Sunday, August 22, 2010

Sunday Safari


We went to Powell Gardens
for our safari today.


The butterfly festival was over


but many of the exotic butterflies remained.

It was a pleasure to see a Pipevine Swallowtail.
They are native to my area but I had not seen one this summer.

The vegetable garden area is drawing my attention.
I want to grow more food for the humans in my backyard

yet still keep plenty of nectar plants and host plants
 for the butterflies.


I never mind sharing with the butterflies



as long as I know what to expect.


I miss my zinnias.
Nice to see them in other gardens.


The Hummingbirds at Powell Gardens
pay more attention to the bugs
 than the people.


Lots of dragonflies

and spiders are in the
 late summer gardens.

The big bug sculptures
stay until October.
It was hot but we managed to find shade.
It was fun to walk the gardens.
Happy Sunday Safari.

9 comments:

Randy Emmitt said...

Sherry,
I especially liked the Viceroy and Red-spotted Purple photo. You know last year I saw a hybrid of those two and did not have the camera handy.

Judy said...

Sherry, you see the most interesting butterflies! For my favourite photos in this post - it is a toss-up between the hummingbird with the monarch, and the spiderweb. Before I read the caption, I thought for sure that something was spinning, and you had captured that!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

WOW Sherry. You saw a lot of gorgeous bugs while you were out. You captured the irridesence so well on the butterflies. It was a good weekend for them. That hummer seemed to be sizing up that monarch.

Anonymous said...

What a delightful view for my eyes and my soul! Sherry, each time I visit your blog and see your photos I get wonderful mood till the end of the day - they're so beautiful! I wish I could see at least half of such butterflies alive.

Rose said...

I'm with Judy--I thought the hummingbird and butterfly photo was my favorite until I saw the spiderweb--both are fantastic! I recognize the second butterfly--it's a Julia, isn't it? I've seen these in the butterfly pavilion at the DBG in Phoenix. They're such beautiful butterflies, but then I like them all. I miss having tall zinnias in my garden this year, too, but the butterflies seem to be finding many other flowers to their liking.

Amy said...

Sherry, I was going to ask what kind of camera you use to capture the magic you see, but I think it's much more you than the device you use. I love all of the butterflies and marvel at the diversity. The web, though, is mind boggling!

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Each of these photos is a ready card, Sherry! Fantastic! The picture of the hummingbird and the butterfly, together,is a masterpiece!!!!

Cheryl said...

Dear Sherry, the butterflies are amazing. So colourful. I love to share with the butterflies bees birds, and any other bug that cares to share this space.

The photograph of the spiders web is so very beautiful....the the hummingbird, I can only dream.

I am glad you found shade......my garden is cool.....and the breeze is chill. Harvestmen have arrived, I like them.
Poppi enjoyed their company today........

Juliet said...

I've just read several of your posts in succession, and I'm loving all the butterfly photos. I didn't know they liked tomatoes - we have a couple of split ones and I brought them in and was planning to look for green tomato recipes or see if they ripen on the windowsill - maybe I should put them back out again and see if any butterflies would like them instead.