blue in the garden...

I spotted this blue beauty in the garden on Wednesday evening and am confused on it's identity. It is small so looks like a common blue damselfly but all information I read on them say they hold their wings together on their backs and not spread out like a dragonfly.
Information on the common blue and the azure damselflies both say that the males are blue and the females green but this guy was clearing laying eggs, I observed him curving his back-end up under the leaf several times. It wasn't until I downloaded the photos this morning that I saw I actually captured an egg in the upper right hand corner of the next two photos!

Dragonfly or Damselfly...what do you think?
More blues to show you in the form of the 2nd of my three favorite annuals and that would be Victoria Blue Salvia.
I just love these plants and grow them because they attract butterflies and hummingbirds but mostly because they make every other color in the garden "pop". I make sure to mix them everywhere - don't they look great with the lisanthus & snapdragons above & the lily below?
They are wonderful self seeders as well but I still pick up a few packs each spring just to make sure I have some.
While Victoria Blue is one of my top 3 annuals I should mention that I love all salvias. This year I planted a hummingbird garden of them right next to the patio and it definitely does attract the hummers. The photo above shows the tall pink Wendy's Wish (upper left), the tall Black & Blue (upper right), Victoria Blue (lower right) and new to me this year is Hummingbird Forest Fire, the red one in the lower left. I will definitely be adding all of these to my 2012 list as well.

lisanthus...

Lisanthus is one of my 3 favorite annuals and a must have in my gardens each year.
They make great cut flowers though I rarely cut them to bring inside when I spend all my time outdoors.




Posts on my other 2 favorite annuals in the coming days. Have a great day - I am LOVING this cooler weather we are having this week!

garden shots...rib-it!

The last of the lily bulbs I planted this spring are blooming and I especially love this pink one.
The water lilies continue to bloom and while I tried to capture reflection photos of them...
I was overwhelmed by the number of frogs in the pond today.


Jeff has been telling me for weeks that when he mowed lawn he saw large numbers of frogs all over our yard. At that time I had no more than one or so in the pond and gardens. However, this week they have invaded the gardens and our dogs catch their scent and track them all over the place. I now have "trails" of smashed down plants as they patrol sniffing for frogs. Today is cooler and overcast so I imagine the frogs are warmer by the water and I spied about 30 in the pond alone. Some must have hopped through Pine Hollow and Hershey checked it out thoroughly - I think this resting fairy is the only one not knocked over :)
I'm glad its cool today as I know how I'll be spending my afternoon :)

mosaic Monday...my favorite yellows part 2

How thrilled I was to see this beauty in the garden for a few days...an eastern tiger swallowtail.
With many varieties of flowers to choose from it fed only on the imagination verbena.
I was watering the garden the day I shot these photos and after it flew through the sprinkler spray it sunned itself to dry on a datura leaf (with a hydrangea background) allowing for some great wing photos.
Have a wonderful day!

my favorite yellows...part 1

Yellow is a favorite color in the garden these days and I look forward to showing you many more reasons why.
The little warblers like to bathe several times a day and it is such a joy to watch them.

up close and personal...

with a dragonfly!

yellow warblers...

I was surprised to see warblers in the garden this morning...can it be that time of year already?

waterfalls...

I love waterfalls...the sound of roaring water heard way before you see it...the beauty of the falling water...and if you get close enough the mist hitting your face!
This past weekend, Jeff & I celebrated our 35th anniversary by cycling the northwoods of MN. We also made a short trip across the border into Wisconsin to Pattison State Park to view Big Manitou Falls (165 high), and Little Manitou Falls (31 feet high).
We hiked the trails around the big falls and admired the view from all the lookouts...
and then hiked to the little falls where you can admire the view from the top trail or go right down to the water.


Even though the calendar said July 30th - we saw the first of the autumn leaves.
While the thundering waterfalls may have been in WI, our state has some pretty scenic lakes.
Wouldn't it be cool to stay in that cabin on the island?
Have a wonderful week ahead and hopefully a cooler less humid one! It has been miserable here but today is less humid so I will be spending it weeding.