Living in Canada, I am often harassed about the weather. And while I’m not fond of small talking about the weather, I am going to bring it up, if only for a moment. This summer lacked none of the typical harassment I am used to. It wasn’t exactly warm, but you know what? It rained consistently almost every Tuesday even through the usually drought-y August. The temperatures weren’t sweltering for days on end but there were a good number of nice days where I could get out comfortably with a pair of shorts and sandals.
So I’m not going to complain about this summer and I won’t be complaining about the fall. The winter, though, well that’s another story.
While some people will be talking about the summer that wasn’t for many months to come, I will be thinking about the gardens that bloomed floriferously thanks to the rains and the bugs that came to join me in the garden on the sunny days (and sometimes in the house after I absent-mindedly left the door open).
Let’s take a look at a summer of bugs. And some magnificent native wildflowers as well, of course.
Early in the season we were greeted by a myriad of insects visiting the early spring blooming pasque flowers.
In June, the flowers of the Solomon’s seal burst open with their perfect dangling tubes. The native bumbles couldn’t have been happier.
Sometimes bumblebees made it into the house, covered in pollen, and I couldn’t resist taking a photo before returning it to some flower or other.
July saw the emergence of numerous monarch caterpillars. Munching copious amounts of milkweed in my gardens, I was delighted to see them every day. Remember that if you plan to grow milkweed for monarchs, grow the right kind.
Some of these caterpillars I saw later only it seems they had sprouted wings and legs. Strange how that works. This one, which was hanging around the Echinacea, emerged at the very end of August, telling me it will likely be flying south to Mexico in the coming weeks.
And speaking of Echinacea, these ambush bugs seemed to be enjoying the sun together, mating, waiting for prey, or both. They certainly are fascinating creatures and I encourage you to learn more about them. Called ambush bugs because that’s exactly what they do: lay in waiting for the right prey to approach. Then, look out! While you’re at it, why not add a new species of Echinacea to your garden?
In August, the soldier beetles were indeed soldiering on. Enjoying some mid-season Joe-pye weed, they soldier beetle is a hungry predator, seeking aphids, multiple species in their larval stage, and pollen.
And now we’ve come to September when the leaves up here in Ontario will begin to change over the next month or so and the insects will be prepping for the coming cold. Whether their idea of prep work is simply laying eggs and dying, burrowing into the ground, or collecting as much food as possible to stock up, they will, indeed, be working hard.
The asters and goldenrods are a big hit at Wildflower Farm this time of year. For late season colour (and food for the critters), I suggest adding these two species to the garden.
Syrphid flies enjoy the late season flowers and while roaming around the fields here at Wildflower Farm, I couldn’t help but notice just how many of them are out and about.
Sometimes it’s not about the pollen or flowers but more about a rest. I saw three or four of these small dragonflies zipping around (eating other flying insects, no doubt) when one stopped here on this spent black-eyed Susan.
And, of course, we can’t forget about the bumblebee who starts when the first flowers open in the spring, forages throughout the summer, and keeps it up right into the fall when the flowers begin to close up.
It has been a wonderful year in the gardens at Wildflower Farm. It’s not over yet, though, and I can’t wait to see what the next few weeks have in store for us here.
© 2014, Miriam Goldberger. All rights reserved. This article is the property of Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens. We have received many requests to reprint our work. Our policy is that you are free to use a short excerpt which must give proper credit to the author, and must include a link back to the original post on our site. Please use the contact form above if you have any questions.
