Back in early August I got a text from my neighbor, asking if I knew what this thing was on her tree:
I haven't been out in the garden too much lately, but as I walked by this bamboo patch I realized something wasn't quite right.
This Green stinkbug nymph is trying to blend in with the red foliage of Hibiscus 'Mahogony Splendor'.
After a very cold start to January, the pond had a thick layer of ice on it. I can't really say how thick it was (at least 6"/15cm), but it lasted for most of the month. It thawed a bit once and got over an inch of rain on it, then another cold snap froze that.
No, I didn't finally get around to cleaning the leaves out of the cactus bed -- it's the Opuntia that was being attacked, not doing the attacking! The attackers looked like this:
Fall is the time for the large insects in the garden: spiders of course, but in my garden mantises are the star attraction. (Carolina mantis, Stagmomantis carolina) Yesterday I photographed a few of them, starting with this odd-colored one in the front garden:
I thought the mantis that lived on the Pachypodium all summer was gone. Turns out he was still in the area...
I scatter dozens of mantis babies every year in my garden, and one of my joys is when they stay put and I get to watch them grow up over the summer.
I was inspired to take macro photos of tiny insect nymphs yesterday. It's been quite a while since I've done this, and I'd forgotten how much fun it is!
Around the St. Louis area, there's not a garden plant that seems as reliable, hardy, even indestructible as Yucca filamentosa. Slowly spreading, tolerating some shade, happily growing in our clay soils, never needing extra water, deer, rabbit, and woodchuck tolerant -- these plants always look good.
My work schedule has shifted somewhat recently, so I'm a bit out of sorts. It feels much like Monday this morning, so I figured I'd just share some recent unconnected photos. (Or are they connected?)
The rose mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpos) next to the walkway has been a bit stick-like for a month or more. Dropping the lower leaves has left it less attractive than it was back in early August:
If you follow me on Instagram you'll know that I saw a nice fat female mantis in the ribbon bush yesterday afternoon. One reason that late summer is so wonderful to me is that it has all of the best insect life (except for baby mantises, which are probably the most fun insects and hatch in June)
I want to talk about a wildflower that is a boon to the late summer/early autumn garden today: Eupatorium serotinum or "Late Boneset". Most people call this a weed, but I think its multitude of small white flowers is beautiful!
Random things from around the garden, starting with milkweed bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus), not yet mature (nymphs):
Cooler temperatures have arrived this week, which means that I actually want to be out in the garden. The perfect time for a closer look at everything, right?
One of the things that I love about having a garden is the amount of tiny wildlife it attracts. I've found so many fascinating and beautiful insects and arachnids out there, sometimes I just have to share.
An appropriate subject presented itself on the window yesterday, as this unidentified bug really fits my mood right now.
Yesterday I showed you what's in bloom in the garden right now, getting up-close and personal with the plants -- something that I haven't done for a while. The result is that I saw some of the inhabitants of the garden...
Do you know what this is? I'm talking about the little squiggles in the bottom of the cup.
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