Of course, I went straight for the Buddleia davidii 'Pink Delight'.
It's a hard one to pass up with it's lovely cherry fragrance
and pretty pink flowers with bright orange throats.
Spectacular!
Aptly named "Butterfly Bush", this shrub attracts both butterflies and hummingbirds alike...that's what I'm counting on!! Some gardeners think it a little unruly, but I enjoy it's natural, gracefully arching branches tipped with large bloom spikes.
It can grow to 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide, so I've given it plenty of room to sprawl.
I also decided on a young Cat Whiskers.
It's exotic blooms are what lured my attention.
The blooms boast extra long stamens that resemble cat whiskers.
Officially named Orthosiphon aristatus,
this flowering shrub is actually a member of the mint family.
It is a fast grower, reaching heights of 3-4 feet tall
and up to 3 feet wide.
The best part?!?!
Both butterflies and hummers like this one too!
Although not a member of the butterfly garden, another new addition to my landscape is a young Jatropha. It is planted further down the front fence row between two sabal palms. I like the cheerful, bright red flower clusters against the interesting shape of evergreen leaves.
Jatropha is a genus that includes over 175 varieties of succulents, plants and trees.
They are drought tolerant and....attract both butterflies and hummingbirds!!!
Giddy up!
Back to the butterfly garden,
there's always something to see.
I spotted this pretty fellow a couple of weeks ago.
I believe this is a Tersa Sphinx Hummingbird Moth caterpillar. His head is pulled in, enlarging its eye spots.
This guy thoroughly enjoyed munching on a Penta plant.
The Black and Blue Salvia has recovered from whatever found it delicious about a month ago. The tropical milkweed, on the other hand, was not photo worthy due to the endless Monarch caterpillar appetite. Then again, that is the reason I included it in the garden. It's a food source, not necessarily to look pretty.
The red Porterweed is a constant magnet for Gulf Fritilary, Queen and Monarch butterflies.
They can't seem to resist the pretty little red blooms.
They enjoy the Clarodendrum too!
This particular kind of Clarodendrum
(C. speciosissimum, Java Glory Bower)
from the Verbena family grows up to 6 feet tall
and is a cherished ornamental.
More exotic looking whiskers,
although not nearly as long as the Cat Whiskers.
Now for the strange and unusual,
because there is typically something odd going on around here.
One of my Azaleas is blooming in the dead heat of summer.
Here's the proof. Bizarre!
It's been in bloom now for about 2 weeks.
I thought Azaleas only bloom in the spring.
The leaves weren't looking very well. In fact, most of the original growth died back and tons of new growth sprang to life along with these pretty little blooms. Since this is my first time having Azaleas (I didn't have the correct light conditions in my previous home), I really don't know what to expect.
Comments, suggestions and experience are very welcome!!
Now for some bad news.
If you can't tell what this is, look closely and you will see an orchid flower spike that has been chewed off. You can only imagine my fury! Especially when I found the culprit...
This lubber was found only a short distance away
munching on yet another orchid.
I had no choice but to take care of this situation.
I lost my beloved Vanda bloom spike
even before it had a chance to bloom,
but at least this wonderful Queen Emma
bouquet was spared!!!
This particular Crinum Lily is blooming on the other side also!!
I wish I could bottle this fragrance and wear it every day!
The rains have brought more than beautiful blooms
to my Garden in Paradise.
The pond is finally full again and the new dock
is where we can be found most every evening.
It really is Paradise,
and I'm so very thankful every day!
20 comments:
Really pretty choices for the butterfly attractors. Despise the lubbers ... they go for my crinums first but don't seem to be particular about chewing up blooms or foliage. What a beautiful view and property you have!
Enjoyed the tour of your new additions. Rain is a glorious gift.
Meems
That is one very cute caterpillar. Looks like an anime with such big round eyes. The grasshopper is kind of cute too. I hope by taking care of it means its eating your neighbors plants now... :)
What wonderful plants you have in your butterfly garden. I love your property and your pond view is really nice too.
Glad you are getting some rain, we need more as it's been about a week or so since we had a nice watering from above.
Have a great week ~ FlowerLady
The lubbers almost destroyed my Queen Emma,and ate all the buds off my Blackberry Lilies.Grrr...I been trying Sevin dust and so far it seems to be working.Thankfully they have left the orchids alone.
Your butterfly garden is fantastic!
Nice work on planting a garden with something different ! What a great blog, with clear photos, and you have an eye for plants that attract wildlife. More people should follow your lead !
Craig Morell
Pinecrest Gardens
So glad you got some rain! Love the cat whiskers! And it looks like you have so many butterflies visiting your butterfly garden - congrats on the success! Loved the pic of the hummingbird moth caterpillar!
You've got some great choices for your butterfly garden, some of which I'm not familiar with. But some, thankfully, I have in my garden too. I liked your little muncher, but sorry about the damage he caused.
Your butterfly garden is coming along quite nicely. Looks like it has been busy with visitors. Is your cat's whiskers in full sun? I have one in mostly shade that seems like it isn't happy.
Your dock looks like THE place to be. Lovely.
All is beautiful. You have some here that just will not over winter here in North Florida, sigh.
Love the pics of your butterflies. You've added some nice selections for them in your garden. Looks like you're growing your new garden very quickly.
All flowers are beautiful and even the worm adds color the the flower.
Cassy from Download Guitar Lessons
Wow your garden is fully alive now! I still remember that time when you are just starting. Most of those flowers we have here too, but we dont plant porterweed as they are just weeds here, just that we only have the blue. I wish we can also have that red, it is lovely. I wonder why my crinum is a bit late in blooming these rainy days. Ohhh, but i love that cute larvae!
Looking great! I love the cat whiskers, the blooms are gorgeous, and aptly named! I recently planted a black and blue salvia on the advice of a neighbor who insisted the deer didn't touch it. After two days in our garden outside the deer fence it went from 2 feet tall, to about 3 inches tall! I had to rescue what was left, dug it up, nursed it back to health, and have now replanted it INSIDE the deer fence. I think with some of these saliva's that their new green growth is too tempting for some creatures, but as the plants get older they become less appealing. Glad to see yours has rebounded.
The Cat Whiskers are such charming blooms (perfect name of course). Lovely tour around your gardens with very interesting 'inhabitants' (great anime reference from One).
I have about 7,000 Azaleas and Rhododendrons and to be sure they do not all bloom in the spring. At the moment, I have one that is blooming for the second time this year, but others of the exact same type have been blooming for months now. Yes, most do bloom in the spring, but not all of them. You are lucky to have one that re-blooms. Later tomorrow I will be planting about 15 Azaleas named "August to Frost" that as the name suggests, start blooming late in the month of August and continue until late autumn. Some bloom later than others; some bloom both in the spring and the fall. Some even bloom a little all through the spring into the fall.
What a beautiful garden you have! It is so amazing to think about the different weather you are having. We have been pretty warm and I was out for quite a few hours today watering everything. And I would have stomped that grasshopper like the thief he is. Sorry to hear about your beautiful orchid. But the rest of your garden and great lily pond is awesome!
Hi Kimberly ... I've been thinking about you and hoping all is well?! :)
Hi Kimberly,
I hope you're having an awesome week! I thought you might like this infographic I helped build about the health, mental, and financial benefits of gardening (http://blog.lochnesswatergardens.com/how-gardening-benefit/).
If you think your readers would like it too, please feel free to use it on Garden in Paradise. There's code at the bottom of our post that makes it super easy to post on your blog. It's all free (of course). If you have any questions about posting it, let me know and I'll try to help.
I don't know where else to contact you so I just put a comment here. Please feel free to delete this message after reading. :)
Thanks!
~ Janey
janealvarado83@gmail.com
Lovely! your gardens are wonderful!
Today we had our first snow! Everything is white and I was wanting to feel warm, so I came by for a visit - thanks
Ever since I planted my Buddleia davidii about 5 seasons ago, it’s been producing the most stunning blooms that seem to get bigger and heavier every year. This year the bright pink clusters are so large that they are drooping lower than ever.
Thanks to this beauty, I’ve had visitations from a variety of butterflies, including breathtaking monarchs. Surprising enough, however, I haven’t seen any humming birds. I wonder why?
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