Early June

I never see these little butterflies until I water. And everywhere I water down the mulch, they arrive by 10s and 20s and more, to extract water from the wood chips. They drink from droplets, but more commonly, they unfurl their slender proboscis and send it deep into the mulch.  Ten minutes later, they have all disappeared.  I think they are a type of Hairstreak butterfly.  Worms in my beans and peas - possibly caterpillars for these tiny beauties.

Tiny butterflies flock to the freshly moistened mulch to sip water.

Clary Sage: Blue Monday and Pink Sunday. They are fresh and pretty in the warm sun of late Spring. They will not look so good after the heat of a July Summer Sun. They are both open pollinated. I wonder if they cross-pollinated, and if so, will I see their progeny?  I have enough seed to grow this again next year.  The pink and purple bracts are not the actual flowers.  The actual flowers are small and barely noticeable.  Bumblebees loved these.

 

 I love the garden this time of year.   Everything is new and fresh, and the possibilities are still endless.  The days are warm, but the nights remain mild, with mornings sunny but still with a cool light breeze.  The torrential rains and hot, humid days of Summer have not yet arrived.  And the weeds have not yet rallied and taken over.

This year was a year of trials - I planted a lot of varieties, but not much of anything.  See what survived and thrived, and what limped and wimped out.