Mother Nature has been displaying one of my favorite color combinations quite frequently lately, so much so that I’m wondering if it’s one of her faves as well. It routinely includes varying shades of orange and a bright pinkish purple (or vice versa), with either a background or flourish of green.
Exhibit A, below, features a great spangled fritillary on bee balm.1
Exhibit B shows one of my very favorite wildflowers, coralbells, which only grow out of rocks2. The near background is orange-yellow lichen; the further pinkish background is granite. This scene is from my very favorite rock garden in the Sandias.
A prairie dog colony right up the street was relocated a couple of years ago. The mostly bare soil left from their burrows was planted with a multitude of grasses and wildflowers, all of which seem to be thriving there.
Which brings us to the last exhibit from Mother Nature’s design studio:3 Purple coneflower (aka Echinacea), accompanied by a blanketflower gone to seed (aka Gaillardia). While some types of blanketflowers are native to New Mexico, Echinacea is not. However, as you can see, it is definitely flourishing here.
I’m only about 90% sure it’s a great spangled fritillary. Regardless, what a great name for a butterfly! And did you notice its polka-dot eyes?
I say this based entirely on my own experience in the Sandia mountains. I’m pretty sure they’re not restricted to rocks in other parts of the world.
For today, anyway.
Yes, love the colors. We’re planning a trip to the other side of the sandias on Friday to Tree Spring & hopefully will see flowers 😊
I so enjoy your narrative, Lisa! Thanks for another wonderful Everyday Magic!