This Week in My Garden - Oct 20th

 Banded Scythris moth on Frostweed

In my attempt to find cool stuff going on in my garden each week, I have gotten into the habit of looking closer at the plants. And the closer I look, the more I find!

Yesterday, I was taking a photo of my now-blooming Frostweed. And I noticed that it was covered in small bugs. I took a photo of them, ran it through Google, and they appear to be the Banded Scytris moth.

Look how many there are! I count 10 in just this photo. One of my great joys in gardening with Native plants is reveling in the life that they bring. I know that, in time, bringing more bugs into the yard will ultimately bring more birds.

A new soaker hose

I have been intending to add a soaker hose to the right-hand street garden. With this incredible drought we are in, the plants in that garden are looking incredibly sad. The poor little Dutchman's pipevine is being hand watered with waterbottles, whenever I remember. And the frost (house-side) of the garden is basically just Brazilian Rock Rose and weeds. But finding that my zizotes milkweed still lived and the Phlox I planted was still hanging on really motivated me to get it watered.

So I added the hose. But to put those in there, I really needed to pull out the grass. Partly to let the hose lie flat, and partly so the grass wouldn't grow even more with access to water.  And then with the hose there, I realized I could plant some of my new plants there!

Blue Aster?
Symphyotrichum laeve

This weed popped up in my garden. It looks pretty weedy, and is too tall for a plant growing that close to the edge. But I am not one to pull something that is native and is strong enough to make it in my garden :) 

So, not knowing what it was, I decided to let it stay. Around town, I started to see Aster-like flowers or similar weeds. And sure enough, my weed bloomed today, and it was full of small aster-like flowers.  The bumble bees really seem to love it.

At first I thought it was Drummond's Aster. But the flower's didn't look the right color. I then found a native called Tall or Willow Aster, but I think the petals on that are much thinner. So then I found something called Blue Aster, that I think might be it.

Here was some info I found on it: Asters have been known as keystone plants of many habitats in our region, and while this group of wildflowers has changed and diverged over time, flowers of the Symphyotrichum genus are some of the best for wildlife. They can occupy a variety of spaces in any landscape, Symphyotrichum laeve offers the benefit of adaptability for moist to dry soils, and part-shade conditions. Symphyotrichum species often bloom later in the season, peaking in September and October at a time when pollinators may have trouble finding other sources of food.

https://www.bugloversnativeplants.com/shop/p/symphyotrichum-laeve-smooth-blue-aster#:~:text=Symphyotrichum%20laeve%20is%20a%20hardy,long%2Dlasting%20blooms%20throughout%20autumn.