From the Mighty to the Tiny

The awards have been presented, and . . . drum roll, please . . . the Gold Medal goes to Mighty Oak! Yes, the Gardening Olympics are over, and to my surprise, Mighty Oak received one of the three gold medals handed out. It's truly an overwhelming feeling to stand on the podium with that medal and hear all the cheering from the commenters. Thank you to all of you who supported us. It just shows that you can achieve your dreams if you work hard enough and wait long enough . . . like 100 years. I didn't want to appear too greedy, but I had hoped this might lead to some endorsement contracts. But Mighty Oak is the strong, silent type and feels being paid would diminish the integrity of the Olympics.

I must admit to feeling a bit sheepish after getting this award. Unlike the other competitors who worked hard to grow the perfect tomato or who demonstrated superior form in deadheading or hoeing, I cannot take any credit for this entry. I did not plant him--I may feel rather old some mornings, but I'm not that old. Nor does he ask for any special care; I merely see that his home is free of clutter and add a few bright posies at his feet during the summer. So all the credit goes to him.

Thanks to Idahogardener for sponsoring the Gardening Olympiad. She received many favorable comments and requests to make this a yearly event; if she does, I suspect there will be many more entries next year with the increased publicity. Sadly, Mighty Oak has no plans to compete again; one medal is enough reward, he says. He plans to retire to a farm (no, he's not going to Disneyland!) where he will spend his days peacefully watching the clouds go by and providing shelter for his flocks of birds.

When I finally came down from the clouds and returned to reality after cyber-hopping to Idaho and to the UK to visit VP (more on that below), I discovered that many small creatures have begun to invade my garden--most of them good, but a few I'm not so sure about. The weather here the last week and a half has been beautiful, with comfortable temperatures and no rain. But one morning last week I woke to a heavy fog and spotted this spiderweb hanging from the redbud tree.

The spider must have been off hunting, but his prey was safely imprisoned in gossamer chains. The heavy dew made it possible to see this web from 20 feet away.

After seeing the spiderweb, I thought it would be a good idea to look beyond and underneath the blooms to see what else had come to spend some time in my garden. This green bug was quite attractive, but I wasn't sure whether he was friend or foe.

Upon closer inspection, I discovered some of the leaves of the bleeding heart that he was resting on had been stripped. No doubt he was the culprit; I wasn't going to take any chances, so I promptly dispatched him to bug heaven.

The more I thought about this green insect, I became worried that he might actually be an emerald ash borer. The emerald ash borer is no laughing matter: it has attacked thousands of ash trees throughout the country. There is nothing that can be done to rid the tree of an infestation, so ultimately the tree is destroyed. Arborists and entomologists in Illinois are checking ashes diligently and closely monitoring their migration. If they would come to our area it could mean a huge loss of trees, as the ash has been a popular planting here for some years.

I checked out websites and found that, thankfully, this is not an emerald ash borer. I also checked on "What's That Bug.com" and scrolled through pages and pages of beetles, but could not identify this insect. Any ideas? Perhaps it's not even a beetle.

Another mystery bug was resting on a sweet potato vine. I thought this might be another assassin bug, like the one I pictured in July, but when I compared the two pictures, they looked quite different. I'm not sure what an assassin bug eats--I keep looking for a tiny violin case with a concealed machine gun, but I haven't found one yet:)

Now this guy I can identify...

The cicadas have been out in full force for the last few weeks. I've been keeping the windows open during these cooler nights, and the cicadas have been serenading me to sleep every night.

And, of course, the bees are still busy here. This bumblebee had to be the hugest bumble I've ever seen! They do love that purple salvia. Perhaps one of our resident bee experts, like Cheryl, can tell me if this is a different variety of bumblebee.

On Sunday I noticed a small praying mantis in my zinnias--it looked like a baby, but it had turned brown. I took some close-ups, but unfortunately, I didn't have my glasses on, so they all turned out blurry. But I was much more successful in capturing this larger green one...

You can't tell from the photo, but he was at least two inches long. He's still green, so I am wondering if he is still an adolescent. Again, can you experts help me out here? Praying mantises have to be one of the easiest insects to photograph--they don't move very fast! And they are always welcome in my garden: like the toads and the dragonflies, they eat other insects, so I am always happy to see them. What was amazing, though, as I was positioning my camera for the best shot, I noticed not only this mantis, but others as well in the same plant. I counted 5 in all on this one Russian Sage! Never have I seen more than one praying mantis at a time.

And then in the same plant, there were the "usual suspects" hiding out. I wonder if this grasshopper is responsible for the holes in the leaves in many of my plants.

It's definitely butterfly season here. I have been trying very hard to capture some of them in photos, but it's not easy as I thought, despite Beckie's tips. I'm afraid I don't know the names of many butterflies, including this white one. These are in abundance around the garden here, but very difficult to photograph because they flutter about and stop for only a second on each flower.

The most common colorful butterfly here is this one, whose name I thought I knew but have now forgotten. They will land on the globe of a coneflower and drink and drink--making it much easier to photograph!

I have seen a few Monarchs and a lovely blue and black butterfly, but so far neither of them stay to visit very long. I hope to get pictures of them before the summer is over. But I did manage to capture two beauties, which someone can surely identify for me.

Isn't he a beauty? Not much of a close-up, but I liked the effect of the lavendar flowers of the Russian sage as a backdrop.

And this is some type of swallowtail, isn't it? I almost entered him in the Gardening Olympics--his balancing act on the nepeta has to rate him a 10! I really need to buy a butterfly book so I can identify all these.

Someone recently asked in their post what each of us had learned from the garden this year. I have definitely learned to take the time to notice the small details, including appreciating the insect world. And I've also learned that certain plants are the most popular attractions for the bees and the butterflies. The purple coneflower has always been billed as a butterfly and bee magnet, which has been confirmed this year. But Russian Sage and the perennial salvias are just as popular. What other plants would you recommend?

Note: I want to encourage everyone to visit Vegplotting sometime during the next few weeks. VP has opened her gardens for a virtual tour as a fundraiser for Water Aid, which provides clean water for impoverished areas around the world. The tour is free, though, and certainly worth your time: VP has to be one of the busiest and most knowledgable gardeners I "know," and she has put in a lot of time preparing for this tour. This is a rare chance to see a beautiful English garden and to donate to a worthwhile cause, if you wish. You won't want to miss it!