by Angela Hartley | Aug 10, 2021 | Insects in the Gardens, The Gardens
Early this year, I was very lucky to find a group on Facebook called Katie’s Spring Plant Sale at Stoney Creek Valley Farm (I’ve forgotten if someone invited me–if so thank you). Katie Hutchison College has a farm in Dauphin PA, which is just outside of Harrisburg. Once you turn off the highway, the drive up Stoney Creek is beautiful. If you drive out on a Saturday, you’re likely to see lots of people fishing along the side of the road.
I went to Katie’s farm this spring and got a lot of perennials: butterfly weed, delphinium, penstemon, multiple varieties of mint, Culver’s root, Russian sage, cone flower, black snapdragons (gorgeous annual), and foxglove (bi-annual). Everything has done very well, and the bees particularly love the butterfly weed. No monarchs yet, but I keep watching! Katie kindly gave me some annual poppies that were beyond their prime, and I was able to collect seeds from them a few weeks later. Here are some pics of Katie’s flowers in one of my raised beds.
What’s great about Katie is that she makes you feel welcome, and she is always willing to answer questions. As they say in the south, “She’s good people,” and I enjoy everything about the farm, especially the resident greeter/social coordinator, Waldorf. While I was shooting the butterflies on the tithonia, I felt a familiar sensation on the bottoms of my legs. Sure enough, Waldorf was telling me she was glad to see me, so of course I stopped shooting to give her some rubs.
Best greeter in the world!
The farm is beautiful: huge beds of perennials, annuals, and wild flowers everywhere; an awesome greenhouse; chickens and goats; a feeling of home. It reminds me of my Aunt Marge and Uncle Rich’s farm in Bannerville, PA, where I spent a lot of time as a kid. There is an especially stunning flower bed on the way to the greenhouse, covered in pollinators, and a lovely patch of cleome. Having experienced cleome for the first time this year, I’m now convinced that a large patch is the only way to properly grow it.
I visited the farm again last week for Katie’s summer sale. I purchased cone flowers, foxglove, penstemon, and anise hyssop and made a pollinator corner in the kitchen garden where an old nasty patch of ivy used to be. Thank you to Ben for digging it all out for me! I mentioned to Katie that I was an amateur photographer, and she generously offered to let me come back to take pictures of the flowers and butterflies. She showed me a patch of tithonia that was covered in swallowtails and monarchs. Needless to say, I was thrilled and went back the very next day.
This first set of photos includes all bees, mostly bumble bees, on dahlia, tithonia, and basket flower. I was there early in the morning, and I found some bumbles sleeping in flowers. Some of the carpenter bees were huge; they are gentle giants.
The next set of photos includes all monarchs. I was surprised that most of the butterflies I saw had ragged wings–some quite beaten up. I don’t know why, and I haven’t researched it yet. But although they looked a bit worse for the wear, they were still so beautiful.
In this set, the stalwarts: whites, pearl crescentspots, silver-spotted skippers, and a fiery skipper. You see them here on zinnias, blanket flower, and I believe lavender.
And finally, my favorites (I saved the best for last): the swallowtails. Love them! I hope to raise some from caterpillars again next year when I’ve grown enough parsley and fennel. You see these lovelies here on purple coneflower, zinnia, and tithonia. And a note on tithonia: Monty Don raves about tithonia, but I have never understood the fascination. It just looks like an orange zinnia to me. BUT, after seeing the way the butterflies love it, I will definitely plant some in the wildflower beds next year.
Katie, thank you so much for letting me spend time at your farm. I hope I can come back again sometime!
Please leave a comment and tell me which butterfly is your favorite.
by Angela Hartley | Aug 4, 2021 | Insects in the Gardens, Miscellaneous, The Gardens
When I go to visit Mom and Dad, half of my drive is on highways and half is on back country roads. Today I took my camera because I was hoping to get some photos of the sheep that live on a farm I pass on the drive. The back roads border cornfields, and many times there are patches between the two that are full of “weeds”: Queen Anne’s lace, buttercups, clover, chicory, various grasses, fleabane, and others. If you are interested in ditches and meadows in Pennsylvania, a nice short article can be found here.
Today, the sheep were too far away in the pasture, so I decided to stop at a weed patch to see what I could find.
The weather was beautiful: a sunny, clear 80 degrees, a truly welcome break from the blasting heat and humidity of the entire month of July. I stood for a few moments and looked around. There were many plants I didn’t know, but the patch was covered mostly in clover, Queen Anne’s lace, and chicory, and they were covered in bumble bees.
Bumble bee on chicory.
I also saw Swallowtail and Monarch butterflies, but none came close enough to shoot. I was able to get close to an Eastern Tailed Blue (Everes comyntas), a Pearl Crescentspot (Phyciodes tharos), and Skippers (Silver-spotted Skipper–Epargyreus clarus). I had to look up the Eastern Tailed Blue. You can’t see the tail when the butterfly is in flight, but it is obvious in the photos. They can also be identified by the two orange spots on the bottom of the hind wing right above the tail. The Pearl Crescentspot is one of the most common butterflies in North America.
Eastern Tailed Blue.
Eastern Tailed Blue.
Skipper in flight.
After I finished shooting, I stood again and just looked around. Even though I didn’t get shots of anything as dramatic as a Swallowtail or Monarch, I’m happy I took the time to stop. I was reminded to be grateful for the beauty in the everyday:
“There’s a poem in every flower,
a sonnet in every tree,
a tale in every lifetime
it’s just for you to see…”
From “Beauty in Nature” by Arti Chopra
by Angela Hartley | Jul 30, 2021 | The Gardens
I love when the birds share the garden. I talk to them and quite comically try to mimic their calls. I always call the cat birds “Pretty Bird,” and they often respond. I can tell when they are being inquisitive and when they are pissed that I am near their nests. Early this spring, the farm started to feel more like home when the cat birds appeared, and I have many more here than I did in Maryland, although they are much more standoffish. The cardinals are always “Mama” and “Papa,” and the blue jays are “Jay Jay.”
The cardinals are shy, and it’s hard to get good photos. On the other hand, the house finches have raised 3 clutches this year right outside the kitchen (our primary) door. Although I see blue jays occasionally, they rarely visit the yards and gardens here. I miss them swooping in as soon as I fill the feeders and demanding peanuts if none are to be found. The robins are ubiquitous and to me less than inspiring. One hummingbird (perhaps more?) visits the feeder outside of my office window each day as she makes her rounds through the flower beds and yard. I look forward to seeing her. One winter, I had the amazing opportunity to shoot a flock of cedar waxwings from the inside of the house as they visited the frozen bath for water. They are stunningly beautiful. The woodpeckers will have their own post!
Currently in Pennsylvania we are on a sort of lock down with our feeders. Many birds have been found dead or dying with some disease that has yet to be identified. We’ve been asked to take down all feeders and baths. I have not refilled the feeders, but it’s been so hot, I am reluctant to remove water.
Here is a series I call “The Bath.”
by Angela Hartley | Jul 24, 2021 | Insects in the Gardens, The Gardens
Emerald jumping spider (Paraphidippus aurantius). A few weeks ago, I found one on a lily tree. This week, one was busy in a hosta on the side porch. These are beautiful spiders and I feel fortunate when I come across one in the garden.
