I was out of town on business for over a week and when I returned I found out my shade house had been invaded by caterpillars.  Their feeding frenzy quickly gave many of my Brugmansia the Swiss cheese look.

I'm sure he is eying that plump little fruit fly that is buzzing towards him for a midnight snack...or perhaps he's got his eye on the one off to his right? Actually the spiders have gotten out of control amongst my brugmansia plants, especially the crab spiders. It is nearly impossible to walk down the isles without running into several spider webs.  I lost count as to how many times I've felt one these pointy crab spiders scurrying across my face. If I would look straight ahead rather than ...

While out pollinating the other night I stumbled across this cute little ball of feathers.  I was surprised that even though I was just inches away, the little guy did not flinch at my movement and multiple flashes. If you look closely you can see a lone eye keeping tabs on me.If it was not for the beak being visible in the photo above, you would have a hard time figuring out where this bird's head was.  The photo below was taken on another day and I'm not even sure if it is the same type of ...

This unusual bug has "don't mess with me" written all over it.  I'm not sure what it is, but it was somewhat aggressive towards me as it was resting on a brugmansia leaf.When I got closer, it curled it's body forward, scorpion style.  It was if it was preparing to sting me, or anything else that got too close. I was not certain if this was a beneficial or nuisance pest, so I let it be. It had a nice sized beak, obviously for sucking the juice out of something, either a plant or another ...

My new shade house is not only providing a more controlled place for my Angel Trumpets to grow and thrive, it is also serving as a butterfly conservatory. This was not planned by any means, butterflies are an enemy of mine. While they are nice to look at, butterflies create and evolve from caterpillars, the most destructive pest I have in my Angel Trumpet jungle. I'm hoping that caterpillars will not be as big of a problem for me this year seeing how most of my Angel Trumpet plants are now ...

Brugmansia WupperstolhzBrugmansia Wupperstolhz

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