September 4
Soapwort Gentian
(Gentiana
saponaria)
This perennial
native plant may be found blooming from September through
November in a moist environment. Some books describe it as
common. But it is not common enough for me! The blue
flowers are a nice surprise this late in the year. They
stay fairly closed, pointing to the sky from the tops of
sturdy stems.
There are two insects in this painting. One is a leaf
hopper, on a stem this time. The other insect is the bumble
bee which will work its way down into the flower or maybe
just make a hole in the side and get to the nectar that
way. (Bumble bees do this with penstemon blooms too.)
Bumble bees are easy to collect and include in a painting.
Late in the day they can be found sleeping on a plant or
late in the summer they can be found “resting in peace” on
the sidewalk. I do have a wonderful, huge butterfly net
that I made from several yards of netting, a broom handle,
and some strapping that I bought at a home supply store. If
need be, I can pretty much catch anything I want with that.
One afternoon an employee of my husband’s company was
giving a driving tour of Atlanta to some visiting Taiwanese
businessmen who did not speak English. He thought they
would be interested in seeing where “Mr. Fraser” lived.
But, when they were about a block away from our home, they
could see me running around the garden, wildly flailing my
arms in the air and sort of jumping now and then. I’m sure
I must have had my butterfly net in my hands. He wisely
decided not to admit that he knew me and quickly drove
right on by.
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a larger image)
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