I know ... but I would do anything to keep them safe and help them through their journey.
Cheesecloth is extremely breathable yet it will protect them .. I sleep better at night believe me !
Monday, 2 July 2018
Not too impressed and other thoughts ...
I waited quite a while for Princess Kate clematis to bloom .. I was so sure I was going to love it .. maybe I have to give it more time ... but for now ? I am not all that impressed
Other small objects of my affection are making me smile big time though
Garden PA actually counted two of these big beauties and four more of the earlier instar ones for a total of 6 potential amazing Black Swallowtail butterflies .. I would be over the moon !
So ? in order to keep them safe I went a little overboard and wrapped my dill plant in cheesecloth.
I know ... but I would do anything to keep them safe and help them through their journey.
Cheesecloth is extremely breathable yet it will protect them .. I sleep better at night believe me !
Another wonderful surprise was a second batch of baby robins but this time the parents decided to nest in our big maple tree instead of the deck corner .. they are cooler and safer there in the tree.
I have fallen in love with my euphorbia all over again .. even in complete shade it is a sparkler in the garden ... I can't wait to see how it turns out in the Fall.
Rozanne at the foot of my Chinese Fringe tree looks amazing this year ..
Can you see it peeking out behind the striped grass ?
A little respite from our intense heat wave is this shady nook .. thank heavens for shade in the garden!
I know ... but I would do anything to keep them safe and help them through their journey.
Cheesecloth is extremely breathable yet it will protect them .. I sleep better at night believe me !
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19 comments:
That Princess doesn't appear like she will ever be queen. Maybe she just needs more time. None of my clematis is doing very good this year except Jackmanii. I think Jack can take any kind of weather and keep on blooming.
One set of Robins is going to have some success at a second nesting here too. They are in the wild grape vine that is over an arch. I walk under it daily and the momma stays put as long as I don't linger.
I have baby rabbits here too. UGH...
I love your luscious looking shade garden. That is the only place to be right now. It is so darned hot.
P.S. I don't blame you for wrapping your caterpillars. They would make good Robin food.
I am glad the dill is wrapped so Momma robin does not have a little snack.
I like the clematis. It is pretty.(-: The heat is a killer for sure. So far things are surviving here. We are suppose to have some cooler temps mid week here.
Hmmm, I’ve never grown anything under my Chinese Fringe tree, but then again, it’s older and much larger than yours! I have a tiny bell shaped clematis that I also thought I’d be crazy about, but is somewhat underwhelming. I do like the individual flowers, there are just too few of them. I’ll give it a few more years to get larger. I see you raised a swallowtail, how exciting! I’ve only done monarchs and painted ladies.
Joy your garden looks beautiful as always. Have a wonderful Summer.
Lisa girl I think you are right about Jack .. well actually I have a couple of others that seem to be doing great despite this heat wave .. the little creatures here seem to be happy .. I understand your "ugh" with the rabbits even though they are so darn cute, I get the damage they can do to your garden .. I love my shade garden side too ! it is peaceful :-)
Yup .. wrapping them seemed the right thing to do .. I have to help them ! LOL
Hey there Cindee .. this is the first time I have tried wrapping my dill .. I so want to help those potential butterflies .. we were spoilt with a cooler than usual June .. so now this heat hits big time with us .. if only we can get some breaks inbetween, that would make it more bearable for sure !
Hi Robin .. we don't see a lot of Monarchs this time of year .. maybe by August a few float by .. I didn't even get to see the actual parent to these little ones .. it is as if the caterpillars appear by magic the way this happens but I will take them any way I can !
Yup .. some clematis look so great in the info but not so much when you have them at home .. first time I have been disappointed by one though ...
Lona girl it is great to see you back in the blogging world .. thanks for stopping by !
Hope you have a great summer too !
Sometimes plants don't meet our expectations at first, but they often grow on me, so to speak. I agree about the value of shady gardens, and the virtues of 'Rozanne'.
Hi Joy
I guess Princess Kate does look a bit subtle kinda like comparing Meghan and Kate (oooh, risky) Love what you did to protect your caterpillar, you are so sweet (oooh, double risky)
Hi Jason .. I try to give plants a couple of seasons to see what happens .. and most times it is a positive come back .. so I will wait for Kate to catch up perhaps .. she does have a lot of buds, so what lakes in presentation might be made up in volume ? .. Mots of my garden is now becoming a shade garden because of my huge Pacific Sunset maple .. but it is so appreciated especially in the summer with these continuous heat waves .. I am really liking Rozanne this year.
Hello there Alistair .. you are very risky or risque (LOL) today ? thank you for making me laugh ! .. it is difficult comparing this little flower (Kate) to my other clematis and I should be more patient .. the trouble is I'm used to more impact from clematis blooms, so I have to adjust my expectations. I do love my caterpillars because of their outcome to those beautiful butterflies .. so I am a mother hen ? to them, so to speak ?
I love the Euphorbia - do you treat it as an annual or have you found a way to overwinter it?
Hi Margaret .. Ascot Rainbow is zone 5 and up .. so it can be overwintered .. but you know how some plants can be picky .. add in a harsh winter and it is all a gamble in the end .. but this one is worth the challenge : )
Joy ~ I'm so excited to learn you're an Outlander fan!!! How did I never know that before?? I'm obsessed even tho I only read the books last year. I re-read 'Voyager' before Season 3 aired and I'm going to re-read 'Drums of Autumn' before Season 4. The 'Outlander Kitchen' cookbook has me wanting to get back into the whole series tho ~ it's really great!! I don't know how people waited for these for years! It's killing me for 'Bees' to come out & like I said, I'm pretty new to it all.
Your garden looks phenomenal!! So excited for you on the Swallowtail cats!!! I hope everything goes well & you get 6 butterflies! Maybe I should put dill in a container too? I've tried & tried in the garden & never had much luck. It's been a hot summer here too & we have a lot of Swallowtails for once. It would be a good year to try.
Hey there Kathleen Thank you so much !.. yup .. it is driving me crazy waiting for this next book, she said by the end of 2018 but I really wonder .. meanwhile I keep re-reading them , you always seem to pick up more detail you missed some how. You have me wondering about the cook book now too!
I find having the dill in a container really helps draw the butterflies in and they lay their eggs there .. I am so hoping this will follow through and the little miracles will happen.
I am going to check on them today or tomorrow for sure (I have to unwrap to have a good look for chrysalis 'es ? haha
YOU ARE A WILDLIFE MAMA! 6 of those incredible butterflies and more baby robins choosing your garden- the world is a better place :) apart from that your photos - wow! I love this post, it's so vibrant. Love you lots xx
Hey Carrie girl ..you are too sweet ! thank you ! .. at the moment .. we only have one that has gone to the chrysalis stage .. picture to come .. so far the baby robins are fine .. as much as we can tell that is :-)
Oh, I love that you are protecting the swallowtail caterpillars. You are awesome. We need rain soon right? I cannot believe it is only the first week of July and so dry. Take care and keep up the good work. Your garden is beautiful. Hug B
Hi there again Grace : )
Thank you ! .. I would do anything I can to get these guys through their life stages .. they need all the help possible now a days eh ?
Yes .. we are in for some really dry months now .. the worst part of summer seeing things so darn thirsty ..I am in awe of your tractor story girl ! .. farmers ROCK !!
Joy, all the commenting I did & I didn't say that I know I would pick up so much more if I would reread all the books a couple more times. That first time thru, I was just so caught up in the whole story that I pretty much raced thru it. When I re-read 'Voyager' before Season 3, I noticed so many little things I missed. Diana Gabaldon is an amazingly detailed author, isn't she?? I can't wait for 'Bees' either but I bet it will be 2019. Also, her daughter lives in Ft Collins ~ a town 10 minutes from me ~ and Diana visits her (and her new grandbaby) so I am keeping my eyes open for a chance meeting!! haha
Kathleen girl that is so true .. so much detail it takes a few readings of each book to pick all the information up ! .. I am going to begin again shortly .. I am just finishing up Seven Stones short stories now ..OMG ! how funny is that , you might catch a glimpse of her there .. have your camera ready girl ! LOL
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