I recently started taking walks in the garden at night, mainly because it is cooler when the sun is down, but also because there are different things to see after dark. I like the way the narrow focus of my headlamp draws my attention to things that I might have missed when everything is lit up.
1. Limax maximus (leopard slug, great grey slug)
North Carolina has 200+ native species of terrestrial gastropods (slugs and snails). This is not one of them. Limax maximus is native to Europe, and according to Wikipedia was first found in the United States in 1867, in Philadelphia. This was a small specimen. They are very common in my garden and seem to love the greenhouse.
2. Snail (genus? species?)
This might be one of our natives, but I’m not sure. As mentioned, 200+ species in NC, and although most of them are in the mountains, a reasonably large selection live in the piedmont.
3. Hyla chrysoscelis (Copes gray treefrog)
A very noisy neighbor. North American treefrogs have recently been split into genus Dryophytes, but as of last year, the name change had not been accepted by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.
4. Fuchsia hatschbachii
This Fuchsia species from southern Brazil is somewhat spindly with smallish flowers, but it is heat-tolerant, which is what matters in North Carolina.
5. Ismene x festalis ‘Zwanenburg’
If you want to grow Ismene x festalis, take the time to seek out this clone. It flowers reliably, unlike some unnamed clones which just tend to split, producing many small bulbs. This hybrid of South American species has been hardy in my garden for almost ten years.
6. Crinum ‘Ellen Bosanquet’ buds
I have featured this Crinum hybrid several times before (here and here), but the buds look particularly attractive illuminated by a headlamp.
Jim at Garden Ruminations is the host of Six on Saturday. Head over there to see his Six for this week and find links to the blogs of other participants.
Sweetgum and Pines 