What's Bloomin?

 

I love these Giant Black Swallowtail Caterpillars - they love eating away at my dill, and since I don't use dill that much I don't really mind. They critters are just so beautiful and fun to watch up close.

 

My front yard. We replaced almost all of our grass over the years with Sunshine Mimosa. It's a Florida native groundcover that is drought-tolerant, requires no fertilizers or chemicals, and no mowing (although it will take mowing if you want to mow). Plus, it's gorgeous when planted in mass like this, I adore the pink flowers every morning when the are still sparkling in the dew and throughout the day as they glow with happiness from all the sunshine. That's Gallardia (Blanket flower) in the background which is also a Florida native.

 

 The beautyberry bushes are getting ready to show off their brilliant magenta berries this fall. As soon as they are ready I'm going to harvest them for a batch of soap, I can't wait.

 

Elderberries - not too many left since the birds have gotten to them. I also made some infusions for my Elderberry Lip Balm and hope to combine some of these with the Beautyberries for a batch of soap.

 

This is what graces our front door entrance area. It's called Fiddlewood and the fragrance is amazing. The white flowers are visited by butterflies and bees throughout the day, and the delicate white flowers look stunning against the shiny evergreen leaves.

 I hope you enjoyed a little walk around my garden today. Do you have any native plants near you that are your favorites? I'd love to hear about them.