Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Hummingbirds and Flower Bed Weeding Done

Posted on by Julia

August 6, 2026

On August 3, I spent the cool of the morning pulling out the last of the weeds from the flower garden. The flower garden jungle is tamed.

In the early afternoon, I took a walk around the garden to determine what should be done next.

Old Cucumber Plants
New Cucumber Plants
Eggplant
Oh No, Harlequin Bugs
Devastating Harlequin Bugs
Devastated Horseradish
Sorrel Recovered after Japanese Beetle Attack
Found a Rose of Sharon
Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Caterpillar

First task, kill the Harlequin bugs on the horseradish. Task two, try to kill the leaf legged bugs on the tomatoes. Third task, kill any Colorado potato beetles on the eggplants.

While weeding, two hummingbirds chased each other out of the garden. I wasn’t able to get a picture of them.

I did get a picture of this cardinal feeding from the tray.

I saw some butterflies and a hummingbird moth.

Hummingbird Moth

In the early evening, four dragonflies played in the air.

The naked ladies are still putting on a show.

The sunset was pretty.

Faint Haze of Smoke in the Air

17 thoughts on “Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Hummingbirds and Flower Bed Weeding Done”

  2. I have enjoyed the lantana and hummingbird moth photos! All it took for me to give up in-ground gardening was one time. As hot as it was this summer, all my herbs and potted flowers have finally succumbed…but the moon graft cacti are doing just fine!

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      2. It grows well in the heat, so it might be worth a try to plant it in ground and put potted plants around it. I love how it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.

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  4. Pingback: More Cowbell, Oops, Not Cowbell, I Meant More Tractor and Chainsaw – Blackberry Homestead

    1. I was able to get rid of the harlequin bugs. I ran the horseradish leaves over the open mouth of a jar filled with soapy water. The bugs dropped into the soapy water, and that was the end of them. A few escaped, but I was able to catch them and put them in the jar. I’ve been checking every day since then and haven’t seen any.

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Published by Julia

I am a retired software solutions architect. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for over forty years. We went full-time RVing for 3.5 years and saw much of the United States. After deciding to stop RVing, we bought a ranch house halfway up a hill on five acres. After Bruce and I talked about names for our five acres, we settled on Blackberry Homestead as a homage to the wild blackberries on the hill. We are working on creating our homestead. I love cooking and enjoy sharing recipes. I am also an artist, and I’ll share my current projects. Gardening and reading are my favorite hobbies.