I'm your Fan Friday

I don't know where this week went, or how it got to be Friday so quickly without my noticing, but I have found some favorites for this week. Hope you like them.

I love this bird!

 Check out Jean's post at the joy of bird watching. I have seen one of these gorgeous birds only once, and at the time I had no idea what it was. Jean's photo is just awesome.   This bird is not as rambunctious as a Quaker parrot and didn't have the outgoing personality of the Conures I used to raise, but it's spots and coloring are no less spectacular. Congratulations Jean on catching a shot of such a gorgeous bird. I am definitely your fan this Friday.
By now all of my gardening friends know I love Lantana! It has a weird smell and the little hairs on the stems can be very irritating, but from late spring until the final killing frost, it blooms non-stop. Butterflies love it and skipper moths find it irresistible and this shot

 from Mom Snaps captures it's charm. ( don't tell my hubby, but I am secretly seeding it in any available space in my garden). Lantana stays full of flowers of all colors and ready to provide a meal or just a resting spot for some breathtakingly beautiful creatures. Mom Snaps, it's Friday and I am your fan too.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Lantana, Love it or Not?

Do you grow Lantana? In some places it can easily become an invasive obnoxious weed and in other places it is an almost ever blooming, can take any kind of situation in stride, hardy, happy perennial.
There are many varieties of lantana and I am telling you, butterflies and skipper moths absolutely love it. They are drawn to the flowers like I am to the beach on a warm sunny morning. The stems are kind of hairy ( sometimes they will make you itch) and it has an odd smell. The first time I saw the plants, I thought it smelled much like deep woods off, but now the scent is a little less pronounced.
I have it planted in several places. I love flowers and I can't get enough and one that is constantly in bloom is all the better.


The foundation border in the back of my house never seems to welcome anything I plant. I can and have planted many different things there, but nothing seems to thrive. I think I will mix in some different colors of lantana and other things and let it become a flower bed for "survivors" only. Who knows maybe it will live up to it's reputation of being hard to kill.