Loves me, loves me not....

Loves Me, Loves Me Not...

Wha...Zat!??

Really Red Japanese Maple.

Screened Porch View

Pin Oaks....today's edition

Roses in November, have survived a few frosts.

This Fall's First Frost.....

 The mandevilla has been so lovely, gave us 6 months of continuous blooms. But the first frost always kills them, so I buy a new one in the spring.


End of the road for the morning glories, too.
The shasta daisies produced a few late blooms. This one is the home of this little crab spider. She looks rather menacing, huh?

Bugs on Blooms and Beetles on Beans

Japenese beetle on green beans.

Do you know what these are? Some kind of aphid, I assume, with very wooly 'brows'. That's my finger  behind the base of a mandevilla blossom.

Update July 3: I asked Cindy at Bug Safari if she could identify these little guys. Thanks you Cindy!   Here's her reply:

Your little mystery bugs are planthoppers, which are sort of "cousins" to aphids. Many of the planthopper nymphs sport fuzzy "tails". I looked on BugGuide, and yours seem to be a good match for the genus Acanalonia.

Pests on Petals. Small shasta daisy.

This little guy: less than half an inch long.

One Wish

'Wall Flowers' (lantana in foreground)

Dewy morning in mid-May.

Beads of dew on strawberry leaves.

Modified with 'watercolor' effect.

Every little point decorated with a clear bead.

Campion (a weed), about a one inch flower.

Christmas Cactus in mid-May.

Metamorphesis

Dewy Rose.

Potted begonia in the screen porch.

First sign of spring!

These are always the very first blooms, popping up in the center of the front bed, under the shelter of the winterberry trees. I found them there this morning.

Interestingly, I posted the first pictures of this clump in bloom last year on Feb. 17, same date as this year!  They did not appear until March 8 the year before, and March 5th in 2009. A pretty good indicator of the timing of the seasons.

AFTERNOON UPDATE: Photo above taken midmorning, cloudy. Here's some more, with the afternoon sun on them.

November beauty

Thanksgiving Cactus, a bit early.

Autumn arrives!

My little Autumn crocus popped out today. It must officially be fall, now.

 

Buds, bees and butterflies

These nice clumps of some sort of allium are always just alive with all sorts of small bees and wasps, and other insects, as well as many butterflies, none of which pay any attention to me as I get the camera in close. I think these are a type of garlic. Together with allyssum the make a lovely white bed, very easy to grow. 

 Sipping Soda Through a Straw

Company for Dinner

Table for Two

And the next image of a short series, 'enhanced' with watercolor effect.

Mid-August Garden Tour

 While doing a little clipping and trimming this morning, I was greeted by this little Praying Mantis. (well, not really little, about 2 inches long) and that prompted a dash into the house to get the camera. So here are some other images of the day. Just a few morning glory, and one last day lily. I cut back the spent 'surprise lilies', and here's closeup a shot of a broken off stem. The hostas are coming on, with their big white lily clusters. (also known as Plantain Lilies). A Cicada, and of course, the inevitable bumble bee in the rose of sharon.

 

Rose of Sharon

Surprise Lily in bloom

Lillies for thee

Mid-May Photos by the Yard

 

 

 

 

This group was taken Friday, May 13th, using the Canon pocket camera.

The iris with the spotlight: overexposed in the sun, enhanced with 'edges' spotlight. (Photoscape)