Thursday, July 8, 2010

Gardening by the Light of the Moon.... and Chasing Winged Things

Greetings and Holykisses,

Certain flowers bloom at different times of day. Morning glories love... "morning!" Other flowers like Rose of sharon, bloom during the day, and as evening approaches, they begin to close up. But....
My favorite night time flowers are these Angel Trumpets.
If you've never grown them before; the plants get big; more like a bush.
And the flowers are huge! Mine are the traditional white ones although they come in other colors as well. I love the white ones because they stand out in the dark.
Going out in the garden at night when the Angel trumpets are blooming profusely is one of my very favorite things to do. The temperature is cooler at night and I love to sit in a lawn chair, inhaling the sweet fragrance of all the flowers while watching the stars.

And there's another thing I love to do....
Chase hummingbird moths!
I'm not thee only one who loves the angel trumpets. (We actually call them Moonflowers even though there's another flower called Moonflowers.) -- But the hummingbird moths also love the moonflowers.

I'll never forget the very first one I ever saw! They're really big and for the most part, not that afraid of people. They're intent on feeding and go from flower to flower ... dining by moonlight.
They will go all the way down into a big blossom.
And then you can actually cup your hand over the opening and easily catch them. See the edge of the wing? I could have caught this one, but had my camera in my other hand.
We have several places in our yard and the garden with angel trumpets growing. Last night I was skipping from one end of my garden to thee other chasing moths. It's great fun!
The stillness of the night is awesome!
Our garden is thriving right now. We've had rain when many other people have not. There are tons of zinnias, cosmos, bachelor buttons, forget me nots, black eyed susans, and purple coneflowers bloooming. Not long ago, I stopped plucking the morning glory seedlings that spring up and just let them have their way. So about the time when everything else is done blooming; the morning glorys take center stage.
Until then, ... I enjoy the moonflowers. And so do the moths!
They're both incredible!
A gift from God.

We played in the moonlight until Merry Pearl rained on the parade.
Once she discovered the moths; that pretty well ended my little moonlit photo shoot.
She followed me everywhere I went and as soon as those moth wings started fluttering inside a flower she started pouncing on them. Tonight; I don't think we'll invite her!

Just wanted to share our garden with you when Mr. Moon comes out.
Have a wonderful day!
I'm going to go string up all the twinkle lights in the garden today.
I hope you'll visit the shed again soon!
Smoochy holykisses xoxo
L

8 comments:

Sweet Magnolias Farm said...

I'm ready to visit the garden again tonight ..

Oh Lea ..what a Beautiful piece of God's earth you get to live on !

You remind me of Gene Stratton Porter ..Have you read her books ? One of my Favorites is the the Beekeeper ..A Girl of the Limberlost ..She chased moths too ..

If you have'nt read them ..I know you would like them ..

Your garden is beautiful and Merry Pearl ..is such a sweet heart ..

Have the loveliest of lovely days ..

Blessings ..Sara

Yolanda said...

Lea,

There are times that I wished I didn't live in the heat of southern western Kansas so I could enjoy the blessings of a lovely flower garden as well as already be dining from my vegetable garden. Then I think, oh no, I would miss being able to look out across the plains and see for miles and miles. I would also miss being able to witness the turning of the wheat, the harvest of milo and the turning of the alfalfa.

Much love to you this day,
Yolanda

Unknown said...

I've got the true moonflower vine growing so I'm looking forward to that but I'll have to plant some Angel Trumpets next year for sure! Loved the garden tour as always! How long have you lived in that house and how old are your gardens?

Jackie said...

Beautiful photos,(what camera do you use?) and wonderful narative. Thanks for joining me again for a pleasurable coffee break!

Attic Clutter said...

HOLY SmOOCHES (:)
OH love thee Moonflower/moth post..really cool Lea..
hugs,Patty

Sweet Magnolias Farm said...

Lea ...My Mom just found this place and I immediately thought of you ...

http://www.sparrowssong.com/skyrealm/scripturetaglibrary/SSscripturetagLibrary.html

I think you will love it ...we did !!

Hugs ..Sara

Jill said...

These pictures are beautiful! Thanks for sharing, so glad I found your blog. Have a great evening!

Jill

Denise said...

Such a very beautiful, peaceful post sis. I love you.