Thankful Thursday: Flowers, Bees, and Butterflies :)

I took a residential landscaping class in 2011 that changed my life.  Prior to that class, I had imagined every home landscape as a mini farm, and while I sure enjoyed that, my mom didn't.  I realized that if anyone was going to want to change their home landscape to produce their own food, it had better look gorgeous too.

And that class helped me discover how delightful a flower garden could be.

The first "landscape" I was able to do was in my grandparent's front yard in Wyoming in the summer of 2011.  It looked fantastic.  I was excited to come home and see how large all the flowers had grown.

The water-wise flowers attracted hummingbirds and butterflies.  

The next spring I learned by email that most of the flowers had died.  So this summer I replanted the patch to look like this.  I'm excited for these flowers and the two shrubs to grow.  

The large purple bush flowers are Walkers Low catmint, from the original planting.

Our whole family has enjoyed how many bees and butterflies the garden has attracted.  The catmint is swarmed by all varieties of wild bumblebees from morning 'til night.  Huge 1.5" yellow and black bumbles, 3/4" yellow and orange bees, 0.5" grey bees, red thin ant-shaped winged waspy-things... all of which are contentedly feeding while I enjoy their company.  The flowers look pretty and hum, full of life. 

A wild bumblebee feeds from the catmint.  The large orange ball is one of its pollen sacks.  :)

One of our favorite tiger swallowtail butterflies.  :)

Rocky Mountain Penstemon was the other perennial that thrived.

The bees climb into the flowers, disappearing into little caves.  :)

I'm grateful for flowers.  For bees and butterflies, and the little creatures that bring life and beauty into patches all around us.  

What are you grateful for that brings life and beauty into your "patches"?