Swaths Of Purple Siberian Iris Within The Middle Meadow Garden Butterflies and Birds

Looking back over the month of June, iris sepals unfurl and fall creating waves of hues from lavender to deep purple . . . filling the Middle Meadow garden with hundreds of blooms lasting nearly three full weeks as new buds continue to open.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtails Papilio glaucus or Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Papilio canadensis add to the spectacle in complementary colors. On most days I count over twenty of these bright colored butterflies floating about the gardens and when they dip deep into the iris their wings become like sepals and petals.  

A wide angle lens makes everything seem smaller and farther away. 

Up close again a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird enjoys reaching in between the folds too.

Bluebird nestlings cry out above the iris from within their nest box. 

The parents are waiting for me to move on before taking their harvests to their young.

Silver-spotted Skipper feeding on Garden Heliotrope while a Spicebush Swallowtail dives into an iris.

I am guessing Eastern Tiger Swallowtail but whatever the name these creatures fill the gardens and fields in numbers during the month of June delighting in wildflowers, as well as, an array of blossoms from native and non native cultivated perennials and shrubberies. Swallowtails and other butterflies are eye candy for birds and it pains me to see their tattered wings as the days unfold. Such is life for those critters lower on the food chain.

Imagine these images with bright butterflies flitting about as birds splash and fly to and fro.

There seems to be a constant flurry of activity about the iris during the first three weeks in June.

A Spicebush Swallowtail Papilio troilus visits our gardens and this is my first sighting of this species here at Flower Hill Farm. I am not aware of the host plant Spicebush Lindera benzoin, growing on our land but perhaps a neighbor is cultivating it. I will be sure to add this native plant to our gardens soon.

Chartreuse leaves of native Thermopsis villosa offer a lovely contrast to the purple iris. 

A row of peonies falls down towards the display of iris. 

The weather was such that spring flowers all seem to come into bloom at once.

Purple from the folds of iris create a lovely backdrop for this Red-spotted Admiral as it sips the dreaded goutweed. 

Standing within the iris looking over towards a weeping cut-leaf Japanese Maple and beyond to the north garden where Rosa rugosa makes a show. More of the North Garden in mauves and pinks coming soon. "So long June!"

Play of Light in a Garden Landscape

Golden hillside hue

trees bend in the misty light

woodcut into dusk

Illumination

from within lamps glow outward

rose twilight hour

Dawn spreads like a cloth

awakening colors true

flitting butterflies

Gardens capture light

bursting buds into color

lifting spirits bright

Palette of Blue Green Purple Tad of Red

I love all the birds nesting in the gardens (with exception to the Cat Birds) but have a particular fondness and appreciation for the Tree Swallows, Blue Birds and tiny Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. The Tree Swallows literally bring joy to my heart each time I see them especially when in flight, and not just because they are sailing and swooping up hundreds of biting insects all day each day. Their flight is so delightful to watch... so freely sailing and solitary most of the time, when they do meet up with other Tree Swallows they call out in a lovely chatter and share in duets of fluid chirpy choreography. A grace in flight and here in how they look upon me and tolerate my closeness. The new raw files do not come across on the internet as the actual photos or you could see more of the incredible iridescent blue the feathers of these beautiful birds reflect, however it helps when you click on each photo to see truer colors. You can see the glittering green and dash of red of the hummer as he sips from the iris and stops to pose for my camera. All the birds get a bit uneasy with the large black plastic eye staring at them but none more so than the Blue Birds. They continue to be shy and fly away anxiously, when I am trying to capture their images and never allow me very close. The blues and purples in these early June gardens are mostly reflected in my feathery friends and the lovely Siberian Iris.