Tag Archives: Lantana camara (Common lantana)
An August Sunday Album
My grandmother’s mossy front yard held a magical surprise and each summer I was delighted by the appearance of her spider lilies. Finally in 2015 I added some to my own garden and today was the magical day they burst forth into bloom.
Usually there are plentiful zinnias to use indoors butI have left them outside for now, the few zinnias from a second sowing. Finally they are in bloom, six or seven weeks later than normal due to the rabbit “crisis”.
Nearby, asclepias has rebloomed.
There are other small pleasures.
Lantana will continue well into October. On any given day it is a popular gathering place for butterflies and skippers. Today there were six Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, yesterday swallowtails and a couple of monarchs.
The oakleaf hydrangea leaves point toward autumn, as do changes in light and pulsating sounds of cicadas, but mostly there is just a knowing deep inside, an inner sense that fall is near. Every time I stepped outside this past week I felt it.
Wordless Wednesday – A Clear View
Wordless Wednesday – Garden Benefits
July Juncture
Summer has turned the corner in my garden and plants are tired, weary and thirsty. July has been hot and mostly dry. Although we have had a few thunderstorms often dark clouds pass overhead to find a different target than our neighborhood . I have watered selectively, but sometimes even include the coneflowers because they are doing so well this year.
In particular when watering by hand I’m trying to encourage the dahlias as well as my two tomato plants which were planted very late. (I tasted the first two grape tomatoes this week. The German Johnson shows little interest in producing more than just the two still-green specimens that formed early.) The dahlias are not doing as well as last year but a few nice ones show up. It’s so hot they don’t last long.
I am still trying to outwit the rabbits to protect a third sowing of zinnias. Spraying frequently seems to help some but is not a good long-term solution. My neighbor is scouting for rabbit fencing but supplies are out. It seems it will be costly anyway and fairly unattractive. If you have found a good solution to keeping rabbits at bay, we welcome your advice. She and I have white vinyl picket fencing (as dictated by our homeowner’s association) and is open at the bottom. She had installed chicken wire along the base but the rabbits are still slipping inside. One thing left unbothered by rabbits has been this crinum lily. The plant has had three tall shoots so far. Individual blooms are delicate.
This week on Instagram I joined Amy @newgatenarcissi for another #gardenmonthlycollage on for July 2020. There are so any images to choose from for July, but for the collage I found several for which I had made some Waterlogue counterparts.
Left to right: Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) on Lagerstroemia (Crape Myrtle)
Canna With Echinacea (Purple coneflower)
Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)
Bombus (Bumble bee) on Salvia uliginosa ‘Blue Sky’ (Bog sage)
Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’ hummingbirds seem to adore, but unfortunately mine is producing few flowers. (A tip I recently heard on an old Gardeners World episode is the salvia may just be too “happy” and it needs to be moved to where it will be stressed and has to work harder.) I love to hear a hummingbird’s wings as they nectar close by. Other birds we are seeing now are American goldfinches, eastern towhees, nuthatches, cardinals, house finches, chickadees and lots of little brown sparrows, all which frequent the feeder. Mourning doves stop by and lumber around the meditation circle.
Yesterday I saw a new-to-me white moth which I have identified tentatively as White Palpita Moth (Diaphania costata). It flew frequently as I tried to photograph it and it always landed under a leaf, making it challenging to get a clear image.
Cleome has taken over the meditation circle again this summer but it is hard to mind.
Cleome and rudbeckia provide the most color to my garden right now. Both attract lots of bees.
Finally coming into full bloom this month, Lantana draws many pollinators, such as this little skipper.
But where are the butterflies this year? Very few have passed by that I have seen. This one seems to have had a hard life.
That is a look at July so far. 95° F. Be safe.
Swallowtail and Spider
Yesterday (August 15, 2019) I spotted a new garden visitor. This Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) appears tattered and torn as do many of the butterflies I saw this week. (Life ain’t been no bowl of cherries for some of them.) Like so many others it is attracted to the Lantana camara (Common lantana).
The iridescent blue on the top surface of the hindwing makes this butterfly especially lovely.
Here is the Pipevine in action (21 seconds).
The spider mentioned in the title is one of my favorite spiders, Lycoris radiata (Spider Lily). My grandmother grew these near the front foundation of her house and as a young child I was fascinated by the color and form.
The tall stems erupted and shot up overnight Wednesday with red tips showing by yesterday the flowers had opened. I took these images early this morning while rambling through the garden. I wonder if they will last as cut flowers?
Wordless Wednesday—Yellow
In A Vase On Monday—October Surprise
Running late as the week begins I hurriedly join Cathy with In A Vase On Monday, an opportunity to share an arrangement using materials collected from the garden.
A surprise this morning when I went out to search for flower came in the form of pass-along reblooming iris.
Zinnias have fallen and splayed but continue to flower. Swamp sunflower, also blown over but glorious in the morning sunlight, more pass-along dahlias (featured last week) and a stem of Autumn Joy sedum round out this week’s selections. I placed these in a blue, green and white pitcher by a local potter.
Materials
Dahlia sp.
Helianthus angustifolius (Swamp Sunflower)
Hylotelephium telephium ‘Herbstfreude’ (Autumn Joy)
Lantana camara (Common lantana)
Reblooming Iris
Zinnia ‘Cut and Come Again Mix’
Zinnia ‘Burpeeana Giants Mix’
Zinnia elegans ’Cactus Flower Blend’
Thanks to Cathy for hosting and giving us a chance to express our flower arranging passion. Visit her at Rambling In The Garden to discover what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.
In A Vase On Monday—In A Basket
As the week begins I join Cathy with In A Vase On Monday, an opportunity to share an arrangement using materials collected from the garden.
Sunday evening we had rain! Much needed, much appreciated rain. But Sunday afternoon I began today’s vase with the idea of creating a small design using bright multicolored flower clusters of Lantana camara. Given the increasingly dry conditions in the garden for the last six or seven weeks it seemed unlikely much else would be available. But I noticed some Perovskia (Russian Sage) that looked fresh, similarly Verbena bonariensis, and surprisingly, even three Iceberg roses.
I added a few zinnias and marigolds. Soon I had collected not armloads of flowers, but certainly more than expected. It felt bounteous.
Searching around for a container I thought of simply displaying the flowers informally in a basket. The idea stuck and I chose an egg basket I had woven many years ago.
Grouping them into bundles by flower type, I loosely inserted the colorful blooms into the basket, layering them to suggest they had been gathered that way. [I did not use water so after taking photographs, the flowers were unceremoniously placed in a ceramic vase where they should last for much of the week.
Materials
Chrysanthemum
Lantana camara (Common lantana)
Lathyrus latifolius (Perennial Sweet Pea)
Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage)
Rosa ‘Iceberg’
Tagetes (Marigold)
Verbena bonariensis (Tall Verbena)
Zinnia ‘Cut and Come Again Mix’
Zinnia ‘Burpeeana Giants Mix’
Zinnia elegans ’Cactus Flower Blend’
Twin-bottom egg basket, reed and wisteria
It is always such a pleasure to put together a weekly vase and especially I like the rich colors and the spontaneity of this Monday’s display. I took additional photos outdoors in the garden and have included some of them here. If you have time, click to enlarge these images and view as a slideshow.
Thanks to Cathy for hosting and giving us a chance to express our flower arranging passion. Visit her at Rambling In The Garden to discover what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.
Wordless Wednesday—Swallowtail On Lantana
Monarchs Reign
A small number of monarchs usually visit my garden in late October but this year I have been spotting one or two at a time for the past month. They disappeared for a couple of weeks during the long rainy period, then returned with the sun.
For much of today I saw four or five dancing around the large lantana.
There always seemed to be a single monarch sipping nectar from the passalong dahlia by the back steps but the two other dahlias apparently offered no temptation.
A tattered and torn male finally settled atop a seedhead of Monarda didyma (Scarlet Beebalm) for a rest.
The black spot on each hindwing indicates this is a male.
In A Vase On Monday—A Pitcher Of Late Summer
Monday brings the chance to share cut flowers from the garden by joining in Cathy’s weekly challenge In A Vase On Monday. In preparation I gathered flowers Sunday morning. It was a lovely day for enjoying being outside, clear sunny blue skies and 73 degrees F. (23C.).
For some time now I have intended to feature this rudbeckia—Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower)—in a very tall glass vase, as the stems are quite long. But the effect was not as I had imagined. In the end I pared them down and chose a more rustic container.
I loosely combined them with pink and orange zinnias, lantana and cosmos into a matte putty-gray jug to create an informal late summer arrangement.
While the lantana and zinnias are very sturdy, these rudbeckia petals behave just the opposite—flowing and draping and acting all dramatic.
The colors in the lantana, a bright medley of red, orange, yellow, reflect those of all the other flowers in the arrangement. Meanwhile the umbels or flower clusters of the lantana contrast with the composite form of its companions.
Materials
Cosmos
Lantana camara (Common lantana)
Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower)
Zinnia
This should be a long-lasting arrangement, bringing the golden glow of late summer sunshine to the indoors.
Update: The Phalaenopsis orchid blossom used in my vase two weeks ago is still looking fresh.
Thanks to Cathy for hosting this weekly flower addiction. Visit her at Rambling In The Garden to discover what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday and feel free to join in.
In A Vase On Monday—Keep Calm And Garden On
Monday morning is time to join Cathy for In A Vase On Monday, a weekly invitation to fill and share a vase using materials gathered from one’s garden.
My two younger sisters helped me celebrate my birthday last week with some special garden-themed gifts, several of which I incorporated into the setting for today’s vase. One is a refashioned and repurposed silver spoon stamped with the words, “Keep Calm And Garden On,” guidance I appreciate and shall try to follow.
The arrangement sits atop a beautiful batik table runner made by my quilter sister. The colors in the fabric echo those of the today’s flowers as do those in the pretty kitchen towel with diminutive pots of herbs. I had not planned the vase around these items but they make nice companions.
The flowers themselves are a simple summer bouquet of Shasta daisies paired with dark orange and deep pink Zinnias. Multi-branched stems of Lantana camara provide foliage as well as complementary floral accents in pink, orange and gold.
Materials
Lantana camara (Common lantana)
Leucanthemum superbum ‘Alaska’ (Shasta Daisy)
Zinnia
Thank you to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for welcoming everyone to join her in this opportunity to share a vase each week. Please visit her to see what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.
Wordless Wednesday—Evening Dining
Not completely wordless this Wednesday, last evening I spotted a butterfly enjoying newly opened flowers of Lantana camara (Common lantana). The striking pattern and distinct coloring made it easy to identify this as Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta).
The light was low and the Red Admiral jumped around out of range as I approached so it was hard to get a good photograph, but in several images I was excited to see reflections in the fence post.