This #amomentinnature has been a long time coming. I have tried to grow turk's cap lilies (Lilium superbum) for several years. My friend has given me several but I wasn't successful in growing them to flowering size. This year it worked; I had 6 stems mature enough to flower.
Then the moles came through! Four of the six stems were cut off, leaving just two. I dumped sharp gravel into the holes, hoping to save the last two. It worked and both of them bloomed this week.
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| Lilium superbum |
As I admired the blooms one afternoon, a single Eastern Tiger swallowtail butterfly floated into the area. I have seen very few of them this year. So. Very. Few. She came over and sampled the lilies and the nearby Phlox paniculata.
I took photos as she went from flower to flower. As I looked at the photos later, I realized I had captured a glimpse of her pollination services.
Her wings collected pollen as she sipped nectar; the pollen was transferred to the next flower as she visited it. What a special moment to witness!
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| Notice the dark pollen on her wing |
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