Going to seed
My Dukat [correction: Bouquet, according to the tag] dill plants are big, floppy and going to seed. Quite unsightly, some might say.
But I don't dare pull them out just yet. They're teeming with life! Wanna see?
There's good bugs, like this adorable ladybug,
not-so-good bugs, like this southern green stink bug,
and future butterflies, like this swallowtail caterpillar.
The dill is turning all sorts of lovely shades of yellow, green and brown, and the swallowtail caterpillars inhabiting it are in all stages of development.
As the sun sets and the light changes, the colors change, too.
I see lots of ladybugs...
...but no aphids. I guess that makes sense!
Even the pesky flies flock to the dill. (I saw a spider and a wasp, too, but they were too quick to get a shot.)
I plan to harvest some of these seeds, to replace the years-old dill seeds in my kitchen cupboard.
If the cucumbers do well,maybe I'll try my hand at homemade dill pickles. (Wonder if I can find my grandma's recipe?)
What's going to seed in your garden?
Words and photos © 2009-2010 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
But I don't dare pull them out just yet. They're teeming with life! Wanna see?
There's good bugs, like this adorable ladybug,
not-so-good bugs, like this southern green stink bug,
and future butterflies, like this swallowtail caterpillar.
The dill is turning all sorts of lovely shades of yellow, green and brown, and the swallowtail caterpillars inhabiting it are in all stages of development.
As the sun sets and the light changes, the colors change, too.
I see lots of ladybugs...
...but no aphids. I guess that makes sense!
Even the pesky flies flock to the dill. (I saw a spider and a wasp, too, but they were too quick to get a shot.)
I plan to harvest some of these seeds, to replace the years-old dill seeds in my kitchen cupboard.
If the cucumbers do well,maybe I'll try my hand at homemade dill pickles. (Wonder if I can find my grandma's recipe?)
What's going to seed in your garden?
Words and photos © 2009-2010 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Your dill is a very popular place to be. Great photos...i didn't know dill was so pretty!
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely over the top wonderful! I wish everyone would recognize all the wonders that arrive when we let a plant go to seed. Fabulous pictures, too!
ReplyDeleteAll your wildlife photos on dill look like they are straight from my garden. The dill and parsley, with their seed heads, are as tall as I am. And today I saw the mother of all flies on the dill -- I wanted a picture but my camera battery chose to die right THEN. I've noticed that wasps are starting to visit the dill for caterpillars, and the death numbers have been growing, so today I actually brought some caterpillars and dill inside the house to grow inside a collapsible tent. I want more butterflies! I'll grow dill and parsley forevermore -- this has been so much fun.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos of the bugs and the dill :) THe only things going to seed in my garden are tulips. I have to run out there and snap off the seed heads.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. They look wonderful and have some wonderful things to share with us. When did you plant the dill. I have a pkt. but never got them in. Next year. Do you save the seeds? I let my cilantro go to seed and it rewards me in the spring.
ReplyDelete