

Here are some of the creatures attracted to the host plants that I include in my garden as an invitation for the butterflies and moths. The first is the hagmoth caterpillar in an unusual color. The moth it metamorphoses into is small and not often seen. The caterpillar is usually brown with long hair, said to imitate a cast off tarantula skin.

Small Hagmoth caterpillar

The Spicebush Butterfly is a beautiful black swallowtail. The host plants are spice bush and sassafras. My spicebush is only 7 inches tall, but it had 3 caterpillars on it. I moved them to a small sassafras tree so they could continue developing. This morning, when I checked, there were two more small caterpillars besides this one which is mature and should change into a chrysalis soon.

The spicebush caterpillar is one of the most endearing with its green color and cute eye-spots.

The last caterpillar is a new one on me. It is called the Milkweed Tussock caterpillar and I found it on my Swamp milkweed. They have so many hairs of different colors that they look like little bits of yarn moving around. At first, they are all clustered together where the eggs were laid and as they mature, they move off. The moth they metamorphose into is a medium-size tan moth with a large yellow abdomen with black spots on it.

These milkweed tussock caterpillars look like bits of yarn moving around the swamp milkweed.

This is the best time to observe caterpillars, so get out in your garden and start looking. Better yet, take a child with you. They love creepy crawlies as much as I do.