Surprises in the garden & moonflower and water lily updates

Between the beach-like weather we are loving, the orioles, dragonflies, and butterflies, and the flowers blooming, it is difficult to stay indoors.

Well, I guess it is unsettling for me to be inside most of the year, but right now I'm in our gardens, for hours each day.

Here's what is drawing me away from housework.

These bright sulfur yellow mushrooms easily caught my eye last week.  This was how they appeared on that first day and then the  show went on the following day...

They are Flowerpot lepiota.  And, yes, they were in one of my flowerpots.

I found this excellent website for identifying mushrooms.  http://www.mycokey.com/newMycoKeySite/MycoKeyIdentQuick.html

59 days after I lifted and repotted my water lilies, new flowers graced the pond.  I have had numerous flowers since these first of the season.  

This is a "Throatwort".  The flowers bring Purple Rain to my mind and that is what attracted me to this late spring to early fall bloomer.  The label at the nursery proclaimed that they are good cut flowers and that they attract butterflies.

In the 3 years I've had it, I have yet to see a butterfly on this plant. But then the monarchs, swallowtails, skippers and cabbage butterflies of our yard have the milkweeds and two large butterfly plants, which they float between all day. 

This is one of the moonflower vines.  Of the 3 growing, 2 are showing their heart shaped leaves and are gaining height in feet instead of inches.  The third one doesn't like where I planted it and is still 2" tall.  I guess I should transplant it to a different spot.  Yes, I'm going to do that.

I like to have a columbine in the garden.  This aquilegia is Swan Violet and White.  Because columbines grow wild in meadows and along streams, I am transported to such lovely places seeing them near our pond.

Who's this?  It's a slightly out of focus pumpkin blossom elfin.  It hard to capture one in a photo, but you can see that he is happy to be in the garden just like me.

t.t.f.n. ~ Carol