Wordless Wednesday - Delightful Sheds

 

 

 

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

Click here
for more WW images from around the world.

~Aerie-el

Wordless Wednesday - Summer Dreams

Remembering warmer weather...

  

 

I pledge that after this long, cold winter I will not complain about the short, hot summer.

Happy (almost) Wordless Wednesday!

Click here to visit more WW posts from around the world.

~Aerie-el

Orchid Fever

 While there are always orchids in the 

Sophia M Sachs Butterfly House conservatory,

there is an abundance of them beginning in October 

for the 'October Owls and Orchids' special event.   

Here are some images of those orchids and the owl butterflies.

Witch Doctor,
perhaps my favorite orchid

Here is an Owl Butterfly on my sleeve;

the picture is blurry because I had to hold my phone at arm's length

in order to get the giant butterfly in view.

Owl Butterfly

Owl Butterfly

Owl Butterfly on path

There were various types of orchids for sale at the gift shop. 

How could I resist trying something a little different?

This (Paph. Supersuk 'Eureka' AM/AOS x Paph Raisin Pie 'Hsinying') x Sib

(registered name is 'Hsinying Alien') bloomed for almost 2 months for me.
One of my friends dubbed it the 'Giraffe' Orchid. 

What do you think: Alien or Giraffe?

For more information about orchids, please visit

the American Orchid Society.

For more images from the Butterfly House, please click:

'Butterfly House, Part One'

and 'Butterfly House, Part Two'.

Thank you for visiting!

~Aerie-el

PNW Late Autumn Visit

After spending some time in the Pacific Northwest this month, I returned to St Louis

where I was greeted by annual plants that had turned to mush.

It was quite a different story in the PNW and I have the images to prove it.

The flowers that weren't eaten by deer modeled ballet poses
in front of the Azara microphylla.

This Azara is on the list of Great Plant Picks, and definitely worth seeking out.

Here is a wider view of the Azara. 

The structure of the plant is open, airy, and delicate, 

yet it has been a sturdy plant in my garden.

The Callicarpa americana is a stunner from autumn until spring,

with its bold purple shimmering berries. 

The blueberry shrubs are showing off their fall colors in the background.

This chocolate cosmos stubbornly refused to be ignored as I walked by.

The Eryngium and California poppy brightened up the scenery on a cloudy day.

As did these red currant berries and foliage.

I spied a sweet little dragonfly resting on the spent iris foliage.

A last walk along the lake to take time to reflect upon my visit.

And then, once again, it was time to fly.

Wishing you a fantastic fall or super spring, in whichever hemisphere you live.

~Aerie-el

Summer Sunflowers and Pollintors

During every phase of their lifespan,

they served a purpose.

The bud of a beauty. The promise of much to come.

Summer sunflowers attracted plenty of pollinators.

Sunny, bright, nourishing flowers.

They are bursts of brightness in the landscape.

They began as volunteers beneath the bird feeders.

As they grew, the stalks were roosts for the birds
as they waited for a turn at the feeders.
Even the squirrels climbed the sturdy stalks,
jumping from them in attempts to land on the feeders.
The flowers attracted pollinators, many at one time.

Then the flowers morphed into seed heads.

The goldfinches and other birds found nourishment in the seed. 

And now the compost bin will benefit from their decomposition.
Life cycles in nature couldn't be simpler, or more complex.

Thank you sunflowers.
Thank you Nature.

~Aerie-el