The Bumbles Are Still Busy

By all reports it is a good year for the monarch butterfly migration, but I haven’t seen any at my house. I did see them at a park down the road, happily feasting on Georgia aster (Symphyotrichum georgianum).  Thank you to Marcia for donating those asters and to Richard for planting and nurturing them. Other folks throughout the Atlanta metro area are reporting sightings and it’s been marvelous to hear about it.

At my house, the tiny white asters (Symphyotrichum dumosum and Symphyotrichum racemosum) are having a very good couple of weeks and, as I stood outside wondering about monarchs, I noticed just how very popular they are with small bumble bees. The flowers on the plants gently moved up and down as bees in a variety of sizes quickly sipped and moved on. The tiniest of the bumble bees are my favorite.

I went inside for the camera, adjusted it for light and upped the shutter speed in order to capture some of them. The plants were covered in tiny blooms, and the bees found them all. As they swiftly moved from flower to flower, most of them seemed to be interested only in nectar. Only a few of them had pollen on their legs. A couple of carpenter bees were there too but they were quite sluggish. A single honey bee wove in and out.

My front bed is a sea of blue mistflower (Conoclinium) and white asters (Symphyotrichum)

A female gathering pollen and nectar

A male wants only nectar

As I drive around town these days, I often see the bright white of these tiny asters peeking out from roadsides. Some are tall, untouched by man or beast. Others have been cut down and they’ve re-sprouted. The flowers can be so dense and the plants numerous enough to be noticed at 45 mph. I pulled over one day this week to look at a large population near an apartment complex. An undeveloped field hosted scores of hairy oldfield aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum), lots of grasses, some bitterweed (Helenium amarum), dogfennel (Eupatorium capillifolium), and the occasional piece of goldenrod (Solidago altissima).

Late season flowers are so important to a wide variety of insects, from migrating monarchs to my tiny bumble bees. Be sure to plan for late season flowers, include them in your garden, and encourage people to leave wild edges in place. It makes a difference.

Here is one of the Monarch butterflies on the Georgia aster at the park that I mentioned in the beginning. These robust plants were protected from deer so they were bigger and more floriferous than any I have seen in the wild (or my garden!). And while I have found that the deer also might munch on the small white asters, those species adapt very well and manage to flower with abundance.

Collateral Damage

The leaves are starting to fall, many of them stressed by the hot temperatures and lack of rain in September this year. I’m not sure that it will be a very colorful fall in my area. As the leaves fall down, so very many of them, I am reminded of this post that I wrote about 5 years ago on another site about being tolerant of insect herbivores (those that eat leaves).

Chewed Franklinia leaves

Things have to eat to survive. When plants are eaten, they don’t always look as good as before they were eaten. Think of a head of leaf lettuce growing in your garden. It is so beautiful there - wavy leaf margins and a blush of burgundy at the tips - until you lop it off to harvest it for your dinner. You weren’t really thinking about how the plant would look after that, were you?

Plants eaten by caterpillars sometimes lose their good looks too. Caterpillars don’t go into the endeavor to make the plant look bad. That’s just collateral damage, a consequence of getting the nutrition they need to reach adulthood and become a beautiful moth or butterfly.


Leaf damage comes in various forms:

• Some caterpillars eat entire leaves; the spicebush swallowtail in my yard modestly consumed one leaf each night, leaving no trace whatsoever of what had been consumed.
• Some caterpillars eat holes in the leaves or just the edges of them, leaving a patchwork of damaged leaves.
• Some caterpillars skeletonize the leaves, leaving a lacy reminder of what was there.
• Others, like fall webworms, smother the branch tips in a tangled web of silk, turning all the leaves to a crispy, brown mess.

An oak sapling with the top growth eaten by caterpillars

For the most part, only a fraction of the plant is affected by caterpillars. The larger the plant, the less noticeable the damage is. A large oak tree, for example, may have damage only on the branches high in the tree. A milkweed perennial, on the other hand, may lose a lot more. Yet both of them are doing exactly the same thing: supporting the larval form of a moth or butterfly.

Sourwood growing new leaves
after caterpillars ate it

After the caterpillar is finished growing up, many plants will sprout new leaves to replace the ones that were eaten. Nature has a way of dealing with the situation. Plants have been living with bugs that eat them for thousands of years.

Are a few chewed leaves so bad? If the infestation seems unbearable, don’t reach for the pesticides. You can pluck some off by hand (wear gloves if they bother you). Another alternative: blast them with a spray from the hose. Some may come back to the plant, but others will get eaten by predators that might not have reached them otherwise (frogs, toads, lizards). Rest assured that when you are not looking, hungry birds will be helping you out by snatching a few.

Everything has to eat and, no matter how many we think they eat, there are always plenty to fall down in the fall. Allowing caterpillars the freedom to eat leaves in our garden demonstrates our willingness to share the table we call Earth.

Georgia’s Coastal Islands: Jekyll Island

I have lived in Georgia for 31 years now but had never traveled to one of Georgia’s barrier islands until now. The Georgia coast is short, but it includes 15 barrier islands (not all of which are easily accessible). In conjunction with a family trip to Florida, we decided recently to visit Jekyll Island. I chose Jekyll because of its numerous bike paths which would allow us to explore the entire length and width of the island easily.

This photo is of a sunrise from the beach. To avoid stepping on the dunes, this was taken from the boardwalk at the Beach Village (there are many convenient boardwalks).

This quote (from this source) is a good one and provides good background on the coast in general:

Georgia does not have a long coastline; it extends roughly one-hundred miles from Tybee Island in the north to Cumberland Island in the south. Georgia’s coast is not a continuous beach where sea suddenly meets dry land, but an irregular, beautiful mixture of rivers, streams, swamps, estuaries, and islands. Another important item to note about Georgia’s coast is that it is not a static place; because of tides - the daily rise and fall of the ocean - the points where the ocean touches the land is constantly changing. At low tide, sea level is down and coastal rivers freely flow out into the ocean. But at high tide the ocean level rises by up to seven feet, pushing seawater inland for distances up to ten miles, sometime more. When this happens the coastal rivers overflow their banks and flood low-lying areas, creating saltwater marshes. These marshes are one of the most important geographical features of the Georgia coast.

The islands off the Georgia coast are called barrier islands because they form a barrier, or wall, blocking ocean waves and wind from directly hitting the mainland. Georgia has fourteen primary barrier islands - from north to south they are Tybee Island, Little Tybee Island, Wassaw Island, Ossabaw Island, St. Catherine’s Island, Blackbeard Island, Sapelo Island, Wolf Island, Little St. Simons Island, Sea Island, St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island, and Cumberland Island (the largest of Georgia’s barrier Islands). Most of Georgia’s barrier islands are protected by the state or federal governments. Some have been reserved as national wildlife refuges and wildernesses, and one - Cumberland Island - is a national seashore.

We were there just inside the off-season so the weather was nice but the island was not very crowded. The island is very easy to get around, accessible by bike paths clearly illustrated on maps. You can also drive, but I imagine parking spaces fill up during the seasonal months. The beaches are very clean; we picked up very little trash in the area between Great Dunes Park and South Dunes. The sand dollars were delightfully abundant, both alive and dead (only pick up dead ones!).

The bike path is unpaved through this Maritime Forest section

Iopomoea imperati and
Heterotheca subaxillaris

Centrosema virginianum and Serenoa repens

We visited the beach at sunrise and found wide dunes with sea oats (Uniola paniculata), beach morning glory (Ipomoea imperati), and small shrubby things. Further back from the dunes was a good mix of plants, with blooming plants like camphorweed (Heterotheca subaxillaris), Spanish needles (Bidens alba), and spurred butterfly pea (Centrosema virginianum) attracting the very abundant Gulf Fritillary butterfly. In less developed areas, the areas beyond the dunes had more woody plants like cabbage palms (Sabal palmetto) and tangles of shrubs and vines. Messy as these areas can be, they are important protection zones from extreme weather.

My husband captioned this: "Put a bird on it!"

An Eastern redcedar leans over a tidal marsh near Driftwood beach (there was a gator in the water)

Outside of the beach, the bike paths went through the other habitats such as maritime live oak forest, freshwater wetlands, and tidal marshes (several of which still had a healthy population of mosquitoes so stops were quick!). Many of the paths have informative signage about the environment and what it supports. I will preface the remainder of the blog by saying I only saw a fraction of what is there. I was not prepared for long stops with extensive exploration. What I did see convinced me that Jekyll contains great amounts of natural areas, rich with a diversity of native plants. Online resources for identifying plants on Jekyll include iNaturalist and Save Jekyll Island.

The Plantation Oak (Quercus virginiana), 375+ years old; considered the largest

There was one particular tree that I sought out. The Plantation Oak on Jekyll is famous for being old and large. It is a live oak (Quercus virginiana) that is located in the historic district next to Crane Cottage, near Faith Chapel. Information on the internet is a bit vague on where it is so I am determined to be specific here! I originally found a large tree next to a small airport, but that was not it. We finally got directions to the Plantation Oak from a friendly employee at the nearby Jekyll Island Club Hotel; the tree is marked with a plaque.

It's amazing how much of this tree is intact given how long it's been here

We visited Driftwood Beach, which more known for what is dead than what is living: erosion has caused trees like live oaks and pines (probably also some junipers and palms) to die and remain in place. Some of the trees appear very close to the water, a testament to the ability of their roots to hold on even in death. This is a fantastic place for sunrise photos as well as good morning light in the adjacent wetlands.

Some of the most abundant plants included live oak (Quercus virginiana), Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana), cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto), saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), wild grapes (Vitis rotundifolia and 5 other species of grape), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria), wax myrtle (Morella cerifera), one of the bays (Persea sp.), groundsel bush (Baccharis halimifolia), and many, many grasses, sedges, rushes, and cordgrass (Spartina sp.), etc. I was also excited to find Hercules club (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis) in the wild for the first time. In general, many of the aforementioned plants were loaded with fruit, no doubt making this island a good stop for some migrating birds.

The juicy fruits of tough bully (Sideroxylon tenax) were beautiful

I found a monarch butterfly enjoying Bidens alba

Landscaped areas on the island used a fair number of native plants include the coontie palm (Zamia pumila), mulhy grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris), wax myrtle, yaupon holly, Walter's viburnum (Viburnum obovatum), and plenty of live oaks and cabbage palms. Several pavilions also used dune sunflower (Helianthus debilis). While non-native plants are also used, it was nice to see such a good mix of native ones included.

Do consider visiting one of Georgia's beautiful and important barrier islands. They have some beautiful beaches, marshes, birds, and native plants!

Map of Islands (source) 

Beyond the Garden

I love having native plants in my garden. Every moment that I can do so finds me slipping into the garden to find a beautiful flower, a hummingbird sipping on cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), an insect collecting food (or prey), and to listen to the sweet song of birds. As much as I love bringing these plants into my garden, I know there is a very important place for them to be as well.

Liatris spicata in South Georgia

Native plants need to be in their ecosystem. Great sections of woodlands, mountains, seashores, prairies, and every kind of natural ecosystem need to be preserved and conserved because their communities are so much more than just the plants.  Acres and acres turning into miles and miles of preserved land, the scope of what we need is as vast as it is varied.

A plant doesn’t live in isolation. Botanists and volunteers perform site surveys that measure the quantity and type of plants found within a measured plot as little as a square meter. Virgin areas can yield counts in the dozens – all different species. Compare that to your average yard where you have a tree circled by mulch and some non-native turf.

Rich biodiversity of plant species supports a robust and varied insect population. A healthy insect population balances itself (some insects keeping others in check) while also attracting and supporting more birds than suburban gardens could do alone.

Home of shoals spider lilies (Hymenocallis coronaria) in Middle Georgia

Conservation can also have other benefits (although what is better than helping our fellow earthlings survive and thrive) as well. Birding and other activities like fishing and hiking bring in big tourism dollars.

When The Nature Conservancy purchased the South Cape May Meadows Preserve in southern New Jersey in 1981, the goal was to protect an important natural system for birds migrating along the Atlantic Flyway. In a pleasant surprise, it turned out that protecting and restoring the habitat for birds also expanded local tourism revenues and reduced costs from storm damage.

By improving habitat and making the preserve more accessible, the restoration attracted many birders who would not otherwise have visited the county and played a key role in over $200 million in per year in new spending. Source

Here you can see that the benefit to protecting the shoreline from storms and erosion is another benefit. Protecting plants, insects, birds  - all while improving the local economy and preventing erosion! Who knew that nature could be so good for us?

A waterfall in North Georgia

The health benefits of being outdoors observing nature are being documented more strongly every day. There is special concern about how little time that children spend outdoors and what that means not only to their health but to their connection to the natural environment.

Land conservation allows more space to be available, often in expansive state and national parks, allowing citizens of all means to enjoy beautiful landscapes for a small entrance fee. Our first national park was designated in 1872. Georgia State Parks started in 1931 with Indian Springs State Park and Vogel State Park. It was the automobile that got people interested in going places like parks.

How can the ordinary citizen help protect more land? Here are a few ideas:

• Visit conserved places (state and national parks as well as private holdings) to show that you value what has been set aside. Your visit and your tourism dollars both support efforts to conserve habitat.
• Volunteer your time and efforts to help keep these areas clear of invasive plants or repair benches and walkways. Not sure if there are regular workdays? Just ask!
• Support legislative efforts to fund land purchases for conservation and become involved in efforts to lobby for more conservation.
• Teach others about the importance of conservation. That teenager that you spent time with exploring the natural world might become a future  botanist and make an important discovery.
• Money - your donations to conservation organizations large and small can make a difference in funding a staff member or buying land.

So while I love incorporating local native plants into my garden and I will absolutely continue to encourage others  to do so as well – let’s all take some time and some energy to support the efforts that conserve and preserve these wonderful plants in the plants where they were born.

Okefenokee view, South Georgia

Yellow and Blue Rings True

Bidens/Conoclinium

Yellow and blue flower combinations are some of the most appealing and at no time is that more apparent in the native wildflower world than in late summer and early fall. I find myself compelled to take pictures when I find them together - if only to capture some of that magic for another day.

I’d like to share some of the combinations that I’ve found, over the years and including this week. In some cases the combination was artfully planned. In other cases the combination was serendipity or nature’s own masterful hand.

The photo to the left is a bit of both: this is the annual bearded beggarticks (Bidens aristosa) which I wrote about several weeks ago. I planted it here and the blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) was already there, but I didn't plan for this combination exactly (in my yard, I don't plan for much!).

Liatris pilosa/Solidago nemoralis

Lobelia puberula/Solidago altissima

Consider yellows like the fall composites: sunflower relatives (Helianthus), goldenrods (Solidago), and the Rudbeckia species. Your palette of blues for the fall include blue colored Lobelia species, asters (Symphyotrichum and Eurybia), blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), and blazingstars (Liatris). 

Stone Mountain daisy (Helianthus porteri) with Conoclinium coelestinum

Georgia aster (Symphyotrichum georgianum) with Helianthus porteri

And if you want a real treat, throw in a red flower and you reach the pinnacle of color combos as far as I’m concerned: red, yellow and blue. Nature arranged for a spectacular one in my yard this year with red cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), blue mistflower, and the annual bearded beggarticks (Bidens aristosa).

Bidens aristosa, Conoclinium coelestinum and Lobelia cardinalis

Now is a good time to take note of what fall flower combinations you would like to see next year. Replicate those as you decide what to add or rearrange for next year. When it comes to planning, there's no time like the present!

Blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) and orange coneflower
(Rudbeckia fulgida var. fulgida)

Step Outside

Those of us who nurture our small plot of land see the rewards of our efforts in the daily visits of birds and butterflies. I see the birds flying by and hear their calls right through the windows. I know they are finding sustenance and shelter in my yard. I can see the butterflies floating through the air, even as I sit inside and participate in conference calls for work.

Handsome trig cricket

I’m amazed, however, at some of the truly unique things I see on chance moments outside. A walk to the mailbox or a moment to water a thirsty plant can be very special because occasionally these quick moments outside allow me to discover things that I probably would have missed – a moment of serendipity, if you will.

This summer I’ve discovered several unusual bugs, species that are new to me after 16 years in this garden. Have they been here all along? Or have my garden practices (planting native plants, leaving fallen leaves/logs/sticks, eschewing pesticides) helped to bring them in?

The first discovery in late June was a spider-eating wasp; this fierce lady was carefully dragging a large, paralyzed spider to her nest to feed her babies. I noticed the flicker of movement as I rounded the side of the house to get something.

Wasp spider carrying her groceries

In mid-July, I was photographing bees on my mountain mint (Pycnanthemum) when I spotted what appeared to be a large mosquito. As you may remember from my earlier post, it turned out to be an elephant mosquito, one of the good guys! I have seen it once again, when I was counting pollinators in mid-August.

The third discovery was the handsome trig, a cricket of elegant attire to be sure. This picture is not my best but unfortunately I have not seen him since to try for a better one. I found him next to my 'casual brush pile' next to the driveway in early August. He is also known as the red-headed bush cricket.

In mid-August, a moth on my boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) turned out to be the boneset borer moth. It was new to me, and if my boneset dies over the winter then its larvae may be to blame.

Boneset borer moth ... on boneset (Eupatorium)

A mating pair of Carolina mantids

September brought a male Carolina mantis to mate with the young female that had been living in the potted plants on my deck. Although he – and another male waiting nearby – stayed there for the act for several hours, I would not have seen them if I hadn’t gone outside that day. By the way, there was no evidence that she ate either one afterwards; she was happily munching on a small bee the next morning.

Geotrupes dung beetle

An upside down beetle in my garage the same day turned out to be a type of dung beetle. It was a gorgeous shade of green with blue undersides. This is the second type of dung beetle I’ve found in my yard (the first one not being seen again) and will be added to the list of beetles that I’ve seen only once: the carrion beetle, the tortoise beetle, the tiger beetle.

Step outside for just a moment, especially in your own yard, and see what shows up. I think that the more native plants you use, the more natural materials you leave in place, and the fewer pesticides that you use will all help to bring you more of the unique things in nature. If you have a diverse mix of areas, sun/shade and wet/dry, the diversity of what you can see increases even more. Nature awaits!

Biding My Time Brings Flowers Again

Bidens aristosa

I have a pretty yellow flower blooming in my garden this week: bearded beggarticks (Bidens aristosa). It is an annual member of the Asteraceae family that can grow to be as large as a shrub, covered in late summer with soft yellow flowers adored by bees. Another common name is tickseed sunflower, and while it resembles sunflowers (Helianthus), the foliage is quite different; the leaves are heavily lobed and soft to the touch.

I have loved this flower for years but haven’t grown it in a long time. This year’s flower came to me by way of a friend who knew that I liked it, but the story is more interesting than that. I moved to Georgia 31 years ago. Harry’s Farmers Market in Alpharetta was newly open at the time and we shopped there a lot. A roadside near the store had a gorgeous hillside of this plant and the fall blooms were quite noticeable.

Bidens aristosa foliage

At some point, in later years, I must have gathered some seeds because I remember having them bloom at my old house; I haven’t had them since we moved in 2003. Harry's store closed in 2014 and the flowers on the roadside diminished over the years, barely noticeable on my less frequent trips on that road.

About two years ago, construction was slated for the road and the hillside was in the way. A friend of mine, who was getting into native plants, got permission to rescue plants along the road and he found the Bidens. I helped him to identify it and shared my story of blooms long ago. When he got seedlings this spring, he shared some plants with me, and now these plants, long admired, are with me again.

Carpenter bee on Bidens aristosa