The Sunflower Muncher

The sunflowers I had started indoors from seed in late January grew as high as an elephant's eye.

So high, in fact, that it's been hard to get them inside the photo's frame.

Something has been chomping on them for some time, and I mean I'd go outside and a six footer would be reduced to a two-inch stub. So I started regularly spraying them with Dr. Bronner's, and I put out slug traps (bottles of beer), which kept about three of the sunflowers intact to where I could harvest one of them so far.

I soaked the seeds in brine and roasted them, and they're not half bad at all, though this particular flowerhead may have been harvested a wee early. I just wanted to get to them before the birds did.

Anyway, tonight a June thunderstorm really whipped up some drama. I was outside securing things and just checking the garden, and I saw on the birdbath a sight that nearly made me jump from fright...a caterpillar--black, hairy, and no lie, as long as this post is wide. More like three of these guys.

He was HUGE. So I became acquainted with the culprit who was munching down my sunflowers.

So I looked him up: big black hairy caterpillar who likes sunflowers, and I discovered that I'm feeding no other than Hypercomp scribona, the giant leopard moth.

Absolutely stunning!

I'm so thrilled that I'm tempted to stop spraying and let him have the whole garden.

I also saw yet another frog today, which is always a welcome sight.

Coral Bean - Erythrina herbacea

My mom and I were biking around the Lake and noticed this plant beside a construction site. It was clear that it would not remain for long at its current location, so we moved some of it to our yard. This was around ten years ago, and here is the result:

Coral bean is a native plant that can add interest to the landscape from spring until fall. Looks like Cape Fear is its most northern reach. It's definitely a coastal plant. While it's not fussy, there are two things important to know about this plant: it's prickly and toxic.

The good news: red tubular flowers grow on tall stalks in the spring, drawing hummingbirds and butterflies.

In the fall, as the rest of the summer garden starts to fade, coral bean's seed pods begin to mature and the show begins. What once looked a bit like English pea pods turn dark, almost black, and split open to reveal shiny, scarlet red seeds nestled inside. They're very pretty—and (here's the bad news) very poisonous, so be sure to keep them away from kids and pets.

Although its use in gardens is not particularly common, it is popular among those who do grow it as a source of early season color, for its hardiness (USDA Zones 7-10), and because it attracts hummingbirds.

Native American people had many medicinal uses for this plant, varying between nations and localities. Creek women used an infusion of the root for bowel pain; the Choctaw used a decoction of the leaves as a general tonic; the Seminole used an extract of the roots for digestive problems, and extracts of the seeds, or of the inner bark, as an external rub for rheumatic disorders.

In Mexico, the seeds are used as a rat poison, while a fish poison is made from the bark and leaves.

In some Central American countries the flowers are used in traditional cuisine. Mostly added to bean soup or meat patties, it is known for its mild narcotic properties.

We managed to plant it in just the right conditions: an out-of-the-way place that gets shade in the summer. Not the easiest plant to grow because of the thorns and toxicity, but a lovely treat to the eyes in June when it seems to pop up from nowhere with these gorgeous red tubular flowers that look custom-made for hummingbirds.

Here's more about coral bean from Dave's Garden: Is a Coral Bean Right for Your Garden?

Mammoth Sunflowers

First of all, I've got to share a picture of this magnificent fellow.

Snack Seed Sunflowers
Heirloom Mammoth Greystripe

He's giant! And so are his cousins.

They were started from seed in February and are now high as an elephant's eye.

Something was chowing down on them, so I sprayed them with Dr. Bronner's, diluted, and that slowed the carnage.

Then I put my secret slug killer out.

Every night they party it up and every morning they're too dead to regret it.