Cross Vine and Meditating Moth

Dead leaf close-up

Moth meditating

 On my way out the door this morning, I noticed that a moth had come in the evening before. It spent the night sitting on the corner of a picture in my entry, meditating perhaps. Maybe, it was enjoying the art, or just resting. Maybe it wasn't meditation but contemplation. The flash washes out the image but, in the close up, you can see the resemblance to a dead leaf, perhaps a dried box elder leaf.

 

Cross Vine

 The Carolina Jessamine are almost finished flowering here, but the Cross Vine (Bignonia) is coming into bloom. I really enjoy the muted color of this vine and its dark leaves, that subtle thing again (see Winter Palette blog entry).

I spent the afternoon carving holes into the clayey sandy topsoil in some of the beds to add in some extra replacement petunias and lantanas. Topsoil is such a misnomer. It is sand mixed with some chunks of clay, no notable organic matter unless I put it in. In addition there are the chunks of concrete, that were thrown back into the bed and covered with this “topsoil”. Planting a new petunia involves scraping out a hole, then taking out extra because the beds were overfilled. Then some decent potting mix or compost is added and mixed and then the plant is put in. I never managed to get one large chunk of concrete out, it was just too big . The plants will just have to spread. Life lesson here, don't just cover up stuff, get rid of it. Likewise, don't overdo something, it eventually gets in the way too.