Tag: ironweed

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05/27/2022 home

Stripey plant hoppers are still abundant. Often on ironweed.
Briar observes Shackleton from an enforced respectful distance.
Shackleton does not want to be observed from any distance by a Dog. Gross!!
The Chef has designed and had printed reusable vinyl labels for his brewing endeavors. Art deco cat, maybe?
I think this is a common oak moth, Phoebaria atomaris. It’s on coreopsis flowers. I don’t think I’d seen one in town before, only at home in the woods, so this was pleasing. Correction from Mom: this is Isogona tenuis, the thin-lined owlet. Thanks for the catch, Mom!! Matches the striping much better. Internet says a hackberry tree specialist, and happily I have a little hackberry tree in the backyard I keep trimmed so it won’t get into power lines, but it can still feed our neighbors like this friend.
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05/26/2022

Thursday the 26th.

A winecup from two summers ago came back.
This true bug was relatively long and thin, and is standing on greeneyes. It flew away before I got a better picture.
Bee fly at woodland edge!
I’m hoping this could be inland sea oats that I seeded two years ago. Edit: Abby agrees.
There’s a passionvine label here but this could also be butterfly pea?? We’ll find out!!
Across the fence from mystery seedling is a known passionvine.
Showy milkweed has survived its planting.
I think these are the Mexican sage from Judy.
A small bee on coreopsis.
Mystery grass. I will note here when I hear back from the grass expert! (Then I can check here next year when I forget haha.). Edit: Mom says is the native little barley again. This one is a volunteer so I’m glad it does well here! Doesn’t get taller than the buffalo grass too so it can stay in the “lawn”.
Close up.
A small native legume whose name I’ve forgotten.  There are quite a few growing in the rainbow beds and in the backyard at the edge of the patio.
A lightning bug on a rain barrel.
A leaf miner in the native coral honeysuckle!
I think this dark spot is the larva, visible on underside of leaf.  So tiny!
Overall the coral honeysuckle is beginning to get going.  This one was from Judy!  Thanks Judy!
A wild grape that we dug from the front to make room for strawberries. Joke’s on us because there was root left up front and it’s now taking over the rain barrel stand too.
Another black nightshade. I think their tiny flowers are so pretty.
Elderberry just starting.
I think a mealy bug?  On ironweed stem.
Liatris mucronata from home from last summer.
Dicanthelium grass that came along with Liatris.
A tiny insect on ironweed.
Purple coneflower working its way towards blooming.
A mystery leaf.
The mystery leaf above came along with the transplanted wedge leaf Euphorbia.
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05/18/2022

A male velvet ant foraging on the widow sedum!
Milkvine are sprouting everywhere. Hope it’s a good year for milkweed tussock moths!
Yarrow from home is blooming.
The striped planthoppers are still out on ironweed today.
Greeneyes leaves are fuzzy and my watering spillage shows it off.
Rudbeckia lacinata from Abby is getting tall!
Texas buckeye has added some leaves and seems to be food for someone.
Carolina buckthorn from plant sale doing fine.
Mexican buckeye from plant sale doing fine.
Texas mallows are coming back up! At least three in the shade of the big red oak.
Thistle from home. Mom did a lovely post on these fine flowers recently. They are homes and food for many friends.
Mystery grass that came with the thistle soil. Possibly Canada wild rye. I have been asked to get better photos. Jeanne has kindly identified it as an annual native barley.
The beautyberry has perked up.
False garlic is going to seed! I took one pod across the patio to the “prairie” area and left the other here east of the patio.
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04/23 checking on the backyard

Blackberry has started blooming.
Native currant continues blooming.
Probably non native oxalis that was here already.
Maybe baby Salvia coccinea by the oak.
No idea.
Lyre leaf sage has just started blooming.
Giant ragweed baby (self seeded from last year’s volunteer).
Not sure who this friend is on the other side of dividing fence.
Frostweed is coming back.
The extra Maximilian sunflower we planted seems to be thriving.
A type of Solanaceae, I forget which one, but native. A volunteer.
A pokeweed coming up! Always good for the birds.
The right half of the clump is goldenrod that was already here.  The left half is something non native but I forget what.
The fancy something is going to bloom though I guess. I remember it’s not native anyways. So eventually it will probably go.
New Clematis is surviving.
New from yesterday Cleome (Rocky mountain bee plant) is still alive.
Rattlebox from yesterday settling in fine. Wild onions from home in front.

I’m becoming convinced this is the New Jersey tea I put out last year. Ironweed leaves around it.
Showy evening primroses are starting!
Frog fruit I transferred from prairie area to east of the patio appears to have taken root.
A seedling that probably got transplanted from home. 🤷🤞🤞
I seeded a native lawn mix in this area and I believe this is the buffalo grass.
The other item in the mix was blue grama grass; hopefully this is it.
The fragrant sumac was starting to wilt again so I gave it some water in a pot to leak out slightly slower.
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Survival both short term and long term

The Mexican plum dug from Mom and Dad’s yard last summer is budding! (The metal across it is the flag I have to not lose it.)
The prairie parsley also from home is still alive.
Ditto for the whitlow-wort. It’s an annual, but I hope it will reseed.
The smaller whitlow-wort is growing through its mud.
This is something just sprouting. I have a label nearby that says greeneyes. Mom does this have the right leaves?? I also do have a lot of ironweed in this area.
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Signs of life

Okra one
Okra two
A baby Madhu Ras melon! Excited for cantaloupe season.
A skipper, to be identified.
Three skippers on ironweed! The right two are female (middle) and male (right most) Sachems.
Frogfruit is really taking off!
There were at least two skippers like this so it might be a different individual than the first picture.
Good helper.
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More from today

After their 30 days of cold stratification in the fridge, three butterfly milkweed are sprouting.
Female Sachem skipper on ironweed.
Briar is bored by garden examination. She likes the buffalograss to lay on though.
Bigger view of ironweed.
Briar was warm after the midday walk so I gave her an ice cube.
I pulled some Euphorbia from driveway and have put it in potato bag dirt over cardboard. See if it could work as a ground cover since it seems to be native.
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Assorted non-bee news (mostly)

Roundup is starting to take effect on Bermuda grass. I can’t plant the buffalograss until I get that nasty invader out.
A different bumblebee (or maybe robber fly mimic?? It flew different I thought) came to get water while I watered rainbow garden beds.
Saturday morning dog. She is four years old as of Friday!
Ironweed buds! Looking forward to the purple!
Briar helping me garden on her birthday. Buffalograss corner of prairie is a good laying spot!
I trimmed all the dying dill and cilantro out of the herb bed so I could see what’s going on with parsley, sage, and oregano better.