Early September Photos

Although the heat will continue, the subtle changes in the natural world around us let us know that a new season is upon us. The wildflowers in the meadow have given way to the grasses, the beautyberries are almost all purple and the oakleaf hydrangeas are just starting to show a tinge of fall.

An elevated view really shows how the grasses hold the meadow together.

An overview shows the bare spots left by early summer's blanketflower

Some dotted horsemint begins to bloom behind some Elliott's lovegrass.

It's been a few days since we've had any rain so the tropical sage isn't covered with flowers, but a few bright buds still remain. Rosinweed pops up in the background.

A closeup of some tropical sage still flowering nicely.

A closeup of two nice flowers on the top of one Rosinweed.

Rosinweed flowers reach an impressive size. That, combined with their relative height, makes them stand out in the garden.

I think there are several insects that use saliva to stick random plant parts to their back to camouflage themselves. These brown pieces were plucked off a dotted horsemint. This looks like an inchworm but I've seen another type exhibit this same behavior.

Dotted horsemint competes with red-tipped cocoplum for a spot in the front bed. I don't mind crowding these plants because the horsemint will die off for the rest of the year and the cocoplum will then occupy the space.

Creeping through the meadow reveals a flowring ironweed (purple) among the red tropical sage.

The beautyberries are almost completely purple now.

A quick view of the backyard with the recently completed paver patio in the back corner.

The little bog area stays green year round.

The marlberries are doing pretty well. Although this one hasn't filled out too much it certainly has gained some height.

A closeup of the ironweed.

A rosinweed bud thinks about flowering.

I didn't even see the spider in this photo until I looked at it on the computer.

These giant bumble bees are among the many pollinators paying the horsemint a visit.

Another ladybug explores the horsemint.

The purple horsemint stands out against the blue sky.

I'm still not exactly sure what kind of bees/wasps these are, but they LOVE the muhly grass. You can see the beginnings of a purple flower forming here.

A red dragonfly matches the red tropical sage nicely. Muhly grass and horsemint add some interest to the background.

We may not have amazing fall foliage, but if you pay attention, nature will let you know changes are happening. I'll be keeping an eye out for the horsemint and grasses exploding with flowers in the next few months. Unfortunately, the beautyberry leaves will fall eventually, but the brilliant berries will stay through most of the winter.

Late Summer

Haven't had much time to shoot photos lately, but I found a few minutes to browse the yard the other day. I figured I would see a butterfly or two hanging out on the milkweeds and a bee or wasp visiting the horsemint that just recently started flowering. But as I poked around I realized there was a lot going on out there. Although we don't have the fall foliage and other obvious signs of season change, Florida will reveal distinct transitions between the seasons if you are willing to slow down and pay attention.

This Gulf Fritillary was visiting one of the few remaining blanketflowers

A dragonfly rests on a budding tropical sage.

This is one of the most beautiful flowers in the yard. The dotted horsemint is just starting to flower which is always a welcome event.

A handful of rosinweeds have been carrying the meadow now that the blanketflower is mostly spent. Some of them have flowers 4 inches across. The back of the flower is just as interesting as the front in my opinion.

A backlit rosinweed makes a pretty photo.

I love how this photo shows off the superb design of the horsemint flower. This insect (still not good at identifying pollinators) gets its back and wings dusted with pollen while feeding on the fragrant nectar.

The horsemint in the backyard was in the shade and the light was a little more pleasing for a wider shot.

Another species pays a visit.

Not a great photo, but it shows two different insects stopping by.

Another photo with two insects on different flowers.

And yet another species.

In the backyard, the first signs of fall are beginning to appear. In addition to the first horsemint blossoms, late summer means the beautyberry begins the transition to purple.

A closeup of the beautyberries.

Another visitor to the horsemint.

A ladybug traverses a horsemint leaf. That's six different species using one plant just in the photos shown here (only one horsemint blooming in the front yard). And that one plant only has half a dozen flowers on it so far. You should see these things when they are in full bloom. It's like an insect superhighway.

This is a pretty crappy picture, but it's the only one I got of this white-tipped black moth (I think that's the actual common name, not just my generic description) as it landed on a cocoplum.

I decided to investigate the muhly grass since I can always count on them for harboring a few insects. I think I've ID'd this type of spider before, but I'm having trouble remembering. Very cool though.

Not sure if it's because the stalks are so firm, cylindrical or both, but insects seem to enjoy resting on them.

This bee didn't seem to be doing very well, but he was alive.

A tiny dragonfly lands on a stalk.

The firesbush in the front yard was getting out of control, so I whacked it back real hard. It took just a couple weeks to jump back with new vigorous growth.

Finally Buzzing

After a fairly quiet winter, it's nice to see the insects return with Spring. I headed back out today to document some of the visitors. I know nothing about species identification for insects. Part of the reason for photographing them is to force myself to learn. If anyone can ever ID something that I'm not sure of, please share your wisdom in the comments.

A dragonfly rests on a budding blanket flower.

Visiting a different flower.

A bee fruitlessly searches a greeneyes deadhead.

The scarlet milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is not native and some Florida gardeners prefer not to propagate it. But with the lack of availability of the native butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), and my apparent inability to grow it from seed, I'm happy to plant this variety to provide plenty of food for our migrating Monarchs. It's doing a pretty good job at reseeding itself this year.

This guy is built perfectly for extracting the nectar out of these firebush (Hamelia patens) flowers. Thanks to the tear in the flower tube, you can see the proboscis sticking out.

The garberia (Garberia heterophylla or fruiticosa) provides some unique texture and is proving to be quite drought tolerant.

A pollinator visits this unique blanket flower phenotype. Notice the pollen-coated legs.

Another insect displays a large accumulation of pollen.