orchard swallowtail butterfly

Life of a blue Agapanthus flower

Published on January 4, 2023January 4, 2023 by bushboy33 Comments

This is number eleven in my series of following flowers from buds to wilt and beyond. I discovered that I had a different blue Agapanthus flower from all of the others I have in my garden. I also have white Agapanthus flowers and that may be the next life of….

“Agapanthus (Agapanthus spp.) also known as the African Lily or the Lily of the Nile is a fleshy rooted perennial. It is part of the Liliaceae family and is native to Southern Africa.”
* https://www.gardenexpress.com.au/growing-guide/agapanthus-growing-guide/

I took this photo this afternoon, it was a bit hot. They are quite different aren’t they.

Let’s start with the buds. I have a number of bud photos. I should have really thought about presentation but oh well.

All the future flowers tightly wrapped waiting to burst forth.

A trio of the dark blue flower buds

Still snug in their safety wrap

Starting to push forward and into the sunlight

Finally casting the casing aside preparing for all the florets to open – photo in the shade

Finally casting the casing aside preparing for all the florets to open – photo in the afternoon sunshine

The paler blue flowers are falling out of the bud casing

Reaching to the sky to open into the sunlight

While other buds struggle to open and flower fully

What I like about Agapanthus is how their flower buds mature at different times so there always seems that there are Agapanthus flowers in the garden. Look how many are almost ready to open and how many are still uncoloured buds.

Almost fully open. The casing is still attached to a couple of florets.

Finally free to start to become the flowers that they are meant to be

The outside florets open first while the inner buds bathe in sunlight

Gradually the whole umbrel or flower head starts to become full of open florets becoming the flower everyone knows.

Soon the umbrel will be full of open florets

The ones I have (in this series) are so different to the ones I usually know. The petals are getting paler, I think, while the stripes are becoming stronger

I have a number of clumps of Agapanthus throughout the garden. Some are smaller than others. They never seem to flower all at once as I see around town. In one clump this year, probably the best flowering year I have seen in ages, not all of the plants flowered.

Getting in close

There are lots of insects who enjoy the shelter and food the Agapanthus can supply.

These next two photos come from my archives.

An Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly getting right into the flowers

A Blue-faced Honeyeater intently getting to the bottom of the flower

Like everything on this world, the demise is always on the horizon. The mingling of buds, open flowers and withered flowers

I love the various colours as the flowers slowly deteriorate

Some of the flowers just fall to the ground while others drop only their petals.

Some flower heads don’t have many seed pods developing

While others are laden with pods

The next stage is a brown dried spindly ball. I thought I may have had an old photo but can’t find it. So this is where you use your imagination

This is my warm up guitar playing song. The Stones with one of their county best

Also for Cee’s FOTD

Walking Squares #8 – Mowing, trees and butterflies

Published on November 8, 2022 by bushboy20 Comments

Becky’s #WalkingSquares

Todays walk was going to be a walk down through my place. When I got to the track start it was a bit over grown, so it was plan B – get out the mower as the ground and vegetation was dry so a chance of getting bogged or sliding around wouldn’t happen. Of course I did a lot more than just the track and by the time I was inside, it rained.

I am glad it was dry while mowing and I didn’t have to walk home, Let’s walk. Here’s your walking song from one of my favourite bands.

Here is the newly mown track heading down the hill

On the way I saw a pair of Saw Red-backed Fairy Wrens and could hear lots of birds, Satin Bowerbirds, Noisy Friarbirds, Kookaburras, Rufous Whistlers and a “tizz tizz” and there was a young Yellow Thornbill telling the parent birds that I am here and I am hungry.

I went as far as I could and a tree was across the track. This tree had fallen last year and was hung up in a tree in front. I am glad that it as fallen as it was dangerous to try and cut down plus I have a good source of easy to get firewood for next year. As you can see there are still a few dead trees from the fire so more track clean-up will be needed in the future.

Looking through the bush there are still a lot of blackened tree trunks. Most of these are alive just don’t shed their bark.

I did find a flower, a Native Leek Golden Lily. There are more popping up in the paddocks now.

Well it looks like the storm might come back so lets get home.

In the garden on the way back to the house I saw a couple of butterflies flying about. A pair of Orchard Swallowtails were having a mating fly about the garden. The male, at the rear, is one of many that have been flying around the garden for months.

And with that they were off

A few macros

Published on October 6, 2022 by bushboy19 Comments

Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge October: Close Up or Macro

A ferocious Grasshopper defends the garbage bin

An Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly enjoys a sip of nectar

Getting in close to a Firesprite Grevillea flower

WOW – Photo and Word Challenge #1

Published on June 9, 2022 by bushboy29 Comments

Paula’s Words of Wisdom Photo and Word Challenge

“The butterfly is a flying flower, the flower a tethered butterfly.”
Ponce-Denis Écouchard Lebrun Poet (1729 – 1807)

Orchard Swallowtails make my hands shake

Published on April 23, 2022 by bushboy27 Comments

Debbie’s Six Word Saturday

Finding colours

Published on March 10, 2022 by bushboy37 Comments

Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge: Rainbow Colours (More Than 4 Colours)

It’s all a blur

Published on March 8, 2022 by bushboy34 Comments

Ragtag Daily Prompt Tuesday: Chaos

In the garden this week

Published on March 7, 2022 by bushboy37 Comments

Xingfumama’s Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge 2022 Week 9

This is my first contribution to this challenge. I haven’t had much loveliness in my life with the floods and rain over the past week. I have been able to get out into the garden and have found a bit of respite with my camera. Here is a bit of what I have found.

Some insects like a Dragonfly who seemed to follow me in the garden

A poor old Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly on a Pentas flower. She has seen better days. I used this angle so you couldn’t see how ratty her wings were at the rear

A Brown Ringlet Butterfly was resting on a leaf in the brief morning sun

The Wanderer Butterfly preferred the Bauhinia flowers

and not an insect but one of the smallest Honeyeater, a female Scarlet Honeyeater. This is the second mass flowering of the Bottlebrush tree bring so many birds into the garden.