What interesting creatures live in your garden?

Lavender2

Garden Addicted
Joined
Sep 22, 2009
Messages
1,414
Reaction score
1,144
Points
257
Location
MN. Zone 4/5
Creature that seems the most of; living in my garden are deer!!!!!!

I'm having quite a time with the deer this year also. I've had to double up on spraying the hostas and phlox, with all the rain we've been having. And add more fishing line and deterrents for the jumpers on the veggie garden back fence. I was just watching one across the road, ready to run out and defend my lily buds.
 

Carol Dee

Garden Master
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
13,161
Reaction score
21,324
Points
437
Location
Long Grove, IA
Hal you have some very interesting creatures there!
Here are a few of ours:
fawn.jpg

baby whitetail fawn
Pituophis_catenifer_sayi_002.jpg

Bull snake, not liking to be bothered by dog!
At the lot, May 19 010.JPG

Male Eastern Bluebird
Baby Fawn 018.JPG

Bluebird babies
031.JPG

Raising Honey bees
july flowers 027.JPG

Bumble bee
021.JPG

Praying Mantis,
 

Pulsegleaner

Garden Master
Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
3,552
Reaction score
6,987
Points
306
Location
Lower Hudson Valley, New York
Not a lot seen this year (it's been a little sparse all around). A butterfly actually made it's crhysalis ON my bean plants last year (probably a cabbage white based on the shape) but i missed seeing it (I just found the empty skin when I was doing cleanup) And last year a mantis came along settled in the wheat, and liked it so much she (it was too big for a he) stayed for several weeks hiding out on a stem (which was not great camoflauge as she was larger than the stem she was hiding on).Inornically at the same time she was there there was a hornworm on the plants on the other side of the patio; munching down the tomato vines (they were dying anyway by then, so I said "let the little bugger have his fun, he can get more use out of them at this point than I can) I seriosly wondered if at some point the mantis would fly over and eat the worm (It didn't it the worm was still there when I left, though it did dissapear some weeks later.)
There are usually some eastern black swallowtail caterpillars around by midsummer, and i assume some will show up at some point this year; naturally or artificially (i.e. I buy a fennel plant that already has them and bring them into the garden.
I think I saw a small toad three or four weeks ago.
Earlier this previos winter, we actually had a mated pair of Bald Eagles across the street, but I think they have left by now. The Red Tail on the other side of the property is still there through, I think.
Other than that, not much this year. I think there have been some loopers (inchworms) around and this moring there was some sort of caterpillar eating the flower off the rose on the side.
Only other notables are the big animals that sometimes show up. There was Pogo the opposum (who developed a taste for the leftover beans I was throwing out, and scared the crap out of us by showing up on our front walk and not being particualry scared of people. Count Stinkula, the skunk that lives in the woodpile across the street with the defective stripe (it gets as far as his shoulders, then flares out across then and does not continue on to his tail) Oh and in the back is Bobtail, a squirrel who due to missing 90% of it's tail, has developed the odd habit of loping rather than springing, so he or she actuall moves like a rabbit. The scary part is, he's also grown to the SIZE of a rabbit he must be GREAT at finding food. (or he just gorges hinself on the stuff we throw out.
 

sumi

Rest in Peace 1980-2020
Joined
Sep 26, 2013
Messages
921
Reaction score
1,556
Points
237
Location
Ireland
@Carol Dee that bumblebee pic is beautiful! What camera do you use? I battle so with close up pics, my camera will NOT focus. Anything closer than a few inches I can forget about and zooming in doesn't help much either.

@Lavender2 I love that dragonfly!
 

sumi

Rest in Peace 1980-2020
Joined
Sep 26, 2013
Messages
921
Reaction score
1,556
Points
237
Location
Ireland
Sorry, Lavender2, more snakes. We found these two Puff adders hanging around the guava trees:

DSC04041.jpg


Beautiful, but dangerous creatures.
 
Top