A Special Visitor

Can you believe it's the middle of August already? I'm not ready for summer to end. Fortunately the garden is keeping me entertained. 

I was happy that my camera was handy when I spotted this little visitor.

This website says he's a "Male Green Metalic Sweat Bee"

It was cute watching him hunker down looking for pollen inside this fuzzy, huge
Centaurea rothrockii

Chinese Foxglove (Rehmannia elata) is still blooming.

Passiflora 'Lady Margaret' has two blooms!

My Sweet Peas are still putting out a few blooms. I was surprised to see this bi-colored one.

My Dahlias are looking fine. Except the ones that aren't. Which I won't photograph because it would be pointless. 

Dahlia 'Juanita'

Dahlia 'Junkyard Dog'

A single, tiny Jewels of Opar flower. (Talinum paniculatum)

I'm hoping it will reseed.

Hibiscus moscheutos 'Disco Bell White'

Phygelius x rectus 'Pheeges Passionate Pink'

Rosa 'Rhapsody in Blue'

Here is a few wide shots of the north end of my garden.

I hope you are enjoying your garden too.

Happy Camper!

Yes, that's me. I'm a happy camper because finally, there is a blossom on my Desert Four o'Clock. (Mirabilis multiflora). I've been babying this guy since last year when I purchased from Annie's Annuals. 

Mirabilis multiflora

I first saw Desert Four O'Clock at Dancing Oaks Nursery a few years ago. The blue-green, glaucus foliage is  a nice complement to the ephemeral lavender flowers. 

Mirabilis multiflora at Dancing Oaks

Here you can see that yesterday's flowers are about to wither and die and today's flowers are watching the clock.
At Dancing Oaks.

Here is my plant... growing in a very well-draining, gritty soil. There's hope.
I'm concerned about winter-wet so I think I'll keep it in its container under the patio
for at least one more winter.

This silly 'Dreadlocks' Amaranthus is going to town.

Look at the all of the baby dreads it's growing.

Oenothera kunthiana 'Glowing Magenta'
I'm so glad this lovely little plant's flowers are NOT magenta but instead a perfect pink.

I'm a little obsessed with my Candy Lily (x Pardancanda 'Sangria') Check out these colors. It's just exquisite, isn't it? But I only have one variety. Amy Campion has a bunch of them. Check out her blog post here.  I'm so jealous. 

The flowers last for only one day and then they get all twisted up like this.

Kind of looks like a family of caterpillars,  doesn't it?

I love wildflowers. Last year on a hike, I found Coastal Hedgenettle (Stachys chamissonis) growing all along a creek bed. I took just a few little tiny cuttings. They rooted. And this year those cuttings are a nice plant and that nice plant is blooming! Isn't it pretty? 

I'm sure some people consider this a weed and just in case it decides to take over the garden, I'm keeping it in a container without drain holes to mimic a bog. The plant itself isn't remarkable as you'll see below, but I like it because of the flowers. There are tons more buds.

This Meadow Rue is going gang busters. There are probably two hundred tiny button flowers on this plant. Very difficult to photograph.

Meadow Rue (Thalictrum delavayi 'Hewitt's Double') 

Phlox paniculata 'Bright Eyes'

Monarda didyma 'Balmy Rose' I love this color!

New to me this year, I'm in love with this hardy Lobelia.
I love this color too. Ha ha.

Red Four O'Clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) that wintered over beautifully and just started blooming.

More Four O'Clocks. I've got them all over one part of my garden. I love them.

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Fuji Waterfall'  new to me this year.
I bought it as a tiny cutting from Fry Road Nursery. 

Penstemon 'Enor' I finally found the right place for this beauty.
It needs as much sunshine as you can give it.

Aster 'Monch'  new to me last year.
I really like how well it mingles with other flowers.

I've been so enamored with this little Cyprus Vine for years and decided to grow it this year. It wasn't until the beginning of August that it really starting blooming. 

Cyprus Vine or Ipomoea quamoclit

The hummingbirds love them.

The flowers only last for the morning. 

By early afternoon they're doing this.

Cannas... I love them!

This Canna is called 'Bird of Paradise'.
I haven't seen blooms yet but it's the foliage I go for.

Tiny Wire Vine in a rusty can. Just for fun.

Honeybee on Anemone 'Wild Swan'

Bees on Dahlia 'Junkyard Dog'

Honeybee on Knautia 'Mars Midget'

Honeybee on Garlic Chives, (Allium tuberosum)

It took a bit of searching to get the identity of this little guy.
He is a Gray Hairstreak Butterfly.

And finally, on Saturday evening, all was quiet as I finished my garden puttering. But then I heard noises in the neighbor's yard. I got closer and through the fence, this is what I saw...

She had her mommy and several relatives with her but they moved on while she stayed, posing for my camera. It wasn't easy to capture her through the fence but I took as many photos as I could. And I was happy when I uploaded them and had one keeper. 

Thank you for your sweet comments, my friends.