GBBD: August 2012
June, July, now August...where did the summer go? Vacations are over, kids are back in school, its stinking hot and the garden is full of weeds. By the time August rolls around the garden has had three
months of 90+ degree weather beating down on it day in and day out and it is
looking rather tired.
But it is not all doom and gloom. This August has been most memorable because we've received almost 7" of rainfall! That is not a typo. Seven inches! And, despite this significant amount of water we are still in severe drought conditions.
So lets look on the bright side, it is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day and time to celebrate some late summer blooms. Be sure to hop, skip and jump over to May Dreams Gardens to participate in the blooming party.
The most prolific bloomers in my garden today are the mushrooms! The heavy rain and warm temperatures created the perfect conditions for mushrooms to sprout.
This time of year, we tend to spend a little less time working in the garden because it just gets too darn hot. But there is still lots of activity going on. These are ideal conditions for butterflies and there is lots of fluttering going on.
But it is not all doom and gloom. This August has been most memorable because we've received almost 7" of rainfall! That is not a typo. Seven inches! And, despite this significant amount of water we are still in severe drought conditions.
So lets look on the bright side, it is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day and time to celebrate some late summer blooms. Be sure to hop, skip and jump over to May Dreams Gardens to participate in the blooming party.
The most prolific bloomers in my garden today are the mushrooms! The heavy rain and warm temperatures created the perfect conditions for mushrooms to sprout.
They are popping up all over the garden.
I find them so fascinating. They come in so many shapes and sizes and often look like something from a Sci-Fi movie.
The butterflies play nice sharing blooms...
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| Eastern Tiger Swallowtails on Buddleia |
patiently wait their turn...
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| Skippers on Zinnia |
And gracefully share with the competition...
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| Tropical Checkered Skipper and bee on Gaillardia |
they even color coordinate for photo ops.
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| Gulf Fritillary on Lantana |
The Encore azaleas are putting out their second round of blooms. Normally we see these blooms in early fall but whose complaining?
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| Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Encore azalea |
The Sedum buds are a favorite place for the tiny anoles to hide out.
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| Autumn Fire Sedum with anole |
The Beautyberry bushes are fruiting. I associate them with fall but mine always appear in August. It is a sign that the next season will be unfolding soon.
Only 38 days until the official start to fall. Are you counting down?
Hi Karin, your butterflies are so colorful unlike in my previous post. And even if you lack the normal blooms the mushrooms are very beautiful alternatives, very well taken too! We also have mushrooms but normally growing ones are a bit dull than those! By the way, i am now more conscious of rainfall, what do you say of 500-600mm per season? We have that now!
ReplyDeleteAre you swimming away yet? Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting!
DeleteI love coming in to view your pictures. Love the butterflies and even the little anole. We have no anole's here and few butterflies this year.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
I have a lot of butterflies in my garden this August. Of course, we have gotten more rain too and therefore have more blooms. I'm sure there is a correlation but I am seeing a record number of swallowtails. I'm thrilled!
DeleteEnjoyed your lighthearted post! Glad to see someone celebrating mushrooms - and am impressed that your butterflies are so good at color coordination!
ReplyDeleteLove all the mushrooms...they are short lived but fascinating to see.
DeleteYour photos of the mushrooms and butterflies are wonderful. Such wonderful detail in the photos.
ReplyDeleteYael from Home Garden Diggers
Thank you for your comment and visiting. I am heading over to your blog now...
DeleteYour photos are always so glorious, Karin. Shouldn't they be in a gardening magazine somewhere? Or, perhaps you have published some...
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Karen! You are so kind!
DeleteI love how you include your small visitors as I enjoy seeing what creatures other areas get compared to mine. I too like fungi and find them interesting if hard to identify...Michelle
ReplyDeleteI would love to become better versed in identifying fungi. Another something on my list of things to learn.
DeleteI like your mushrooms, Karin. We have not seen them in a very long time up here. I really like the Fritillary photo. He looks like he had his own photo shoot!
ReplyDeleteDonna, I hope you will get some rain soon to cheer things up in your garden. I like to see the mushrooms for their interesting forms but also because I think of them as a good sign of a healthy environment in my garden.
DeleteI hate to think of fall starting, because I know winter will be after that. Oh, if it could just be spring all year long! I don't think I've ever seen mushrooms on GBBD, but I can imagine your delight at getting 7" of rain!!!! Your garden must certainly appreciate that!
ReplyDeleteFall is quickly becoming my favorite season. I love the cooler nights but warm days and everything in the garden seems to perk up again. I am looking forward to seeing your winter/snow photos but I know the cold and shorter days are not something to look forward to.
DeleteI have a lot of mushrooms for the first time this year. Enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Patsy for stopping by!
DeleteI don't know where the summer went either. Wow, 7" of rain! The average annual rainfall in Santa Fe is 14". I like the mushrooms. The last one looks like a spaceship.
ReplyDeleteTypically we are lucky if we get any rain in August. So we are celebrating! Our big rainfall months are winter.
DeleteGreat mushroom pictures! Funny there are so many mushroom postings, on FB, and on Pinterest. We (Master Gardeners) just had a speaker program, topic--yup, Mushrooms. Bought some plugs and just got some logs. Soon I will be growing my own.
ReplyDeleteYour butterfly pictures are so sharp, I am in awe!!
How far are you from Edgefield?
That must have been an fascinating speaker! Cool to be growing your own. I am about 3 hours from Edgefield. I am near Gainesville off I-85.
DeleteHe was a great source of information. Lots of fun. I thought you were closer. Have a new MG who lives near Edgefield. You are further north....you are about 2 1/2 hours from me.
DeleteBeautiful photos! So nice to see completely different butterflies than the ones I see on the west coast. I only need to learn to stay still long enough to take their pictures... and why have I never heard of Beautyberry bushes?? I am feeling the need for more purple in my garden!
ReplyDeleteBeautyberries are great! I just added one this year that has white berries. It hasn't fruited yet but will post photos when it does.
DeleteThose are cute little mushrooms... I was expecting little fairies to be peeking out from them. Your blooms are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI like to think there are fairies running about the garden. Too bad they are invisible!
DeleteOh, I love a post about mushrooms--I've noticed a lot popping up here, too. One of these days I'm going to plant a Beautyberry bush. They're gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteMarvelous pictures. Marvelous mushrooms.
ReplyDeleteKarin amazing blooms and critters....we had a similar summer but only a couple of inches of rain...fall is too quickly approaching....
ReplyDeleteKarin. 7". Really! Hard to believe. We got .30 yesterday. Didn't even settle the dust. he he. Your butterflys are beautiful. I actually had two tired Monarchs today, they were fighting with the skippers. Nice post and photos.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness there are 38 days of summer left, although we do need rain and have not seen any since May! Your photos today are delightful.
ReplyDeleteThe prettiest butterflies visit your garden, Karin! I love the shots of the mushrooms. They are such fascinating and mysterious things.
ReplyDeleteKarin, I left a link you might be interested in on GA. Your work is so well done I think you might find it helpful.
ReplyDeleteKarin, the mushroom shots remind me of children's stories. So lucky you had rain, here it's been more than three months and only got three drops with lots of dust. your pics make me miss color so much! I am in for fall, here is like a second spring, they say so we may have lots of flowers soon!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful butterfly captures...I can feel the change to fall, it's subtle, but, definitely here.
ReplyDeleteI saw a drought map of the US the other day and was surprised to see GA still on it. I'm so glad you've had rain. I've already made a huge list of plants that need to be transplanted, etc this fall. Technically, I have a few days of summer left but I'm eager to begin my fall gardening.
ReplyDeleteLove the Callicarpa!
ReplyDeleteThat one mushroom looks like an over cooked marshmallow can I get some graham crackers and chocolate please.
ReplyDeleteI think we had roughly 20 inches more over one 48-hour period last month. You can just imagine my anxiety over root rot, and worse, drowning. Your garden seems to have done well despite both the rain and the drought conditions. I like how you shot each bloom with a critter.
ReplyDelete