Georgia Backyard Nature

Blackberry Lily

July is the month for Lilies! This is a Blackberry Lily, also known as a Leopard Lily. The orange spotted blooms are only about 2 inches in diameter, much smaller than other summer Lilies. I’d never heard of Blackberry Lilies before I saw them on a nursery web site. Later I learned that they’ve been around for a long time. In fact, Thomas Jefferson grew them at Monticello. Care is the same for other Lilies—plenty of sun and good moisture. I love finding new flowers and the Blackberry Lily is a great addition to the garden.

 

Bee Balm

 

The Bumblebees are swarming the Bee Balm. This hardy perennial is also known as Bergamot and comes in a wide variety of colors. No matter what the color, it’s a magnet for Bees, Butterflies, and Hummingbirds. This Bee Balm plant languished in another part of the yard for years and never bloomed. I moved it to the sunny front yard and it came alive! I’ve ordered more Bee Balm in other colors so the pollinators will be even happier next year. So will I!

Stuffed Snake!

 

Lasr week after the rain, the wind died down but I saw small ripples next to a clump of grass in the marsh pond. I thought it might be a turtle but the binoculars revealed the gruesome sight of a fat Bullfrog about to become a snake’s dinner. I watched as the snake labored to swallow the frog whole.He did it though!

The frog offered no resistance because he had either died from fright or was paralyzed with fear. During the ordeal the ducklings arrived and Mama Duck sized up the scene immediately. The whole crew watched from the bank and after the snake finished his meal and slipped underwater they still would not venture in. I don’t blame them.

Too bad a Heron or a Hawk didn’t come by to turn the tables on the snake. I sent a photo to a friend whose son knows snakes and he identified it as a nonvenomous Banded Water Snake. I know that water snakes, Copperheads, and Water Moccasins live in the marsh but would rather they stay hidden and have dinner out of sight!