There are worse things to do early on a Sunday morning than chasing butterflies...I spent a good portion of the morning doing just that after I discovered I was surrounded by a bevy of beautiful flutterbys of all shapes and colors. These gals/guys were not easy to get pictures of so I'll apologize for the poor photo quality. I also have not yet taken the time to properly ID the species...so feel free to vote!
This giant beauty has the most beautiful splash of blue that flashes bright in the sunshine. Her she is perched on some Salvia leucantha 'Santa Barbara'. Below, perched on Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'.
Some beautiful Monarchs and another orange species...the Monarch was huge..couldn't get a good photo of that one...plus another little yellow skipper...
T'was such a lovely day...
Hi Leslie...sounds like a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The photos are beautiful...thanks for posting.
Posted by: Diane | November 06, 2009 at 06:46 AM
Do you grow milkweed for the monarchs? I want to start a milkweed patch, but am not exactly sure how to get it started. Richters carries seeds for a variety called Asclepias syriaca but says nothing about whether or not this is the type monarchs eat. First order of business is to research what the plant looks like. I may already have them in the mix of weeds in my yard and not know it!
I had the caterpillars for the Black Swallowtail Butterfly sharing my parsley and fennel over the summer. I plan to plant way more of it next year now that I know about them.
Posted by: SerenDippity | November 04, 2009 at 06:21 PM