Tangled Branches: Cultivated

happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Updates, a Life Bird, and Potager's Progress

It occurs to me lately that much of the good stuff on this blog happens in the comments, and as a result, doesn't get the prominence it deserves. Also, I tend to write of mystery plants, birds, bugs, etc. and then don't update the post when I learn the ID. Soooooo.....this post is to tie up some loose ends.

Thanks to bek, I now know that the mystery oak galls are Wool Sower Oak Galls.

Thanks to the kind folks at bugguide.net, I believe my first bizzare-o insect of the year was the caterpillar of a Red-Spotted Purple butterfly.

Thanks to Squirrel, I knew that yesterday (or was it Thursday?) was International Migratory Bird Day. I celebrated it by doing some front-porch birding and saw a life bird. But Ms. Smarty-pants here was so confident of the ID that she failed to observe all the field marks and now is uncertain. When I first saw the all-blue bird in the treetops, I immediately thought Indigo Bunting, and kept right on thinking that until just before I lost sight of the bird. In those last few seconds, I thought I saw a rusty red streak on the flanks. Hmmm, well, the Blue Grosbeak has a rusty red wing bar, and furthermore, this seemed larger than a finch-sized bird. So now I'm about 70% sure that I saw a Blue Grosbeak, with a 30% chance that it really was an Indigo Bunting. Either way, it's a life bird for me.

Other birds of note yesterday were Great Crested Flycatcher very close to the house in the morning, and in the afternoon by the vegetable garden 2 Pileated Woodpeckers in some kind of altercation, with one pursuing another across an open field. They're even more awesome in flight with red crested head and bold black and white wings.

Still no ID on the big mystery seed pod, but I found another just like it while working on the vegetable garden yesterday and ta da! - it has at least one seed in it. I'm going to plant it and see what sprouts.

Wild orchid foliage? This is what I noticed last weekend, and recently found another one some distance away. I was waiting for a good sunny day to take a photo, but had to settle for using the flash.

And when I said the ditch had turned blue with Salvia lyrata? This is what I meant.

Lastly, Happy Birthday to my vegetable/herb/cutting garden and/or nursery bed. I'm going to keep calling it a potager. Early in May last year, we starting digging. One year later, we're still digging, but there's visible progress. We're messing up the symmetrical layout this year by adding a column of beds along one side and potato bins on the other. I plan to bring it back to some kind of symmetry, but probably not this year. And I've just discovered that the lower part of the garden has a drainage problem. Last year, no rain, no drainage problem. This year, lots of rain, big drainage problem. The sage, rosemary, horehound and shallots are all drowning, but the garlic doesn't seem much affected. Four rosemarys were supposed to anchor the corners of the design, but one got chewed off last fall and the drowning one looks like it's on the way out. I either need to fix the drainage problem or rethink my design, or both. (Disclosure: I cropped out the poor suffering waterlogged plants on the left side of the photo.)

A few closeups from the potager:

The Mexican mint marigold either self-sowed or lived through the winter sheltered by Provencal thyme.

We're going to have some very large garlic bulbs this year.

The rue is just starting to bloom.

The black swallowtail caterpillars are back! This year I hope they come visit when they're grown up.

Labels: birds, butterflies, oak galls, orchids, potager

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

A Good Day in the Garden

Yesterday was one of those days I wish I could save up for later. I had the whole day to myself in the country.

It was mostly sunny with just a few clouds. It was just warm enough to be pleasant, but not too warm for working in the garden. I basked in the sun. Really I was weeding, but it felt like basking.

The frogs were singing. So were the birds, but the frogs were louder and more insistent.

I saw two butterflies - first of the season. They were busy and so was I, so I didn't go chasing them to see who they were. One was orange on top like a Painted Lady and the other was white like a Cabbage White. Probably was a Cabbage White.

The garlic is up and growing despite being trodden upon by the deer. The shallots, which I had almost given up on, are sprouting. Spinach, and a few lettuce plants, survived the entire winter under a floating row cover.

I chopped fresh herbs - parsley, garlic leaves, lemon thyme, and radish sprouts - and sprinkled them with abandon on my lunchtime soup.

While digging up a bed to plant radishes and salad greens, I found two potatoes from last year. In perfect condition. Except for the one I cut in half with the spade.

The newly planted (last December) crocuses are blooming. The tulips made it through the winter without being eaten. I wonder if they'll make it through the spring.

I took a lot of pictures in the morning, but haven't uploaded yet. Maybe later today. If you're looking for me, I'll be in the garden.

Labels: bulbs, butterflies, herbs, potager, potatoes, seasons

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Caterpillars and Butterflies

The Black Swallowtail caterpillars have been feasting on the rue and bronze fennel off and on all summer. So how come I never see an adult Black Swallowtail? Last weekend, I noticed three different instars of Black Swallowtail caterpillars on one rue plant. (The photo of the earliest instar was out of focus, so I didn't post it.) Up until last weekend, I believed that if you plant fennel, they'll leave your parsley alone, and if you plant rue, they'll leave your fennel alone. That theory was proved false when I found them feeding on all 3 plants. Not so much on the parsley though. Which is good, because I planned a big batch of Deborah Madison's Salsa Verde while the parsley is plentiful.

Weekend before last, I saw a flutter of black wings, and thought, aha - a Black Swallowtail. Well, no, it was a swallowtail, and it was black, but not a Black Swallowtail. A Pipevine Swallowtail instead. I wonder if we have pipevines growing nearby - I've not seen any.

I expected that the Monarchs had all gone south by now, but this one brightened up the garden last Thursday. Must have been confused by the weather. Speaking of, it finally rained yesterday and I'm looking at a wall of green in the woods as I type this. Not much fall color yet, and the rain really revived the weary plants.

Labels: butterflies, fennel, parsley, rue

Monday, August 20, 2007

Things with Wings

Want butterflies? Plant verbena!

I was just astounded at the number of nectar-sippers hovering around the Verbena bonariensis this weekend in the country. Just in casual observation, I counted at least six different species of butterflies - Tiger Swallowtail (both light and dark forms), Spicebush Swallowtail, American Lady, Zabulon Skipper, other skippers (names still elude me - sorry), and a new one for me: the Common Buckeye. If it's so common, howcome I never saw one until this weekend?

And there was a different clearwing moth there too - this time it was Hummingbird Moth, and I have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to photos. I restrained myself and only posted four of them (1,2,3,4).

And speaking of embarrassment, after Lisa wrote last week that she only gets good photos of butterflies when they're mating, I claimed never to have seen such a thing. Well, look (adults only, please). I think there will be more Snowberry Clearwing Moths.

While I was taking these photos, another absolutely huge moth landed on a tomato plant. I have only a crummy picture to prove it, but I think it was a tomato hornworm adult.

More from the crummy picture department. I tried several times to get a good picture of a hummingbird this weekend. I failed. They were almost constantly feeding on the coleus flowers in front of the house, except not when I had the camera in hand. There is a hummingbird in this picture, but I'll let you search for it yourself. I think I'll try Ki's suggestion and see if I can get some decent video instead. Check out the huge coleus plants though. The tallest ones are close to 4 feet, not counting the flowers.

Labels: birds, butterflies, insects, moths

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Butterfly Roundup

Put on your cowboy hat - we're going to herd butterflies. OK, not really, but what comes to mind when you read the title of this post?

I've been posting pictures of butterflies on Picasa for a few weeks, but haven't written anything about them here, and it's time to fix that.

We all love the big charismatic swallowtails, but it seems to me they've been scarce this year. Just now as I'm typing this, a dark tiger swallowtail flitted by, stopping only briefly at a larkspur. But not long enough for a picture. It's worn-out cousin was here last week. Even though the colors are not bright and the wings are a bit tattered, both "tails" are still present.

I think my favorite butterflies may be the Ladies and the Admiral. These three are all members of the genus Vanessa, and I haven't any trouble finding and photographing them this year. It's the pattern on the underside of the wings that I like - the colors aren't showy and with the wings folded, sometimes these butterflies can be hard to see, but the swirls and circles in blues and browns are fascinating to me. They're much more colorful with their wings open.

Most of the skippers still look alike to me, but I can now recognize two of them without poring over the field guide. The Silver-spotted Skipper was the only one I could recognize for a long time - it's larger than most other skippers and unique with its large white (silver?) spot on the underside of the wing. But now I think I can quickly identify the male Zabulon Skipper with his pretty yellow and brown wings (his female counterpart is dark brown with a few white spots).

The Question Mark is another new-to-me butterfly. There was one "puddling" on the gravel driveway a few weeks ago, but it was very skittish and hard to photograph. This is the best picture of the lot.

I'll bet if you conducted a survey, you'd find that most residents of the US would name the Monarch as their favorite butterfly. I like them too, but hardly ever see them in my northern Virginia garden. I'm hoping they're more plentiful in central Virginia, and that this is the first of many.

Labels: butterflies, insects

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Butterflies 1 Beetles 3

Doesn't it look like this fritillary is getting ready to do battle? If only.

I planted a Buddleia 'Attraction' next to the deck at the country house in hopes of attracting the hummingbirds we've been seeing. My first customer was a Japanese Beetle. Then another and another and another and.... I think the final score on Saturday was Hummingbirds 0, Butterflies 2, Japanese Beetles 16.

I don't understand where the beetles are coming from. The area directly around the house was a barren construction site until late last September. Around that is woods, then a field, then the neighbors' suburban-style yard. But that yard is far away, and they're not growing much in the way of yummy Japanese Beetle treats. I always think of Japanese Beetles as a pest of new suburban lawns and gardens; I really was not expecting to see any there.

At the old northern Virginia homestead, they've been very scarce so far this year. I'm sure I'll be punished for saying this, but so far all the flowers that are usually chewed to nothing are looking whole and healthy.

Labels: butterflies, insects

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

LBJs

In other bug news, the Little Brown Jobs of the butterfly world have arrived too.
<pout> The skippers drive me insane - I can't identify many of them, and I don't see how anybody else can either. </pout>
I remembered that I posted a query on BugGuide last year, and look!, don't you think this is the very same butterfly? Well, OK, not the same individual, but the same species? I still think it's a Crossline Skipper. Unless it's a Tawny-Edged...

Labels: butterflies

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Stuck on Blue

The Brazilian Verbena (V. bonariensis) is in bloom so where are my butterflies?

Here, nowhere near the Verbena, but instead on a not-yet-blooming daylily.

The warm colors of the dayliles will be along soon, but for now I'm stuck on blue. Even the butterflies - the yellow butterflies wouldn't stay long enough for a picture.

I've been trying for a couple of days to get the camera to show you how lacy and weightless the 'Blue Cloud' Larkspur is, and I think I've got it now.

Except for the flowers, the plant is practically see-thru.

Update: Just as I hit the publish button, a little voice in my head said "You should have titled it Tangled Up in Blue". Nah, too late now.

Labels: butterflies, in bloom, NoVA

Friday, May 25, 2007

Verbena and Bees?

In a burst of inspiration and ambition this morning, I decided to dig up an area next to the deck and plant a few herbs. And while daydreaming about vine-ripe juicy tomatoes with olive oil and cinnamon basil, I began to imagine sultry summer afternoons on the deck with a book, a beverage, and butterflies dancing at my feet. I have plenty of Verbena bonariensis seedlings this year, and it would be so cool to have the flowers peeking through the deck railing with a few million butterflies posing for pictures and...

Reality Check---> What's wrong with this vision?
Ummmm, bees? I've noticed that many of the butterfly plants are also bee plants.

Bees are fascinating creatures; we and the plants couldn't get along without them; etc. etc., but I really don't want to encourage them to hang out with us while we enjoy a relaxing afternoon. So here's a question for anybody who's growing Verbena bonariensis - have you noticed whether it's especially attractive to bees? I grew it last year for the first time, and although I remember the butterflies, I can't remember any bees.

Labels: bees, butterflies, verbena

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

CeVa Journal: Wildlife

Wild turkey and wood thrush. Whatever next? I was hoping to see new birds at the country house, but somehow wild turkeys didn't cross my mind. Two weekends ago, I saw this turkey hen amble through the woods in back. It is a hen, isn't it? Hard to tell from the crummy picture, but that's the best one I got.
Last weekend, something similar caught my eye, but this time I had the good sense to grab the binoculars instead of the camera. It was a tom turkey with red head and wattles and that strange beard thing sticking out from its chest. He scuffled through the leaves a while and moved on.

This morning, I heard a beautiful, distinctive bird song and tracked it through the woods to the singer. A wood thrush! It let me look and listen for a long while before it figured out I was following it around, and then flew away. It was back in a short time, but I didn't go chasing it again.

Yesterday, while hunting for wildflowers in the woods, I came across this tiny iridescent spider in the middle of its pollen-spangled web.
We started seeing dragonflies over the weekend. This one posed on the deck railing yesterday afternoon. I'm only just beginning to learn about dragonflies, and this one doesn't look like any of the pictures in my book. Maybe it's a damselfly instead?
Update, 4/25 5:30 pm EDT: Thanks to a comment from Annie in Austin, I think I've ID'd the dragonfly. She sent me here, and I clicked through to here, and said "Hmmm, that top picture looks quite a lot like my photo." My field guide only showed the Common Whitetail adult male, and that's what confused me. To be fair, if I had read the text in the guide instead of just looking at the pictures, I would have learned that the Common Whitetail juvenile male has a different abdomen coloration. And they're even more confusing when they go through puberty. ;-)
Saturday, there were at least five different kinds of butterflies around. We didn't pause in our work to identify them all - some kind of azure, something that looked like a fritillary, the same duskywings we've been seeing for weeks, sulphurs, cabbage whites and....ta da!...the first Tiger Swallowtail.This is a good argument for leaving your dandelions grow, if you ask me.

Labels: birds, butterflies, CeVA, dragonflies, spiders

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