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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Slightly Tongue-Tied Tuesday


Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on the 'Ava' agastache

It was so humid when I was taking this photo, the camera lens was fogging up. I grow 'Ava' in a giant ceramic pot bought on the cheap from Home Goods since our clay soil doesn't provide the perfect drainage it needs. It overwinters every year. It is also much loved by the hummingbirds. That's it. Shortest post ever! 

66 comments:

  1. The butterfly deserves to be the star of the post - perfect picture, fogged lens or not!

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  2. Beautiful photo. Love the compostion.
    I'm all of a glow at being honoured in your Garden Love section. Thanks so much. Bloggy hugs. Sue

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  3. Short but beautiful ! Interesting new butterfly (for me) on the Agastache, what a beauty.

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    1. I think Swallowtails are native to the southeastern US. If they showed up in Holland, they'd be really lost. :o)

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  4. I wish I could capture such a beautiful picture!! worth a thousand words for sure!

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  5. A lovely photo of a beautiful butterfly.

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  6. Well...it doesn't need to be a long one cause that swallowtail says it all! Gorgeous!!!!

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    1. Mother Nature must have been feeling grand when she designed butterflies because these are fabulous. I have a lot of them in my garden.

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  7. Gorgeous butterfly photo and a container is a great idea for agastache which will not grow where I live either. Might try that next year.

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    1. I have a few agastache that do well in my soil but 'Ava' is so happy in a pot I don't want to move her. They don't need very fertile soil so just amending the potting soil in the spring is enough to keep them happy.

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  8. All I can say is WOW....make that a double WOW WOW!!

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  9. Love the happy accident of the lens steaming up! Gorgeous picture!

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    1. Thanks! It was hotter than a hookers underwear the day I took that shot. So steamy!

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  10. Beautiful (short comment to match the post.

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  11. WOW! So worth the visit!

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    1. I am convinced butterflies make everything better. :o)

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  12. I find Swallowtails are hard to photograph. They never seem to rest in my garden and flit about constantly. Great shot Tammy floggy lens and all.

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    1. This one was so intent on sucking the agastache dry, it didn't seem to mind me taking its picture. :o)

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  13. Most photographers have to do a ton of post-processing to get that effect! Simply beautiful.

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    1. Hooray for heat, humidity, and just getting lucky! Woo-hoo! :o)

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  14. Wow, that is a stunning shot, how ever did you get the butterfly to stay like that? Whenever I try, they never stay still, they're always fluttering about here and there, folding their wings, flying off etc. I bet you used hairspray to set it? Did you use hair spray? What hair-spray did you use? Tell me now!

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    1. Super Glue! Works every time. :o) Actually, I had just fertilized the agastache and either the nectar was delicious or there was just a ton of it, because that swallowtail spent about an hour - I'm not kidding! - going from flower to flower, sucking them all dry. It was crazy! I have a cheap digital camera with an anti-jiggle setting that I used to take a bunch of pictures. This was the best shot of those beautiful wings. It must have been nectar-drunk because I was really close to it and it ignored me.

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  15. Great photo, and a beautiful agastache. So smart of you to figure out where to grow it in your garden. The butterfly thanks you!

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    1. Anything I can't make happy in the ground goes in a pot. If it's still not happy, I trash it. No time for divas!

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  16. You really got a nice pose from that Swallowtail. It is good to see butterflies out your way. We have not been that fortunate. I too have agastache but rarely see much activity on the plant. Lots of bees, but few butterflies.

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    1. I do appreciate cooperative butterflies. :o) The agastache my pollinators like best is Blue Fortune. They go nuts for that plant.

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  17. Swallowtails are beautiful, aren't they? I had a photo of one in a recent post, but sometimes they flit around so much, it's hard to get a decent photo.

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    1. I think this one was nectar-drunk because it was moving fairly slowly. :o)

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  18. Beautiful shot, and your short post is refreshing!

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    1. Thanks! I should probably make all my posts this short. I can be a bit wordy. :o)

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  19. Beautiful photo! I think the fact that your lens was fogging up made the shot even better. :)
    I'm not having very many butterfly visits this year. No Monarch and few of other types...

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    1. Thanks! A lack of butterflies seems to be a theme this year. It must be the weather. I really hope it's not a continuing trend.

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  20. With a gorgeous butterfly, you don't need many words.

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  21. You caught a really great photo of a perfect butterfly.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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  22. Ava? I do not have that. I WANT that! Care to swap some seeds? I'll be saving "Cotton Candy" agastache this Fall if you'd like some. Also Golden Jubilee and Blue Fortune. Lemmee know. My swallowtails frequent my butterfly bushes and don't mind the camera.

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    1. I'll save some seeds this fall. If it appears I've forgotten, shoot me a reminder. It's a big plant. It can grow up to 4 ft tall and wide but is a beauty. It needs lean, well drained soil but loves a weekly shot of organic liquid fertilizer such as kelp or anything from Urban Farm. It's very different than Blue Fortune or Golden Jubilee, which like moister, fertile soil. 'Ava' doesn't want wet feet or she'll die.

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    2. Thanks! As for my Golden Jubilee and Blue Fortune - if Mom Nature doesn't water 'em, they don't get any - same with fert. Ava sounds like it would fit right in. I also have seeds for an unknown white agastache - just as tall as Blue Fortune and same growing habit. Shall I send you seeds for any of these? Send me an e.... Hey, have you seen any Monarchs? I've not seen ANY this year. :-(

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  23. I am so jealous. I have yet to see a tiger swallowtail in my garden. I have three other kinds of swallowtails, but I still think the tiger is the most beautiful. I even have agastache for them. Do you see them every summer or are they rare for your area?
    David/:0)

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    1. I see them everyday. :o)I think this is their native range. I saw a giant swallowtail the other day and see the dark form variety often, too. But I haven't seen as many of the other species such as queens, mourning cloaks, etc, as I normally do.

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  24. What a fantastic photo! Well done.

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  25. Oh, that must be the shortest post I have ever seen from you!!
    But who needs more words when the pictures says a thousand?
    Beautiful!

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    1. Thanks! Do you have swallowtails in the UK? They are huge, amazing butterflies.

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    2. Apparently we do, but I can't say I have seen any in my garden, I probably haven't got the right kind of flowers :-)

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  26. I haven't seen a single tiger swallowtail this year, and just one black swallowtail. Grrr. Not fair. Nice picture, though.

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    1. I think VA is their native habitat. We have tons of them. But the mourning cloaks and several others have been conspicuously absent in the garden this year.

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  27. Beautiful picture. You are right, butterflies seem scarce this year. I keep a large patch of milkweed specially for the Monarchs and this year I have seen 2! (Usually there are a great many).

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    1. Maybe it's too early for monarchs. I usually don't see them until late August or early September. I need to start looking for eggs and caterpillars in my milkweed.

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  28. I love this agastache and its scent maybe as much as the butterfly.

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  29. It may be short, but it's beautiful! Our Swallowtails never, ever, EVER, let me get that close. Gorgeous shot!

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  30. I lost most of my Agastache this summer to all the rain. The few that are still around are butterfly magnets.

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  31. A short but sweet post and the wonderful image says it all. Remember, there's an adage which says that "A picture is worth a thousand words".

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  32. What a beautiful shot. They are all the time flying in my garden, but I could never catch them as they never sit still. The previous post was hilarious :-)

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  33. Beautiful butterfly photo! I have planted agastache twice and lost it both times. Now you inspire me to try a pot!

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