dragonfly

i wish this guy had landed on a different colored background but i couldn't resist the beauty of the brown in the wings.

goodbye bees

well, the bee swarm was gone the next time i checked on it, maybe two days after i first saw it. i have no idea what happened to them, hopefully someone came and gathered them up and put them somewhere safe. i wonder if this one visiting my larkspur was part of that crowd?

i really never tire of watching the monarch caterpillars munching away at the milkweed, i have yet to discover any chrysallis though--still looking for those.

this iris, that i have had for at least 2 years now is finally blooming. i believe i got it at our folsom native plant society booth but i honestly am not sure.... it's very similar to our native louisiana iris except the leaves are different and the blooms are all clustered down around the bottom of the plant instead of shooting up and out of the leaves. i haven't tried looking it up yet to see what it really is. it was exciting though, to finally see it in bloom.

bees and babies

my husband discovered this bee colony(?) near our neighbor's driveway today while he was mowing the grass. i've never actually seen a whole mass of bees like this out in the open, usually they are in a nest or hive or whatever. very cool. i'm sure some of these must be the same ones that visit my garden.

and here are my babies on the yellow asclepia i recently planted. so cute! they are very small, fingernail cuttings size. thank god for macro settings!

bloom of the dutchman's pipe vine!!

i really don't think many words are necessary.... how cool is this??

a new bud getting ready to open!

tea wrap up

i've been meaning to do this for awhile, wrap up my tea posts now that summer is quickly approaching(at least here down south). i wasn't sure what exactly i would write but i think i'll just go over my favorites from this season and introduce another great brand from chicago.

my sister and i ate at a wonderful cafe/coffee house in chicago. they had an extensive tea selection so i had to try a few. wow--i am so glad i did because a couple of these have become my new all time favorites! this green kimono has replaced my Republic of Tea kiwi/pear as my new favorite green tea. it has a wonderful. light flavor but the sweetness of the pineapple really comes through and the spiciness of the ginger is the perfect balancing flavor. this tea tastes just like it smells--which is unusual, i find in most teas. delicious!!

and this, which i have never been brave enough to even try to pronounce is one of my favorite black teas, although i don't know if i could ever find one that can beat the Vampire chocolate/blood orange i picked up in Boulder. i'm not really sure what makes this so great, maybe the blend of green and black teas. the fruity flavor is perfect--not too sweet and not overpowered by the taste of black tea which can sometimes make fruity tea taste bitter.

and here, my all time favorite couldn't-be-more-decadent-tea. Vampire tea no less!!! who could ask for anything more!! my friend in boulder said she could see my fangs growing when i spotted this one! ha ha. this tea and the german one above are both seasonal varieties so i am really hoping they will be available again someday. i really should have ordered more of this chocolate/blood orange--i am almost out!!

and on a lighter note, i really do love the kiwi pear and the ginger lemon grass. if you LOVE ginger then this is the tea for you. it's actually a nice, light green tea but definitely has that strong kick of ginger, i love it.
so, hot tea drinking season is almost over--i do still drink tea in the morning in summer but not all day like i do in winter. the good thing about summer is that i can make all my not-so-favorite teas into iced tea so it's not wasted. i love making iced tea, you can blend flavors together and use really nice flavored agave sweeteners that really add another level of taste to the tea. you have to try these if you haven't already. i have only been able to find them in places like whole foods and central market, i'm sure other gourmet or green grocery stores will have them too.

random

a random collection of pictures i've taken over the past few days i find interesting...

green anole looking for a mate on our a/c unit... too bad i didn't get the nice pink throat flap in the photo...

walking iris--i love that color combination, so unusual

rain tree frog peeping out of the saucer of a rabbit-foot's fern

i couldn't resist posting more foxglove pictures--they're really prolific

and i really couldn't resist an update of the giant dutchman's pipe!!! i know a bunch of my fellow garden bloggers have these but i've never had the giant variety before so i'm super stoked!!! i still even get excited about the regular size so this is just really crazy. i really didn't expect it to get this big and it's not even open yet!!! i can't wait to see it in it's full, chocolatey, velvety glory!

in bloom part 3

nasturtiums that i grew from seed, i don't think i'm in love with this variety though, i'll have to try a different one next year--or a few different ones. you just can't have too many nasturtiums!

foxglove, i did not grow this but it is one of my very favorite things...

i'll have to go outside and check the tag on this one. i got it in austin and had seen it several times in different gardening magazines--it looks like something right out of a dr. seuss story--i love them, little eyeballs.

i am curious as to what different people call this, i usually refer to it as strawberry begonia

and my yesterday, today and tomorrow. i love these, a great old fashioned plant. i can't wait til it gets big and covers up the ugly electric box on the side of my house!