Honeybees on The Red Poppy Flowers

Honeybees on The Red Poppy Flowers




Meet the Honeybees that were on these Poppy Flowers of August 1, 2014!



We do seam to be a stopping point for many pollinators during the peak blooming time of the year. This is now March still and we are getting the flower beds ready for 2015 flowering season by pulling weeds, seeding,waiting on a tuber delivery, working the soil, still needing to run the tiller and the chipper since we have piles of brush here and there from last year! Everything is taking off early this year!







You can see from the photographs above, there are two different poppy flowers! These are both from Red Poppy Flower Seeds, though the one Poppy Flower has more of a orange tint to it!



By August I spend a lot of my time outside if you can imagine! A lot of work to do and this is the busy time of the year here at home and all over Central and Eastern Oregon!



The Honeybee's photographed here start arriving early in the morning when sun starts to warm everything up. The honeybee's stick around until evening time.



Since the Poppy Flowers are so delicate of a flower, over head watering is a no go. The Honeybee's are found at our ponds or the other hardier flowers getting drinks from the mud we provide. Honeybee's like other insects do not drink water as you and I do, then back to work they go!



Every dang time I get visiting people here they swat at the bee's! These Honeybee's are more then likely from the shipments of Honeybee's we get from California to pollinate the big farms. Though since we have many species of bee's visiting us at any giving time at the peak blooming season, it is not wise to swat at the bee's. Some bee's do not like this!



Our place just hummmmms with the sounds of the Honeybee's doing their thing and I kind of like the sounds!



A place with Honeybee's is a healthy place! I worry when I see no Honeybee's in a location!!

Thank you for coming by and checking out the photographs from August 1, 2014!

Coneflower Blooms

Coneflower Blooms




Hope your weekend went well! Meet the Coneflower and visitor from the photographs from July 25 2014 I am working on this morning.



As you can see by the end of July the Coneflower are not at their peek. These Coneflower were placed in a spot facing the southern sun in front of the Iris Patch several years ago. The Iris flowers have outgrown the Coneflower and the Coneflower need to be moved for several reasons, or separated planted in other locations.



The Coneflower have grown, bloomed in this south location. However this location gets pretty hot! As you can see from these photographs the blooms just do not like this heat from the southern sun. I say the Coneflowers are easy to grow! The Coneflowers are forgiving.



Forgiving is the Coneflower, however as you can see from these photographs the Coneflowers are compromised. Such plants are vulnerable to pests, and other attacks that we may or may not see under the ground. What we can not see is where all the good stuff really goes on! The flowers are what we see! This is why we all love flowers! The pretty colors, shapes, sizes and fruit that some plants produce. Truly though, all the real action is where we can not see. The roots!

Why these Coneflowers in our garden need moved, or since they are growing in this location separated if can be and moved elsewhere. I am thinking the Coneflowers need more shade. Protection from the triple digit temperatures of the High Desert? As I have said we have had these for oh, three years now? This in no way makes Guy or I experts at growing Coneflowers.



Here in the High Desert we are supposed to be zone 5. Everyone lives in a zone. You have a zone you live in too! However some people can live in more then one zone, like we do! Guy is very good at this zone stuff! Guy really is, and he is my teacher about growing here in the High Desert. Someone down the road can grow a plant that we can not. Though we have found places on our small piece of land that the people just right down the road have issues with. This of course is a topic of conversation with the neighbors and I. "How did you grow that", or "How come the frost killed mine and not yours"? Now this is the fun us gardeners have, figuring out what grows where!

Zones, it is good that you find out what zone you live in. Plant accordingly. This does not mean you can not grow whatever, just is a starting point. I found a zone chart if you want to check it out , United States Zone chart

Keep in mind the zone charts are just a starting point. I doubt to many people are going to guaranty you that nature does not change. Many things goes into determining the zones, weather patterns for what year... moon phases on and on and on!!



Honey Bee's ( Honeybee ), are one insect you will find on the Coneflower Blooms! One of these photographs I took, lets see if I put it up..... does not look like I had. Spider mites like the Coneflower. Nasty little bugs that drain the plant of liquid. Turning the host plant into a dried up, nasty looking mess!! Spider Mites will encase the host into a web for the younger spider mites to feed on. What if you see five spider mites I read where you have a infestation! There are several insect that will eat the Spider Mites, Lady Bugs or Lady Birds is one insect you want in your garden!! If you have to go buy Ladybugs!! Make sure if you feel the need to buy Ladybugs that you buy them from a company that does not ship you dead insects!! Buy locally if you can and keep in mind when you get the Ladybugs home give them a drink!! Spray the area down with a hose before setting the insect free, or soak a cotton ball in water is one way if you are setting them free in a inclosed area. Keep in mind, insects do not drink water as we do!

I personally have not seen aphids , or their caretakers the ants on the Coneflowers of ours.

I have seen as you can see in the photographs Honeybee's really like the Coneflower! Wasps, Carpenter Bees, Bumble Bees and more like the Coneflowers! I can not seam to recall if butterflies like the Coneflowers. I have seen the Hummingbirds near the Coneflowers however we grow several flowers in groups.... The color could attract a pollinator then the said pollinator may not want to work on said colored flower but go to the neighboring flower. This is our philosophy of growing. Not everyone does this! We just choose to.



You can see the Honey Bee doing its thing......



Here the Honeybee is really getting into the center which is rather spiny when you get right in there!



This Honeybee is done and flying off. I for one do not know if I want to speak about the medicinal uses for the Coneflower for I just do not want the responsibility of someone reading something I wrote and putting it into their body......

Thank you for coming by looking at my photography and reading my rambling of the Coneflower Blooms!

Moss Roses in Bloom

Moss Roses in Bloom




Meet again the Moss Rose!



These Moses Roses were in full boom and photographed on September 04 2014. We grew these in a container, since the Moss Ross seams to do better for us in a container then they grow in the ground here in the High Desert.



The Moss Rose also seeds pretty well!











Thank you for coming by and checking out my Moss Roses! Color , color color!

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly On The Lilac Flowers

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly On The Lilac Flowers




Meet the Yellow Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly we get here every year in our garden!



This is probably the biggest butterfly we have here in our garden? This series of photographs of this butterfly was taken in May 12 of 2014 as the Lilacs were in bloom.



I believe these Swallowtails emerge as butterflies in or near our garden. I believe it is these butterfly cocoons I have noticed way up in the tall tree's that grow near us? As you can see this one Swallowtail is in perfect shape. No birds, or cats have gotten to this one!



The butterflies of all kinds like the Lilacs when they go to bloom, and even when the Lilacs are not in bloom! The Lilacs attract many things to them, when the Lilacs bloom, even more so!

Early in the Morning my routine everyday to water. I also spray down the Lilacs which do attract such things as the butterflies to get drinks as well as when the Lilacs bloom supplying the creatures with food, a place to hide, nesting material for the birds. We have had peoples cats hide in our Lilacs and even had someones chicken hide in our Lilacs haha! Actually the chicken fell asleep and I could not figure out what in the world was in my Lilacs haha!



We do grow many Lilacs and use them as the privacy, "fence". When the Lilacs bloom oh wow the scent even comes inside the house! We had one lady tell us she could smell the Lilac blooms at her home!



I am fond of the all the visitors here to the garden. These Swallowtail are one of the flashier visitors! Some years we have dozens of these Swallowtails here! It kind of gets crazy for they are flying here and there and stopping here and there!

Oh boy do these Tiger Swallowtail also like the Sweet William flowers!! Actually gosh, the swallowtails like most things we choose to grow and come back year after year! Since we do not spray any chemicals, I typically do not allow cutting my flowers so such things as the Butterflies have plenty here to choose from!



Other then the spray that other folks use to kill insects, (butterflies are insects), the birds are one of the predators and peoples cats do a lot of damage to such things as the Swallowtail Butterflies.

Attracting such things as the Swallowtail Butterflies to your flower beds is not real hard! Just plant the flowers they like! Lilacs, lupine, foxglove, Lilies,Sweet williams,roses, mmmmmm gosh the Swallowtails come to almost everything we grow here, the list of plants we grow here goes on and on!

Remember to give the Butterflies of all kinds a safe place to drink!! We have many birds here, can not express to you how many birds we get here!! The bird area is the same place we have made for such things as the Butterflies to get drinks. So far everyone has lived in harmony. If you have cats..... cats will harm and even kill such things as butterflies without a second thought!! Keep this in mind if you are going to plant flowers to attract the butterflies. It is not really fair to attract such a thing as Butterflies to the garden if they are just going to get killed by your cat. We have a cat, and he has to follow the rules just like the dogs do, or the cat just like the dogs - gets in trouble.



Just like most of the other visitors here to the garden, they get used to my routine. Everyday I try and do the same things for the critters get to know my routine. The visitors are more at ease when they learn your routine, photographs then are nothing out of the normal.



Thank you for coming by and checking out this series of photographs I got of this Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on the Lilac flowers! Lilacs are super easy to grow! Most everyone sales them, if you do not know someone you could dig up a baby from! We just have the purple Lilacs at this time, though there are more colors of Lilacs and I really can not say how the other colors attract visitors?

Cosmos Flower Blooms in October

Cosmos Flower Blooms in October




Meet the Cosmos Flower blooming in October here in our part of Oregon!





Being one of the last flowers blooming says to us the Cosmos is a hardy flower. Colors as you can see did not seam to make the hardiness of the plants any less it appears.





This post is a extension of Cosmos Flower Blooms in the High Desert



As of March 3 (today), I have cleaned up the old stalks of these Cosmos and they are waiting in a pile. What the birds do not use for their needs, will be put into the chipper and mulched to be put back into the soil.



At this moment I am going to quit talking and let you view my photography of these very pretty Cosmos Blooms. If you are wanting a nice flower for your flower beds and have room for them to grow , some of ours got pretty tall, tall or taller then our six foot dog kennel panels, here you go!























Thank you for coming by and checking out my floral photography!