Gentle garden bumblebees
Bombus. Native Bumblebee. The most wonderful sound in the garden is made by the best of all garden visitors – the “humble” garden bumblebee. Big round bumblebees were a common sight in my youth, and I am grateful to say that
Trustworthy Daylilies
Hemerocallis fulva. Tawny Daylily. If flowers were actors, the familiar orange daylily would be the seasoned, and still keen, member of the troupe who performs steadily on the job, shows up every day to put on the same stellar performance,
Black Swallowtail Butterfly
Papilio polyxenes. Black Swallowtail Butterfly. My neighbour keeps a vegetable garden as well as a flower garden, and she loves growing dill, which is a popular host plant for caterpillar eggs. She lets the dill self-seed along a two-foot strip
Peonies – the Grand Dames of the Garden
Some of us like having old plants in our gardens in the same way that other people like having antique furniture in their homes. Peonies in our gardens are often decades old, and while everyone will protest that that is
Miniature Garden Treasures
While on a trip this past week to Des Moines to visit P.E.O. headquarters (P.E.O. is a philanthropic educational organization), I had some free time to visit the lovely East Village shopping areas in the downtown district. Entering a little
Sensational Cosmos
While some gardeners prefer mainly annuals or all perennials, if you are like me you like to have a mix of both. Perennials are the mainstay of my garden, but I find that the garden looks a little fresher and
Campanula glomerata
Campanula glomerata “superba.” Clustered bellflower. Clustered bellflowers make superb cutting flowers. Mine have been steady bloomers each summer for at least a dozen years, and they have brightened many an early summer bouquet as well as adding a burst of
Dragonfly
Dragonfly. Order: Odonata; Suborder: Epiprocta; Infraorder: Anisoptera Dragonfly. What a great name to assign to these hard working predator insects. Apart from any utilitarian reason for liking dragonflies, they are in their own right simply wonderful to watch. They are
Miniature Gardens at Hamburg’s Miniatur Wunderland
While sightseeing in Hamburg, Germany in winter 2013, we headed over to the warehouse district to visit the amazing Miniatur Wunderland, the miniature transportation world that has to date attracted over nine million visitors. This collection of miniature exhibits features
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio canadensis. Canadian Tiger Swallowtail. Family: Papilionidae. If you take an interest in northern woodland butterflies, you have likely seen the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail before. I, however, was privileged to have my first up-close view of the Tiger Swallowtail while
