Unexpected visitor (again)

Today in the garden we had a visitor, one not seen since September of 1997. Not even expected to be seen here again, but it flew right by me. This butterfly the Zebra Longwing is supposed to be in Florida, there are colonies know from Charleston SC. Did this guy get a ride on the winds of recent storms or did it hitch a ride on a passion flower to a nursery nearby? Guess it'll be something to wonder about... 

Zebra Longwing

Gardening news
Today I worked in the garden once it warmed up that is.  Thinking spring already as I planted some spring bulbs and baby hellebores

For the record I planted :
 5 split corona daffodils called Orangery
 5 Poetious daffodils called Actaea
10 Galanthus Flore Pleno or Double Snowdrops these bulbs did not look well..
15 Galanthus (Snowdrops)

 8 Leucojum aestivium (Snow Flakes)

Also I finally planted 11 hellebore babies I collected this spring. They did quite well surviving the heat of the summer here. I'm hoping they will make a good showing in about 3 years. One of the large hellebores we received  at our house warming party when the addition was finished has lots of babies around it.

The first Camellia of the season to bloom!

Camellia sinensis  the tea camellia
These blooms are only an inch across, one day when the plant gets much bigger we'll make tea from the tender new leaves.

This is what I think is Rosebud Saliva. It grows huge 6-7 foot tall. We moved it to a new spot in the spring it is doing very well there. The photo below shows the flower before it is open all the way. Then as you can see in the photo above it changes up to a much different look.

Toad Lily just getting started!
I have had this plant for over ten years. No care mostly neglected and it still makes you smile!

The Swamp Sunflower!
Lovely flowers but completely out of control.  These 10-12 foot flower stalks have once again fallen over and now we have a 16 foot diameter loose ring of these flower covering the veggy garden. Good thing the veggies are done for the year.

Swamp Sunflowers in the garden

Folks,

Maybe 5 years ago my friend Roger gave me a start of Swamp Sunflower for our garden. Not sure exactly what it is but I think it is called Swamp Sunflower, please correct me if I'm wrong. It is now blooming huge in the garden up to at least 12 foot tall. The narrow leaves can reach nearly a foot long and are only an inch wide.

Some flowers are 3 inches wide other may only be an 1 1/2 inch wide. See the tiny spider crab spiders love these flowers.

Below is the main plant in the garden it has spread by seed a little towards the pond. That pea trellis there is 6 foot tall!

Another flower blooming in the garden a long neglected Toad lily I planted when I moved here 12 years ago. Best year it has ever had!