Garden Activities: August 18, 2026

Another hot Tuesday to contend with, so we didn’t attempt anything too taxing. We decided to work in 2 areas: the new salvia garden and the S. African garden. Volunteering were: Krystyna Bacik, Dale Harshberger, Susanna Mac, Katie Shank, Daryl Stutley, Nancy Taylor Walker, Anna Wiktor-Becker, Ann Wright and myself.  

Krystyna preparing herself for the trip up the hill.

The first job was to deadhead the many salvias that have stopped blooming, and if there were seeds present, rubbing the husks between our hands to disperse any seeds in the surrounding area.

Daryl and Dale with Susanna in the background.

While surveying the plants, we noticed that one of the bees bliss sages was all dead in the middle.

I found there was no evidence of damage like someone stepping onto the center. The ends of many of the mostly dead branches had green leaves. We need to look at the irrigation to make sure it is providing sufficient coverage or not too much coverage.

Ann, me and Anna deadheading.

In the S. African section, the activities were much the same.

Ann and Susanna tackling a drought-stressed white sage across from the Tranquility Garden.

Krystyna collecting a bouquet of seed heads of lily of the nile (Agapanthus africanus).

Dale, Susanna, me (walking away) and Anna taking the hanging dead leaves off the stems of the honey bush (Helianthus major).

Special mention is made this week of a butterfly seen in the KAG this past weekend. Ann was able to snap some images while the butterfly was moving.

Zebra Longwing Butterfly (Heliconius charithonia)

Another view.

This butterfly is remarkable for a few reasons. Its range extends from Florida (where it has been designated the state butterfly) to Texas then down through Mexico into Central and South America. So it is a rare sight here. However, there is a record of two previous sightings in the CVBG! - one in 2022 and a second one in 2024 by the same lepidopterist. Now that there has been one in 2026, it makes one wonder if there is a small population in our vicinity. The caterpillars eat exclusively passion vine, and the adults uniquely eat pollen as well as nectar; the pollen provides amino acids that extend its lifespan to several months. Other species that consume only nectar as adults live only 2-4 weeks.  

Many thanks to Nancy and Ann for their images.

Enjoy the garden…KMM