Author Archives: dirtynailz

This is my bronze fennel in flower – the one that fed the black swallowtail caterpillar for a week or so. I planted it in a container with some mini dahlias, which also have clear yellow blooms. Here’s a look … Continue reading →

This is the concluding chapter of the metamorphosis saga, in which  a black swallowtail caterpillar hitchhiked from the nursery to our home on a fennel plant. I watched the caterpillar grow, and pupate, and finally, emerge. The backstory: As I walked by … Continue reading →

I am still waiting for the black swallowtail caterpillar to emerge. It should be any day now. In the meantime,  check out the destructive and most annoying gypsy moth caterpillars, killed by Entomophaga maimaiga, a fungus that needs rain to work. … Continue reading →

Two days after writing my last post about the black swallowtail caterpillar that came home with me on some fennel, I went outside and the caterpillar was gone. I looked through the fennel plant, and in nearby shrubs, but it … Continue reading →

One week ago, I bought a bronze fennel plant at the nursery and on it was a tiny, black smudge of a caterpillar – a very young black swallowtail larva. I have been watching all week as it has grown, … Continue reading →

I bought some bronze fennel at my favorite nursery, hoping it would look interesting and dramatic in my garden and that it might attract butterflies. It already has. If you look carefully at the photo, you’ll see a small black … Continue reading →

The weather gods smiled down on the Stonington CT Garden club’s “Gardens by the Sea” tour, which took place June 9 and 10. It was a truly splendid day for a walking tour of 10 gardens, described by the garden … Continue reading →

This flower belongs to the perennial Geranium Cranesbill “Azure Rush.” It is the happy outcome of a mistake I made at the nursery. I thought I was buying the cultivar “Rozanne,” which I have grown and loved for years, but … Continue reading →

Here it is, nearly Memorial Day, and I still have some narcissus blooming. These have been flowering  for about three weeks. The cultivar is Baby Moon, and as it name implies, it is a miniature, hardy in zones 5 to … Continue reading →

The rivers in Rhode Island are full; gushing, flowing, cascading and rushing. Bringing relief after two dry springs. This is a change that also bodes well for a natural fungus and a virus that need moisture to become active and destroy those … Continue reading →