Bugs and Blooms in the Garden

It seems like I haven't blogged in a while. I don't know where my time is going, but I just haven't found time this week to sit down to resize photos and blog until I decided I had to make it a priority this evening.

I don't have a specific subject in mind tonight, so I'm just going to take my cues from the photos I have taken in the past 10 days or so.

First, let me re-introduce you to an old friend.  If you read my post Wild America, you will remember the three-legged stick insect I found in the garden.

Well, guess who I saw again, by the front door this past weekend?  And guess what?  She has a boyfriend!

It has to be the same insect.  I can't imagine that two of them in close proximity to my garden would be missing the same three legs.  It certainly doesn't seem to have affected her adversely and apparently her boyfriend doesn't mind either.

Here's a photo of another fascinating insect that I took recently.

I don't know what type of dragonfly it is, but it's quite lovely and for some reason, it reminds me of an old World War II bomber, somewhat like the one that flew over our house, out of Hooks Airport recently...

(I think it's the "undercarriage" that makes it look like a bomber)

But I digress, this is supposed to be a Garden Blog, so what else has been going on in my garden?

Well the Phillipine Lily, that I mentioned in my blog last week, finally got around to blooming. I actually had three blooming at once, but I tried to take photos on a humid morning and the camera lens kept fogging up.  This was the best I could get...

In the front garden, the Lantana "White Gold" is blooming. I've got several of them dotted around the front and back gardens, but the one in the front is doing best so far.

I love this detail shot of the blooms.

I have somewhat of a love-hate relationship with Crepe Myrtles.  I have three of them in this garden, and I love the bright colors that last all summer long.  What I don't like is the mildew they seem to get afflicted with every year.  I think (and this is my unscientific opinion just from personal observations at previous residences) that the mildew is worse on young plants and once they have got a few summers under their belts, so to speak, the mildew won't be such a problem any more. At least I hope not.

This particular photo was taken on July 7, but a week later it was covered in mildew.  I treated it with a fungicide this past weekend, so I'll wait and see how it does.

Last week in my blog, I included some photos of butterflies on the milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. I think it's now safe to say that other than the daylilies, I have more milkweed growing than I have anything else.

The two original plants (one in the back and one in the front) reseeded so freely, they are everywhere :-)

It's just as well we rarely use our front door, using instead the interior door from the garage to the house, because you almost need a machete to get through these milkweed to the door!

Ditto the garage.  "Fideaux", my husband's venerable Toyota, has to plough through a jungle to park.

And they keep popping up!

So I potted some up to share with my neighbors :-)

To conclude my blog post tonight, here's my favorite photo that I took this week -- a bumble bee on the Vitex. As with all the photos, if you click on it, you can see it full size.

Have a great week!

	Report abuse

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Wild America

Neither my husband nor I are native Texans. I'm originally from England, although I've officially lived in the US for more than half my life now.  My husband is a more recent transplant from San Francisco.

One thing that never ceases to amaze us about Texas is the wide variety of wildlife here. Specifically insects. I don't remember being particularly intrigued by bugs as I was growing up in England, except for having a loathing of spiders.

Perhaps its because the insects we see here in Texas are so much more diverse and interesting that I find myself fascinated by them.

Take the walking stick in the photo below.  I found this critter on the wall of our patio last August. Obviously it was some sort of stick insect, but I'd never seen one before so I did some research on BugGuide.net and I'm pretty sure it was a Southern Two-striped Walkingstick  (Anisomorpha  buprestoides). Even though it didn't have actual stripes, nor did the specimens I found photos of online.

 I'm not sure why, but I decided this was male. I guess just from the size.  I should have known better...

A few days later I found this pair on the side wall of the house.  That's when I realized the walking stick on the patio had been a female.  And she had found a boyfriend!

Anyway, time went on and I didn't see either of them again. But this weekend as I was weed-eating (is that a valid verb?) along the fence, I happened to see movement a few paces ahead of where I was.  I stopped and looked down because quite often I get frogs frantically trying to hop out of the way of the weed eater. But what I saw wasn't a frog.  It was a stick insect, climbing from a blade of grass to the fence.

As I looked closer, I noticed something odd...

... Aren't they supposed to have six legs?  

I think I can say with certainty that I did not do this with my weed eater. I can see how it might be possible to slice it in two, but to remove two legs on one side and one on the other? No, I don't think so.

So I have no idea what happened to her. It didn't seem to be bothering her though, so after a quick photo op, I just took her round to the wild side of the fence (we have vacant lots on either side of us) and set her down to go on her way. 

Gotta love it - our own little corner of Wild America.


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

We Are Not Alone

 Ever get that feeling that you are not alone?


Most weekends, Eric and I enjoy a glass of wine on our patio.  I guess, being in Texas, we shouldn't be surprised to find that we often share it with the local wildlife.

In the past, we've been serenaded by frogs, entertained by skunks, raided by raccoons.

I was only mildly surprised then when I turned to say something to Eric and noticed a very large, very green "thing" on the window frame.  With apologies to my husband, this photo was too good not to share!!

I did a little research and I think I can identify the bug as an Oblong-Winged Katydid -- Amblycorpha oblongifolia

Here's another photo of it.

Impressive, huh?


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.