friends of orchids

[DirtyCoconuts]

That’s awful Aaron, I love the photo and i certainly wish you a swift return of your native guardians

[Dollythehun]

DC, on the third photo you show a pink flowering plants you called a "venta." It looks like a plant we northerners call "Pentas." Is this a misspelling on your part? Forgive me, someone told me to call this to your attention. 😁🤫😆 But, inquiring old gardening minds want to know.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

DC, on the third photo you show a pink flowering plants you called a "venta." It looks like a plant we northerners call "Pentas." Is this a misspelling on your part? Forgive me, someone told me to call this to your attention. 😁🤫😆 But, inquiring old gardening minds want to know.

Hahahaha yes. It is. Thank you. I hate the fact that all of my posts from my phone have misspellings and bad autocorrect adjusts

Good eye and yes, pentas

[JScott]

I have all kinds of friends that live on my Orchids when I put them outside for the summer. Mine are different than yours, as you live in South Florida and I live in North Texas, but I've still got lizards and frogs that take up residence in my orchids every year. I even name the ones I see most regularly.

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Last year I even had a horned toad living among my plants, which I was surprised to see. I used to see them all the time as a kid, but I haven't seen one in years. I think habitat destruction has driven them nearly to extinction, and they are very rare now.

[DirtyCoconuts]

They call all orchids moth orchids in Home Depot lol. They also. All the phals “high light” plants.

I took that as a cool pictogram more than a literal meaning. I have a ton of butterfly plants that I grow just for the butterflies to eat and visit my yard so that they pollenate my fruits and veggies. Moths are just butterflies at night and we have hundreds of species here many predatory and several beautiful. They keep themselves in check in my area at least

Now...my monarchs...they are insatiable. I have a field of milkweed (exaggeration) that they clear cut all the time!!

[neophyte]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

They call all orchids moth orchids in Home Depot lol.

or "Exotic orchid," lol.

they came pretty close this time though because this one's a hybrid with Dendrobium phalaenopsis (now called Dendrobium bigibbum) ancestry - its flowers really could almost pass off as a Phal.

[Dollythehun]

Three years ago I planted 72 Asclepias tuberosa in my ongoing pollinator project. I quit using all but the bare minimum of chemicals. Our monarch population is still down. Last winter was a polar vortex, so that didn't help. This winter is milder and we'll have more insects of every kind. I hope more butterflies. I love to stand in the garden in the early morning (before the neighbors beagles get out) and listen to the quiet hum of wings. (I do not love beagles).

[DirtyCoconuts]

I went to the U-Pic with the family on Sunday and the bees were out! it was glorious to see them in great numbers and they were happy to pose

Randos by J Solo, on Flickr

[WaterWitchin]

We had a 71f day here on Sunday (20+ degrees higher than average.) and had honeybees circling around in the back yard. Lovely to see, but nothing in sight for them to eat. Back to hibernation bees!

[ArronOB]

Blue tongue lizards eat mostly slugs and snails. They also like back yards and cat food or dog food. This one lives near our shadehouse and I think is the reason we never see slugs or snails.

If you go near them they hiss, open their mouths wide and show their striking blue tongue. It might not sound like much of a threat display but it gets me every time.

Cheers