Greetings, my fellow port swillers!
Ol’ Robbo found himself able to skip mowing the Port Swiller Manor lawn today owing to the recent bout of dry weather.
With the unexpected extra time on my hands, I not only got through some entries on Mrs. R’s honey-do list, but I also had some time to play around with my new iPhone out in the butterfly garden and try some pics of its denizens.
Most of the 25 to 30 or so butterflies that can be found there at any given time are Papilio glaucus, otherwise known as the eastern tiger swallowtail. I know they’re common as dammit, but I think they’re quite handsome things nonetheless and love to sit out watching them fool about. The ones with blue on their tails are the females.
(Incidentally, a little observation quickly establishes that butterflies do not flit around aimlessly – they are quite capable of extremely sophisticated aerobatics when they want.)
We used to get some monarchs now and again, which seemed mostly attracted to the butterfly weed that I used to grow. I haven’t seen any this year, although this doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t around.
There are also a few other species that I haven’t identified, plus several kinds of moths including a small, white one and also this thing: 
Plus, of course, all the honeybees, bumblebees, various other winged insects and hummingbirds.
It gets rayther crowded in there sometimes.
When I started out with the Port Swiller Manor garden fifteen years ago, I had highly ambitious plans for something carefully and cleverly laid out. It was going to have all kinds of subtle color combinations and a steady flow of blooms from earliest spring right through till the frost.
Well…..the demands of time, energy, money, predation by various varmints and critters, all these factors gradually persuaded me that such vaulting ambition really wasn’t going to work out. So I fell back on what I have now – a Dryad mishmash of Buddleia running rough-shod, some cupflower, a few iris and foxgloves in the shade. It generally reaches its peak in late July, after which the morning-glory starts taking over. Aside from cutting it all back in late winter and doing some weeding early in the growing season, I pretty much leave it to itself. And as I say, it’s full of butterflies and whatnot all summah.
Some day, perhaps, I’ll plot out a few sections to reintroduce some other varieties: butterfly weed, milkweed, coneflower, sunflower and the like.
However, things are good enough for me for now.
UPDATE: I believe that last chap is a silver-spotted skipper and is actually another butterfly, not a moth. The big head threw me.
The Port Stands At Your Elbow 
7 comments
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August 15, 2015 at 9:50 pm
quiltbabe
Milkweeds and monarchs – a match made in heaven. At least for the butterflies. My landlord planted milkweed at the foot of the porch steps, to attract the pretty winged things. Unfortunately, his tenant is allergic to it. I couldn’t sit out on the porch while it was blooming. I could watch the butterflies through the window, though.
They are supposed to like lilac, as well, at least that’s what the info said when I got the bush. One can hope.
August 16, 2015 at 10:37 am
Robbo
Ugh, how frustrating. They seemed to be okay with the butterfly weed, too, although I think it was more of a just-passing-through thing than an actual attraction.
August 17, 2015 at 2:19 pm
Margaret
Butterflies do not flop their wings, moths do.
August 17, 2015 at 2:20 pm
Margaret
I meant fold. Oops.
August 17, 2015 at 10:47 pm
Robbo
Thankee, Margaret, for the info – and the update! For a minute there, I tried to wrap my mind around what flop wings would look like, but couldn’t do it.
August 18, 2015 at 5:24 pm
tubbs
IIRC, foxglove is biennial; have you had much luck with it in the Beltway area? I also remember it doing well in Sussex Co, DE.
I miss it big time here in southern Floradee.
August 18, 2015 at 7:29 pm
Robbo
Tubbs, some are biennial, some are perennial. Depends on the variety. They do very well here and even reseed themselves nicely, although I toss in a packet of fresh seeds every couple years just to keep things lively.