Australian Adventures ~Trinity Beach Flowers

Happy Anniversary ~ 32 years in this house

It's been 32 years today since I have moved to this house in NJ with Russ.  Back then, I never imagined that I would be gardening here with my sister, planting flowers and also host plants for butterflies.  Here are some recent flower pictures with most from today.

Poppies

Common Mallow

Coneflower

Coneflower

Lantana

Purple Milkweed

Purple Milkweed Closeup

Blanket Flower ~ Arizona Sunrise

Blanket Flower

Swamp Milkweed

Flowers in January

It is surely hard to believe that it is January.  There have been unseasonably warm temperatures the past few months.  For this reason we still had butterflies flying in NJ into January.  I am involved in logging butterflies I see into a South NJ butterfly log.   So far in January there have been sightings of 2 Monarchs, a number of Common Buckeyes, Orange Sulphurs and Clouded Sulphurs.  I saw my last butterfly on Dec 27th and it was a Clouded Sulphur at Cox Hall Creek WMA.  I still have some flowers booming in my yard - several species of Gaillardia planted in spring 2015, some Lantana and Petunia that didn't succumb to the heavy frost we had one night in Dec and Pansies planted in October.  Driving along the roadways I saw Iris blooming  along with early spring flowers.

My gardens -- Butterflies are starting...

This year we have many dragonflies in the yard but few butterflies.  We put out rotted fruit faithfully trying to attract butterflies that nectar on fruit.  It's a barren year with no takers on the fruit except for the Gray Catbirds who love it.  The gardens are doing wonderful due to all of the rain we've had this year. Two of my lantana plants out in front garden has come back for the past 3 years and is just amazing.  In addition we planted a good number of of Dallas Red Lantana that is so vibrant.  There are several great colors of Cosmos and Silvia that should help bring in butterflies.  Here are some the butterflies from today.

Common Buckeye on Dallas Red Lantana

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on  Tall Verbena

Silver-spotted Skipper on Tall Verbena

Summer Azure on Tall Verbena

Sachem on Yellow Blanket Flower

Daffodils

"And then my heart with pleasure fills

And dances with daffodils."

~ William Wordsworth

Happy Easter -Cape May Point

April showers bring May flowers.  Here are some March flowers from Cape May Point taken yesterday.

Gardens at Hereford Lighthouse, North Wildwood

The gardens at Hereford Lighthouse are always so nice each year.  The flowers are chosen well with some natives, some non-natives but all that are beneficial for the butterflies, Bugs and birds.  It's always worth the trip to visit. Flowers below top to bottom are Snap Dragons, Pentas, Shasta Daisy, Summer Sun Rudbecki and Lantana.

Thoughtful Thursday

“One person's weed is another person's wildflower.” 

Susan Wittig Albert

Hereford Lighthouse Gardens

more flower pictures