It’s been a while since I’ve written about the roses and butterflies in the backyard. While I love to go cool places to photograph birds, sometimes the best opportunities come in your own backyard.
As frequent readers of my blog know, I have a bit of a green thumb, and I’ve landscaped our garden with hummingbirds and butterflies in mind. I used to have lots of rosebushes, as described on my Backyard Roses page, but I became increasingly bothered by the number of pesticides and fungicides that I had to use to keep the bushes healthy. Those things just aren’t good for the birds and insects that are part of a healthy backyard ecosystem. So I ended up downsizing the rose garden to just a few bushes, including one of my favorites, ‘Gold Medal.’
![Backyard Roses page](https://i0.wp.com/www.blog.catandturtle.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Gold-Medal-rose_Backyard_201307201_copyrightJessYarnell.jpg?resize=333%2C500)
I’m frequently asked if the dew and raindrops on my flower photos are natural or staged. They are absolutely natural! That’s the great part of having flowers in your yard – you can photograph them in the early hours of the morning before the dew dries. (The truth be told, all my staged dewdrops bead too perfectly and look fake!)
I was out fertilizing my rosebushes when I noticed this small butterfly hanging out on the leaves. I recognized it as a hairstreak (don’t ask me which kind of hairstreak!) Our backyard has been full of butterflies this summer, but mostly bigger butterflies like monarchs and swallowtails. The hairstreaks are smaller and I love the intricacies of the bottoms of their wings. So I was pretty happy when this guy posed for minutes at a time, drinking the dew from the leaves.
![Hairstreak Butterfly](https://i0.wp.com/www.blog.catandturtle.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Hairstreak-Butterfly_Backyard_201307202_copyrightJessYarnell.jpg?resize=500%2C333)
The summer is starting to wind down, and I’ve smelled a hint of fall in the air. The light is certainly changing as the days begin to shorten. Fall migration is underway…happy times for bird photographers!! :)