At last a Tortoiseshell butterfly in the garden. Three or four there yesterday. Maybe the Rudbekia which has just begun to flower attrected them.Rudbeckia is there a few years now, perennial, needs very little care, gives spectacular late summer colour. This flower it seems is named after Linnaeus' teacher. It, or one of its varieties, is sometimes called Black Eyed Susan. Bob Dylan has a song Moonlight which contains the lines:
The dusky light, the day is losing
Orchids, poppies, black-eyed Susan
The earth and sky that melts with flesh and bone
Won't you meet me out in the moonlight alone?
Someone called Morrisey has a song called Black-Eyed Susan also.
I also had a lone Tortoiseshell visitor yesterday. These used to be the most common of the butterflies. What is happening? Let's hope it is only the bad, wet weather and not some other more sinister reason. Interesting about the Rudbeckia. I thought Black Eyed Susan was a smaller-headed climbing flower, but nice to get the official description.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see the butterfly, and it looks well against the Rudbekia. There is a dearth of insects this year, particularly wasps in this the 'wasp month'.(No loss from my personal perspective, but probably an eco-loss.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great plant, isn't it? Reliable and dramatic.
C
Yes, where are all the wasps? Have only seen one so far. Not that we want them around, for obvious reasons, but it makes you wonder, and worry about the eco-system.
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