Friday, May 25, 2018

(A Different) Kinda Blue

We have planted 3 raised beds in our new yard in Maine. The soil here is free draining and sandy, thanks mostly to Maine's glacial geology. But it's also full of rocks both large and small. This makes the digging of even bulb planting holes a major chore. So raised beds and new soil seemed to be the easiest way to make a quick start. I've beds 7x4, 14x4 and for our latest, the 8x8  butterfly garden. The soil arrived 3 weeks ago and we have been planting madly ever since. We got an initial 6 cubic yards that filled all three of those beds and left a little over for potting and planters. $28 per cubic yard and $40 delivery. I have another 2 cubic yards coming Saturday to fill my veggie bed. 
That'll be it for a while until we do the shade bed at the edge of the woods, but I need to figure how to edge that one as it'll be irregular.
So here are the 3 largely finished beds, planted 90% with perennials. Or hopefully perennials. My UK readers know that buddliea is tough as old boots, pretty much a weed. It's found on every piece of waste ground in Britain even growing out of walls if it can get a foothold. Here in Maine it usually won't survive more than a couple of winters. Still, two are 
 planted now and it was one of these that produced the first butterfly picture from the butterfly garden today. 

And it's a new one to me too.
This is the Silvery Blue. Found right across the northern USA. I didn't see it in Virginia because there is only an isolated Appalachian population there and I wasn't usually in the mountains in spring.

I know it doesn't look very blue here but in flight, when you can see the upper surfaces, it's very striking. Not that the underwings aren't very attractive too. And like all blues it's very small; about the size of my thumb nail.

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