Beloved Mimosa

A couple of years ago I planted a little Mimosa tree, and it is now giving pleasant shade along with the vines of the Carolina Jasmine, which blooms in March and April.

These flowers give a wonderful scent to the air in the morning and evening.

here being visited by a small hummingbird, a common occurrence...

and here by a butterfly that is not the famous Monarch (Danaus plexippus), which is paler and more yellow-orange,

but is a relative, and about the same size, called the Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus).

the Mimosa is called "the tree that sleeps" because its leaves relax when the sun leaves them and come up again with the sun in the morning.