Tag Archives: Butterflies

A Tiger or a Bear?

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I am very pleased that this Buddleia has recovered after freezing back completely last winter, but was then doubly happy to see these two butterflies resting on it the other day, as they are quite unusual…

The English name is Jersey Tiger, but in German they are called ‘Russian Bear’… interesting! Another name used in both languages is ‘Spanish Flag’. I wonder what the Spanish call it!

When resting you cannot see the bright orange part of the wings, so here is a Wikipedia photo to give you an idea of the flashes of bright orange when they flutter away – too quickly for me and my camera!

Wilipedia image

In southern Germany they can often be seen, but only near the woods or on shrubby grassland. They apparently like raspberry or nettle leaves, both of which are abundant in the nearby woods and hedges.

Have you seen this butterfly? And which name would you say is more apt – Tiger or Bear?! 😉

In a Vase on Monday: Spot the Difference!

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I am joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden once again by gathering materials from my garden for a vase, in order to share them with you all.

I’m afraid the pink rose in the background was trying to grab all the attention while I took the photos!

Can you see what the difference is in the next picture?

The dwarf Buddleia is doing a fine job of attracting the butterflies, mostly Peacocks, but also this Silver-washed fritillary…

It is hot, humid and windy here, and heavy showers have flattened some of my grasses, so I picked a big bunch of these (Sporobolus?), stuck in a stray Buddleia stem, and a Melica ciliata that was swaying over the pathway, and framed it all with some rather healthy looking Hellebore foliage. (Wish it looked that good in winter!)

At the front I added a reddish pink Daucus carota ‘Dara’ flower.

Everything was placed in a flower frog in a new vase, which I picked up on a whim on a brief trip to the florist this morning. I love the colour and the glaze, as well as the shape. 🙂

 

Daucus carota ‘Dara’, grown from seed this spring – it’s a slow germinator, but worth the wait!

Having just looked at Cathy’s own lovely vase today I think we must have been on a similar wavelength as the shape of our vases is very similar. Do go and visit her and see what beautiful arrangements are being created around the world for her meme this Monday!