Irises came out in full force last week. All pictures taken 6/12/19
Iris blooms were not the only pretty things in the yard
False Indigo
Variegated Weigela with purple Japanese Iris
Nine Bark (could be Coppertinal or might be Cetnerglow - I have both)
The rhodies that were damaged so badly this past winter. The one on the right turned out quite beautiful if you could ignore the lack of leaves
The left one still shows a lot of damage, but there are green leaves developing in ht e"dead" areas and the bottom still bloomed very nicely
And last but not least, a butterfly feeding off a rhodie bloom - from the one that was most severely damaged.
UPDATE 11:08 am 6/16/19: Forgot to give you a picture of the garden next to the driveway:
Oh, how well rewarded are the hours you spend working in your yard, Bogie. Beautiful, beautiful. Do you have plants on which the swallowtails lay eggs? (The female black swallowtails like our dill and fennel; but, I don't know what the female tiger swallowtail prefers.) It always confuses me that the female tigers can be yellow OR black - pretty in either version. Your photo seems to show a male?
Who would have thought that your rhododendrons would bloom that abundantly after the freeze damage they suffered?
Posted by: Cop Car | June 16, 2019 at 09:24 AM
The NH Extension says that the bloom buds are much more hardy than the leaves - and I guess this is living proof.
Make sure to look at the Update - I forgot to post a picture.
As far as the Eastern Tiger swallowtail butterfly, I had to do some research. Seems they like to sip nectar from milkweed (Asclepias spp.), phlox (Phlox paniculata), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum), sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis), beebalm (Monarda didyma), and buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.) of which most of those I have in my yard (credit Butterfly website https://butterflywebsite.com/articles/tiger-swallowtails.cfm)
As for egg laying, I have black cherry (I would think that would substitute wild cherry), mountain ash, will (it's still trying to come back and neighbors have other trees they like - plus whatever is in the swamp next door.
Posted by: bogie | June 16, 2019 at 11:21 AM
Shame on you - forgetting your lovely garden by the driveway. Looks great!
You certainly treat your little critters well.
Posted by: Cop Car | June 16, 2019 at 02:34 PM