Polar Bear

My son Lee is visiting the gardens today.

He experienced high adventure on his 

Lorillard River canoe expedition this summer.

 I think it  can be said that it gets exciting when

a polar bear visits your camp. Lee can give us

the details sometime.

 

Hosta

 A few of the hostas are still blooming.

 

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle  Haliaeetus leucocephalus This eagle sat in a tree

off our deck in Estes Park. Looking north you can see Lake Estes

and the town in the background. 

Our eagle with Lumpy Ridge in the background. I couldn't get a closer image 

as I don't have a long lens.

Knockout Roses

Knockout Roses are still going strong in the circle in front of the house and 

are now over my head.

 

Box Turtle

Because the summer was so hot and dry we had many visitors from the woods.

I caught this turtle chewing on one of my Big Daddy Hostas.

 

Celosia

This is the season for celosia which is in the

Amaranth Family. Celosia is from the Greek for "burned"

referring to the flame-like flower heads. Often the flowers

are created by fasciation resulting in the name cockscomb

or rooster comb.

 

Bumble bee caught in a moment of nectar love.

 

Seed Pods Plus Bonus

These are the opened seed pods of the blackberry lily. You can understand the

derivation of the name. 

This is a walking stick on one of our Buddhist prayer flags.

Walking sticks (Phasmatodea or Phasmida) are common in

our woods. Their interesting behaviors include entering a 

motionless state that can be maintained for long periods.

They can perform a side to side swaying motion reflecting 

leaves and twigs in the breeze. Their mating behavior is

extraordinary because of the long duration of their coupling.

An Indian species had the world's outdoor coupling record 

of 79 days.

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Globe Amaranth Plus a Bonus

 Gomphrena globosa  These little purple balls are my second

favorite flower. They bloom for more than a month and the dried flower heads

will re-seed next year. My last flowers lasted almost 10 years but this is a new 

source group for the garden edge or a container.

 

 

Bonus: The praying mantis (Mantodea) is on one of my azalea bushes. It utilizes

camouflage for safety and for hunting. This flying insect is an ambush predator

which grasps its prey with spiked forelegs. It has been noted to have a natural 

rocking motion swaying from side to side which is of unknown significance.

Morning Glories and a Bonus

 Convolvulaceae  The flowers unfurl to bloom in the morning

and begin to fade as the edges begin to fold in. We did not 

have a good year for morning glories as they needed more water than we 

were able to provide.  

The edges are folding in.

Bonus: Jan found this magnificent butterfly just outside the window.

It looks like a Gray Pansy butterfly (Junonia atlites) but apparently they occur in southeast Asia. Any ideas?

 

Brown Eyed Susans

I had a whole garden of these large brown eyed Susans. You can see the crepe

myrtle in the background. Its about 10 fee tall.

 

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Milkweed

This is the milkweed that I knew a a child - the one that forms pods filled with
downy seeds. It is the favorite of monarch butterflies. I have seen very few monarchs
this summer and only one chrysalis.

Hosta

 Because of all the early spring rain we had really great blooming

hostas this year.

 

Rose of Sharon

 This flowery tree has been blooming

in the front yard since July. It has three different color

flowers which was made possible by mixing three

different seedlings.

 

 

Zinnias

 This is what the zinnias looked like before they got fried. As you 

can see I like them in all the same color. They are all grown from seed. 

 

Zinnia

The zinnias are winding down even though many have grown to above my

head. Despite the recent rains my fried flowers are more scrambled than

sunny side up.

 

Hoya

 This pot bound plant is over 35 years old. It had never bloomed until

I took it outside. Now it blooms most of the time except the winter. The

umbels are exotic up close.

 

More new Dahlias

The new dahlias by the front porch are spectacular.

Cleome

 Also spiderflower and beeplant. Order Brassicales and Family Cleomaceae.

It re-seeds itself annually on the front yard berm. It is hot botanically because studies

can show a developmental progression from C3 to C4 photosynthesis with the possibility

of finding how this evolutionary change takes place.

 

Raspberry Crepe Myrtle

  Lagerstroemia  I have multiple raspberry crepe

myrtle bushes which are doing what would be described as "fair". I got them

so I wouldn't have to water them much but mine are always thirsty. 

 

 

Blazing Star

  Liatris  This striking flower blooms in the wildflower garden