Swallowtail larva

Found this guy (and one other sibling) munching on my parsley until there was nothing left. So I ran to the grocery store to buy organic parsley, planning to create an indoor habitat. But I came home to find them both gone :(

Blue bee, can't tell from photo

I found this iridescent blue bee sleeping in that yellow tulip. I must have woken it. It crawled onto my hands and chilled for a minute before flying off.

Stroll Through My Garden

It's been almost 100 degrees every day for the past month in Houston.  I don't worry about sunscreen, I just make sure I don't overheat. During the day, I make sure I wear a wide-brimmed hat, drink lots of water, and stay outside for frequent but short periods of time. If you haven't built up your heat tolerance like I have (any marathon runner will tell you it's a mental thing) then try to go outside after 7:30pm. The weather is actually beautiful. In my neighborhood there are people taking walks, riding their bikes, and hanging out with their kids at 7:30 until lights out, around 8:30pm. It's not much, but it's an entire hour of gorgeous weather every summer day in Houston.

Jacaranda Seedlings

Mini Arrangement. Roses Molineux, Earth Song, and Golden Princess. Cosmos Psyche White, and Evolvulus Blue Daze.

Mini Arrangement in a bed of Shasta Daisy Seedlings

Bumble Bee getting his back rubbed full of pollen. Passiflora Incarnata

The result of all the bumble bees playing around in my Passionflowers. These fruit are only 2 weeks old. There's another one that is 4 weeks old and it's the same size. I guess they grow fast in the beginning and stop to mature. Passionfruit are ripe once they begin to wrinkle.

My pumpkin patch. I've been picking pumpkin flowers almost every day for the past 3 months! It's not showing any signs of slowing down. I get a bumper crop of flowers on days that the sprinkler comes on.

A patch of Shasta Daisies: White Knight and Alaska. I sowed seeds last fall, and forgot to thin them. They look great though. I will divide them in the fall and plant them everywhere.

My self watering planters bought at Gardeners.com for my birthday. It's filled with Pro-Mix. I stick cuttings of herbs in here and they start to take over. . I throw down seeds and they come up w/in days. Anything grows here 

Spacemaster Cucumbers from 7 year old seeds. Better late than never.

Uncommon Creatures living in my Garden

I have seen some strange creatures in my life, but after moving to my current house, I see a rare one almost every couple days. I feel their presence is a gift, as if to thank me for not using chemicals in the garden.

This is the prettiest colored "wasp" I've ever seen. I couldn't capture the color correctly, but the body and wings is an iridescent royal blue. I've seen this same wasp several times over the past 2 weeks. I know it's the same because one of her wings is a little "off". She flies funny.

It wasn't until I saw this frog that I realized...I've never seen a frog in person before! I've seen lots of toads, but this guy even felt different....almost magical. I knew there was a giant frog living outside my bedroom window, I was so happy I finally have proof!

Praying Mantis....not a common sight at all. I found it perched on my new Sapote Tree, quietly looking at me as I watered my trees, as if it were studying something.

What is this? A cross between a dragonfly and a lacewing? I've only had one experience with a lacewing years ago. I was walking and decided to open my hands and in flew a lacewing. It was an iridescent seafoam green and it stayed there for awhile before flying off. It felt very friendly, as if just wanting to say "hi".

Now THIS is a special butterfly. A while before, I had rescued an Orange Dog from my dying orange tree, and placed it on my lime tree. (An orange dog is the name of the swallowtail caterpillar, if you've seen one, the name just seems very fitting). The lime tree was in bloom and full of buzzing insects. I said a little prayer for my orange dog to be safe among the bees/wasps, etc. I also thought to myself, wouldn't it be nice if I could see him again once he becomes a butterfly. One day I was out in my garden during a slight drizzle....lifted up a zucchini leaf and got a little startle when I saw bright yellow spots on the ground. I hoped it would stay put while I ran inside the house to grab my camera. I took one pic, but the colors didn't come out so well, so as I fumbled with my camera....he flew away. I knew this was the same caterpillar that I had rescued from before, just don't ask me how I know.

I have also seen a 1 inch bright green frog meditating on top of my Rollinia tree during a rain. I can't wait to see him again for a quick portrait.

I'm also waiting for some hummingbirds to come visit me. Hummingbirds are always special to me.