syngoniums – Page 2 – Kihaku-Gato's Garden Blog (tumblr import)

syngoniums:

Purple bindweed (Ipomoea cordatotriloba). It looks very cute here, but given the opportunity it will attempt to smother everything it touches.

syngoniums:

Monarch, crab spider, banded argiope, and morning glory.

syngoniums:

Common oblique syrphid flies (Allograpta obliqua) on the rose Blue For You.

syngoniums:

There’s oxalis sprouting in the window frame…

syngoniums:

Native bees on goldenrod.

syngoniums:

Many, many dahlias.

syngoniums:

In case you haven’t gotten the picture… there’s a LOT of goldeneye out. Vastly more goldeneye than any other flowers right now, and it’s nearly waist-high too. This stuff is hugely important in keeping migrating butterflies going as they pass through this region; as much as we focus on milkweeds, it’s important to remember that no monarch would ever get to Mexico without a diverse variety of fall-blooming wildflowers on the way.

syngoniums:

Crab spider on Blue For You. This rose is such a pretty purple, and gets bluer as the flowers age.

syngoniums:

Walkingstick (Diapheromera?)

syngoniums:

Guayacán (Guaiacum angustifolium). Got some better pics of its growth habit with fruit and ripe seeds. I did collect seeds in my effort to propagate this species. I have two seedlings from seeds gathered last fall, but they’re still pretty small. Slow growth is to be expected of trees with very hard wood (it’s a lignum vitae relative), and this article seems to confirm it’s not just me. Personally, with so many plants to worry about, one that takes its time getting big is welcome. It’s a very underappreciated native and I hope to see it used more in native gardens. It’s also the host plant for the lyside sulphur, one of the butterflies I posted yesterday!