that is what i look for. the little bits of this and that adding up to what i like in a plant. what i like. let’s face it none of us myself included choose what mother nature chooses. the long term choice for mother nature is endurance. survival. in any way that works. what i or we choose is never by the same rules or the same time frame. so how is it little things like this skipper survive ? it is much more than just numbers. and on that note i will go back to my choices. they very from plant to plant. qualities like early bloom, or mid season, or late depending on where a specific cross is going. plant height, bloom shape, bud spacing, branch shape, and bud count all go into the choices. there is no guarantee what will pass from one generation to another. it is a choice game and a numbers game. some things will be kept and some things will be dropped. it is a watching and waiting game. a try again and again game. the flower tonight is tall. it is dark purple. it is a late season bloomer. a large flower. decent branching on the scape and it is a bud builder. it does not stop a 4 or 5 buds. if there is enough water and good temps it will go on growing more buds and keep blooming some more…
a north east ohio garden 
It’s a lot to keep track of, John. You do well. I love that you captured the butterfly (perhaps moth). It’s a wonderful image.
I might mostly keep track of it. Certainly not all. Skippers are on the butterfly side of the family. Somehow closer to little rockets than to flutterbyes. They move.
Impressive that you snagged him.
They will sit for a picture. Probably because they are so fast as they don’t worry no matter how close I get.