Butterflies and bidens

I've never been a fan of Spanish Needle plants (Bidens Alba) even though it's a Florida native plant that acts as a nectar source for many bees, wasps and butterflies.

A common buckeye butterfly seeking
nectar from a Bidens Alba bloom

My main reason for disliking this member of the Aster family with small daisy-like blooms has always been because of its prolific seeds.  Each thin, pointy, black seed has a barbed end that latches on to any bit of clothing that brushes against it.  Of course, that same quality assures the plant's survival by enabling furry animals and clothed people to spread weed seeds far and wide.

These seed may look harmless enough but wait
until you try picking them off clothing 

However, in recent years my feelings about Bidens Alba have experienced a shift. While I still do my best to avoid contact with the plants so I won't have to waste time handpicking the annoying seeds off my sneakers or pants, I have come to appreciate Bidens as a butterfly magnet.

That change in attitude was reinforced recently when Ralph and I visited the lot at New Smyrna Beach where we'll soon be building a new home.  On the north border of the property I noticed quite a crowd of Common Buckeye and the Great Southern White butterflies fluttering around a narrow band of Spanish Needle plants.

As I stood there taking pictures and a short video, I couldn't help but appreciate what a valuable asset certain pollinator plants can be to the landscape.  I still may not want to walk through a patch of Bidens for fear of winding up covered with hard to remove seeds but, as the butterflies prove, it definitely has a place in the yard of anyone who wants to foster nature.

Want to learn more about Bidens Alba? 

This ubiquitous wildflower has been the subject of several

Simply Living columns

Click here to read more about Spanish Needle and see many other photos of Biden Alba, butterflies, bees and other pollinator plants

30 seconds of breeze, bees & flowers

Bumble bees fly through a strong breeze to sip nectar from orange cosmos flowers in our porch garden.

I call it my 'Let it Be' garden

On the other side of the driveway across from the kitchen window, a four-foot by four-foot patch of ground bursts with life. All day long, bees, butterflies and beneficial wasps zip from one blossom to another in search of nectar. As the insects search for sweetness in the depths of floral throats, they brush sticky pollen, which adheres to their bodies. In the process of feeding, they become inadvertent pollinators.

My 'Let it Be' garden has little order. Whenever an appropriate plant comes along, I grab a trowel, find a space and dig it in. While little thought has gone into the garden arrangement, all plants share one common trait — they must not be fussy. To have a successful 'Let it Be' garden, each plant must thrive on neglect. The only water it gets is from the rain. I rarely weed. The soil was amended with compost and manure before anything was planted but since then, the only addition has been an occasional layer of grass clipping mulch.

Rain is the only water my 'Let it Be' garden gets, except when our grandkids are visiting

Yet, despite such neglect — or maybe because of it — this garden has thrived. The small rooted cutting of African blue basil that my daughter Amber gave me has grown into a sprawling mass of dark blue flower spikes covered with a continuous array of pale pink blossoms. This Florida-friendly plant is a true pollinator magnet. Not only does African blue basil attract a constant stream of nectar-seeking insects, it is also an edible herb that can be used to make pesto or any culinary preparation that calls for basil.

Another plant in my garden is easy-to-grow tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. This prolific bloomer is a nectar source for all butterflies, including monarchs. 

But in scientific communities, controversy hovers over whether this non-native plant is beneficial to monarch populations. Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed plants and when the eggs hatch, caterpillars eat the leaves. 

Queen butterfly caterpillar chewing its way through a tropical milkweed plant

Unlike native milkweeds, tropical milkweed leaves regenerate quickly after defoliation. Critics fear such a ready supply of food upsets monarch butterfly migration patterns, theoretically leading to diminished populations.

In keeping with the garden's theme, my take on the tropical milkweed controversy is to let it be. The orange and yellow flowers of this self-pollinating beauty attract many other butterflies in addition to monarchs. I've seen skippers and zebra longwings, swallowtails, queen butterflies, viceroys, sulphur butterflies and gulf fritillaries all fluttering in and about the tropical milkweed flowers. 

Gray hairstreak butterfly on African blue basil

Bees and beneficial wasps like it too. It is a fast-growing, no-fuss plant to have in a butterfly or wildlife garden.

Pink rain lilies, some dark colored coleuses and a low-growing plant called Asystasia gangetica, are among the basil and milkweed. Asystasia, commonly known as Ganges primrose, Chinese violet and creeping foxglove, was new to me so I had no idea how hardy it was or how well it could handle a very limited amount of human attention. It turns out Asystasia is quite the trooper. It's holding its own beneath taller plants like the tropical milkweed and seems to attract a variety of moths and small skippers.

Hummingbird moth on Ganges primrose

Other cultivars in my 'Let it Be' garden include a volunteer cluster vine, which has climbed up and over a shepherd's pole from which a birdfeeder hangs, and a few millet plants that sprouted from seeds that fell out of the feeder.

A volunteer hairy cluster vine (Jacquemontia tamnifolia) climbs over the shephard's hook

Yesterday I noticed one new addition to the garden. An armadillo has excavated a deep hole beneath the dense cover of the African blue basil plant. My 'Let it Be' garden proves that if you choose the right plants, you can have a productive, wildlife-attracting space without having to do much work. The secret is not really a secret at all. Simply, let it be.

Little things that mean so much...

The things I’m thankful for are little things. A granddaughter’s tight embrace. A stranger’s smile when we pass each other in the grocery aisle. An unexpected letter in the mail with words of appreciation from an adult child.

I get up each morning and am grateful for the day. I’m thankful for dewdrops on pine needles and cobwebs glimmering in the morning light. I’m thankful that my old rowboat still manages to carry me across still water. I’m thankful for each surprise I find along the way.

This morning I chanced upon a soft-shelled turtle while I was rowing through the shallow water along the eastern shoreline. Surprisingly, the turtle, whose flat, gray shell was about the size and shape of a serving platter, didn’t swim away on my approach. Instead, it stayed still, and so did I. We watched each other for a few minutes until it swam off, and I rowed on. For a brief moment before it left, our two worlds overlapped. I’m thankful for that and for the many other times when my encounters with nature have helped me better understand how other beings live.

I don’t do much traveling yet I feel like I span distances every time I look closely at the smallest creatures. The worlds of spiders, snakes, little green tree frogs, anoles, bees, wasps and butterflies are full of fascinating facts and behaviors. I love watching and learning about often-overlooked creatures and I’m glad I take time — make time — to get to know them better.

A few nights ago, I couldn’t sleep, so I got dressed and went outside. It was a moonless night, but the sky was bright with billions of stars. It made me realize how rarely I go outside at night and when I do, how rarely I look up. But the sky — oh, my! — the sky was amazing. I’m thankful that my restlessness led me outside. I’m thankful that I looked up to see such an inspiring sight.

The world can be an incredibly wonderful place. It can also be scary and, at times, unbearable. News of terrorist attacks, environmental changes, loss of wildlife and destruction of plant habitat can have devastating effects on people who care.

A few months ago, I lost a friend to suicide. Although I may never know why she took her life, I know she was a sensitive person who deeply cared about environmental issues. I miss her and wish she was still here.

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, many of us will be thinking about things that make us grateful. Good health, secure work, a safe place to live, food on the table and loved ones to share it with are all big and important reasons for gratitude.

But they’re not the only reasons. There is gratitude to be gleaned from a spider spinning a web or the sun setting over the horizon. There is peace to be had listening to a bird song or wind blowing through the leaves. 

When the woes of the world are too much, nature offers a release. I’m thankful for the little things because they play a big part in putting life’s troubles in perspective.

Bee happy...plant bee balm (far away from other plants)

My spotted bee balm, Monarda punctata, is a hub of activity. Bees and beneficial wasps are constantly flying in and around the plant’s speckled lavender-pink blossoms. The blooming period for this herbaceous perennial also known as horsemint is August through September.

A carpenter bee snuggles up to a spotted bee balm blossom

This is my first year growing spotted bee balm. Last August, my daughter Amber and I found a patch of the Florida native wildflower growing along the shoulder of a bumpy dirt road. We pulled over, uprooted a couple young plants and took them home for our own gardens.

While my intentions were good, my follow-through was not. The plan — it’s so easy to make plans — was to pot up my rescued plant (I kept one and Amber kept the other) in a small container. Once it had recovered from the shock of uprooting, I intended to transplant it directly into the soil.

I had no trouble doing the first part. I potted up the bee balm — it was quite small at the time — and I placed the container in a garden bed next to the garage where several other plants were already growing. However, as the weeks went by, projects kept popping up and I never got around to transplanting bee balm into a permanent spot in the ground.

As it turns out, spotted bee balm is a forgiving plant. Not only is it attractive to bees and pollinating wasps, it’s also tolerant of neglectful gardeners.

That single uprooted seedling is now a behemoth bush despite the fact that its base remains encased in a black plastic pot. 

Recently I attempted to remove the pot but was unable to do so because the plant’s roots had broken through the container’s bottom anchoring it to the ground. My small pot of spotted bee balm has turned into a sprawling shrub about three feet wide and three feet tall. It looks quite at home.

That may be a problem.

Like all other members of the mint family, spotted bee balm is a strong-willed plant that tends to dominate space. Once it puts down roots, it has a way of taking over. That’s why the wise place to plant bee balm far away from other plants.

Unfortunately, my bee balm is not growing all by itself. I unwittingly set it down in a garden bed already occupied by several succulents, bugleweed and a young pineapple, plants I’d like to keep. However, from the way the bee balm is sprawling, it will soon spread over and smother its neighbors unless I intervene.

Spotted bee balm infringing upon space allocated to the succulent Stapelia gigantea 

My plan — here I go again with plans — is to leave the spotted bee balm where it is until it stops blooming at the end of September. At that point, I intend to severely prune its branches before relocating it to a new spot. This time, assuming I follow through on my intentions, I’ll take it out of the pot and place it in a bed of its own where it can sprawl as much as it wants without infringing on any other plants’ space.

I like spotted bee balm because it attracts so many pollinators to the yard. I like that it’s an easy plant to grow, unbothered by pests, tolerant of dry conditions and accepting of poor soil. I like that its flowers are pretty and that it has a fragrant scent. I also like it because it proves a point: If you’re not careful in the garden, a plant may take over and when it does, other plants will suffer. If bee balm can teach me to be better at following through with my intentions, it will be a lesson well learned for gardening and for life in general.

A honey of a find

I was sitting at one of the outside tables in the newly opened Plant Street Market in Winter Garden with my daughter Amber, her two children, and my son Tim when my not-quite-6-year-old grandson Atom spotted something special in a nearby oak tree.

What's special in this tree??

"I see a beehive!" Atom exclaimed.

I turned around to look where he pointed but at first, I didn't see it at all. After a few more seconds of careful looking, I focused in and sure enough, my junior naturalist grandchild was right.  A swarm of bees was buzzing around a large knothole in the oak.

High up in a knothole Atom spotted a swarm of bee!

"Wow, Atom!  What a find," I said.

A closer look at Atom's find

 

He shrugged as if it were no big deal.  But to me, it was. I love knowing my grandchildren are growing up in touch with nature.

Grandma's little naturalist

I'm proud of Atom for being aware of his surroundings, for knowing what a beehive is in the first place and for noticing it at all. Lots of kids wouldn't, but he did.  It make this grandma proud.

  A very short (0:05) video of Atom's find

If you're ever in Winter Garden, check out the Plant Street Market.  It is home to several eateries, a meat market, craft beer house and numerous boutique shops.  A fun and attractive place to visit.  If you go, see if you can find the beehive too.

The newly built and Plant Street Market in Winter Garden sits beneath a canopy of towering oaks, including one that boast a buzzing beehive

A visit to Biosphere

My daughter Amber and I spent some time this morning at Biosphere Nursery in Winter Garden.  We had fun walking around exploring the grounds where butterflies and bees were busy gathering nectar from the broad assortment of flowering vines, bushes, perennials and trees for sale.

Below are a few pictures I took while we were there. Thanks to Amber for helping me out with some of the plant names.  Her memory for such things is far better than mine.

Tiger swallowtail on yellow cestrum

Gulf fritillary on verbena

Eastern Black Swallowtail on Alba biden (Spanish needle)

And another look at the Eastern Black Swallowtail

Bumblebee on Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)

Another Eastern Black Swallowtail on verbena

Blanketflower abuzz with bees

The small patch of blanketflowers (Gaillardia) in the front yard is attracting a large number of bees. I've tried to identify them but my knowledge is limited. I'd appreciate it if those of you with better honed entomology skills would let me know if I've misidentified any of the bees.   

Female green orchid bee with heavily laden pollen baskets on her rear legs

Pollen covered Honey bee

And another honey bee covered with pollen

A male green orchid bee sipping nectar - only the females have hind-leg pollen baskets

No insects buzzing around this flower but I included it anyway because Blanketflowers are even pretty after their yellow-tipped petals have fallen off. 

 

I think this is a Green metallic sweat bee

Below is a short video (0:56) of bees going from one blossom to another, mostly on the Spanish needle blooms (Biden alba) growing alongside the patch of blanketflowers.

Got questions? Get answers at Wings & Wildflowers Festival

Have you ever noticed an unfamiliar bird in your yard and wondered what it was? Maybe you’d like to create a butterfly garden but are unsure what plants to include. Have you always wanted to explore a local waterway but don’t know where to go?

You can find the answers this weekend (Oct. 3-5) during Lake County’s 3rd Annual Wings and Wildflowers Festival based at Venetian Gardens in Leesburg.

Faithful Beauty Moth (Composia fidelissima) on Chicksaw Plum

I always look forward to the festival because it focuses attention on something I value — Lake County’s diverse and bountiful natural wonders. From kayak trips to tram rides, rare plant hikes to scrub jay sightings, there’s a field trip, lecture, outing or adventure to spark the interest of anyone with curiosity about local plants and wildlife.

Florida scrub jay

With more than 100 programs and events to choose from — most free or for a small fee — people of all ages can gain a better understanding of the world outside their door. Pre-registration has been going on for more than a month at the festival website, www.wingsandwildflowers.com, but there’s still time for last-minute festival goers to sign up for a wide range of offerings.

Anyone interested in attracting hummingbirds to their yard might want to check out Naturalist Lavon Silvernell’s free Friday afternoon program, Hummingbird Habitat. Silvernell, who recently retired as director of Trout Lake Nature Center in Eustis, will explain how the right configuration of native plants, water and shelter can draw these diminutive feathered beauties to any patio garden. Her program runs from 2 -3 p.m. at the Venetian Gardens Community Building, 103 E. Dixie Ave., Leesburg.

Hummingbird drinking nectar from Wendy's Wish Salvia

Another free program presented by a local expert is apiarist Billy Fussell’s class, “Beekeeping 101,” which runs from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friday at the community building. Fussell, owner of Bee Fussy Apiary in Leesburg and president of Lake County Beekeepers, is bringing a variety of different honeys from around the region for participants to sample. What a sweet way to learn.

Bee approaching bottlebrush bloom

Although Venetian Gardens in Leesburg is the festival’s home base this year, many of its programs, especially field trips and water adventures, take place at locations throughout the county.

There are still seats available for the a two-hour pontoonboat tour of Lake Dora and the Dora Canal for $27 a person. It is set for 2-4 p.m. Sunday, departing from the Lakeside Inn in Mount Dora. Attendees can ride in comfort while a guide from Premier Boat Tours points out 2,000-year-old cypress trees, herons, ibises, egrets, osprey, alligators, turtles and maybe even a bald eagle or two.

Bald eagle in pine tree overlooking water

For birders in need of a bit of relaxation, head over to the Birds & Beer event from 4-6 p.m. Saturday at the Leesburg Boat Club TikiBar, 31 Dozier Circle, Leesburg. JayMc & The Mountain River Band will provide a free concert of old and new country music, including many original tunes. Mingle with fellow birders while enjoying a cool brew in a shaded waterside setting.

More into butterflies than brewskis? If so, bring the kids to the Florida Scrub-Jay Trail at 11490 Monte Vista Road, Clermont, all day Saturday to observe butterflies in the garden and learn about the cycle of birth from egg to newly hatched Monarch butterfly during Cathy Brown’s continuously running program, “Butterflies are Free.”

Learn how monarch butterflies are tagged at the "Butterflies are Free" presentation

The festival’s website is the place to learn about the three keynote speakers, Birds & Blooms magazine editor Stacy Tornio;

Stacy Tornio

author, botanist, photographer and naturalist Roger L. Hammer,

Roger Hammer

and birder Greg Miller, whose 1998 cross-country quest to view 700 species of birds in a single year is the true story behind the 2011 film “The Big Year.”

Greg Miller

You can also sign up online to save your spot in any of the programs, including meet-and-greets with the keynote speakers and other presenters.

Even if you don’t have time to participate in any of the scheduled events, stop by anyway to check out the vendors and exhibits. Last year, while browsing through the vendor area, I found three new Florida-friendly plants to add to my garden.

One of my Florida-friendly plant finds:  Sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica)

This year, in addition to poking around the plants-for-sale section, I’m looking forward to seeing the ongoing exhibit of nature-inspired art by the Pastel Society of Central Florida.

With so much going on, it may be hard to decide what to do first. My suggestion: Pick one and have fun. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Friendship blooms

I have a new BFF.  In garden-speak, that means Best Flower Friend.

 

Her name is Rudbeckia laciniata, but I like to call her Cutleaf Coneflower.  While my new BFF is a Florida native, she grows just as well in Zone 3 as she does in Zone 9.  During an early August trip to western Mass, flowery displays of Cutleaf Coneflower were ubiquitous in the residential neighborhoods I visited.  Although less common in Central Florida, this member of the Aster shows off her yellow daisy-like flowers in late summer, continuing to paint the landscape with cheery color throughout early fall. 

Related to the more familiar, Black-eyed Susan, one of the main differences between the two perennial plants is their central disc.  In Black-eyed Susan, the petals extend from a dark black circle while in Cutleaf Coneflower the central orb is slightly green, growing darker and more raised as the flower matures.  The greenish tone is responsible for one of Rudbeckia laciniata’s other common names, Green-headed Coneflower. 

The more familiar black-eyed Susan has a much darker central disc than cutleaf coneflower and petals that without a noticeable droop 

However, no matter what you call her, there’s no denying this flower’s impressive height.  Topping out between 3 and 12 feet tall, my lanky friend towers other many of the neighboring blooms.  While not a demanding plant, Cutleaf Coneflower does have her preferences.  She prefers a partially sunny location with enriched, irrigated soil.  In my gardens, I planted this new addition on the southern side of the house in two locations where broad trees and a clump of dwarf bamboo filter some of the sun’s rays. 

For the first few months of our acquaintance, a mound of large, lobed foliage was the only present this plant presented.  As the months went by, the leafy crests grew bigger and broader and I found myself wondering what I’d gotten myself into.  What kind of flower, if any, would this new plant produce?  Admittedly, the foliage was pretty.  But did I really need another non-blooming plant taking up valuable garden real estate?

Before blooms appeared, the only indication of the plant's beauty were large mounds of dark green, lobed leaves 

The answer arrived at the end of July, shortly before I left for New England.  Cutleaf Coneflower was finally ready to show her true colors.  Suddenly, my garden was ablaze with abundant blossoms.  Bright yellow petals emerged atop tall flower stalks and I wasn’t the only one to notice.  Bees, butterflies and even hummingbirds were also paying attention.

Once the plants began blooming, bees buzzed about gathering pollen

 

The other day, in need of a bit of garden therapy, I positioned myself on a plastic chair in a corner of the garden in hopes of catching a wildlife show.  I wasn’t disappointed.  Within moments, I began to see bees.  Lots of bees.  Pollen sacs on the bees’ forelegs grew noticeably fuller as, one after another, the bees derived sustenance from the profuse yellow blooms.  

Gathering pollen from Cutleaf Coneflower blooms may have increased the load for the bees to carry home to their hives but watching so many beneficial insects visit the garden made my load feel lighter. 

I suppose that’s what friends do.  They make us feel better.  Cutleaf Coneflower is generous without being demanding, beautiful without being boastful.  My new BFF may not be human but it doesn’t matter.  I give her a place to grow and flourish and in return, she provides soothing relief from everyday stresses.  It’s a good deal both of us -  I think the bees are happy too.

Bottlebrush tree provides fly-by feast

Our bottlebrush tree (Calistemon viminalis) is flowering again and what a wildlife magnet it is.  All day long butterflies, bees and birds fly in and out of the sticky red blooms to sip nectar and gather pollen.

Gulf fritillary sipping nectar on bottlebrush bloom

Pollen-seeking bee on bottlebrush bloom

A hummingbird rests on a bottlebrush branch in between nectar-gathering trips

Red-on-red  - A male cardinal enjoys the sweet taste of nectar