The big dance has begun with the appearance of coneflowers and daylilies. They are the debutantes in the ball gowns. Bright vibrant colors are their most notable feature. Accompanying them are the gang of pollinators. They travel from bloom to bloom in search of nectar. They do not listen to the current din about high carbohydrate diets. For the butterflies, that is their whole diet. The buzz is becoming noticeable.
The garden tasks now are water and weeds. The debutantes demand water if they are to perform. The weeds are popping up easily now because they are weeds.
As usual, I hope to join the Six On Saturday meme this week. Here is the link
The daylily is the first deb today. It is a rich rusty red color. It shall remain nameless since I have no name tag.
The purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a native deb. Its a rich reddish color is a winner. The pollinators visit this one with great energy.
The bumble bees really love this Stachys sp. It is near the fountain and it is a steady bloomer throughout the late spring and early summer.
The Salvia on the right is also a bee attractor. This ‘Meadow Sage’ type does very well in the dry summer weather that we are about to experience.
Another perennial popular with the pollinators is the Coreopsis grandiflora native. It does get a little messy looking but it can be forgiven because of the bright yellow flowers.
The Rose campion does spread around the garden but the bright cheery flowers make up for its unruly behavior. I may have featured it earlier this year but if so, it deserves an encore performance.
The featured image today will be the glorious Monarch. I visited the butterfly house at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens last week where they were releasing Monarchs. It was a magnificent display.
Hope you enjoyed the ball! Happy Gardening!
