Thursday, March 8, 2018
Who's That Tapping at My Door?
Last week, we had a busy day with two mysterious visitors at the back door...
I was in the front of the house and heard what sounded like the random noises that another person would make while going about his business. The problem was, I was alone in the house, except for the dogs, and these sounds were not "dog noises". What could it be?
Fortunately, it wasn't an intruder or a poltergeist-- just the male bluebird I'd been seeing around the yard, now perched on the atrium door and gently tapping/flapping at the window. I'm not sure why, but he was very interested in that door and visited it repeatedly over the next few days. My best guess is that he was arguing with his own reflection.
The bluebirds have since disappeared, which is disappointing; we'd hoped they'd take up residence in one of our birdhouses. Maybe they'll return.
Later that same day, I heard another odd sound at the same door, but the bluebird was nowhere in evidence... Then I saw what looked like a black garden hose hanging out of a pot of chives by the door.
Note: There is not a hose there.
The "hose" began to move... Slithered right up to the door and took a good look inside...
The black racer strikes again! (At least, I think it's a black racer and not a black rat snake.)
I pointed it out to Luna (through the window) and it took off. (Shy, I guess. ;o)) I'm not thrilled to have this snake in our yard, because they have a reputation for being more aggressive than some of the other non-venomous snakes. I'd rather it were a king snake, but it's been living in our yard for at least the last year without causing any serious problems.
Since there's kind of an animal theme going with this post, here are a few more creature featur...ing photos to close things out...
(What? It's animal-themed!)
And last but not least, my two favorite creatures in the garden, Luna...
and Trixie (looking a little worried here, for some reason):
Happy March!
I was in the front of the house and heard what sounded like the random noises that another person would make while going about his business. The problem was, I was alone in the house, except for the dogs, and these sounds were not "dog noises". What could it be?
Fortunately, it wasn't an intruder or a poltergeist-- just the male bluebird I'd been seeing around the yard, now perched on the atrium door and gently tapping/flapping at the window. I'm not sure why, but he was very interested in that door and visited it repeatedly over the next few days. My best guess is that he was arguing with his own reflection.
The bluebirds have since disappeared, which is disappointing; we'd hoped they'd take up residence in one of our birdhouses. Maybe they'll return.
Later that same day, I heard another odd sound at the same door, but the bluebird was nowhere in evidence... Then I saw what looked like a black garden hose hanging out of a pot of chives by the door.
Note: There is not a hose there.
The "hose" began to move... Slithered right up to the door and took a good look inside...
The black racer strikes again! (At least, I think it's a black racer and not a black rat snake.)
I pointed it out to Luna (through the window) and it took off. (Shy, I guess. ;o)) I'm not thrilled to have this snake in our yard, because they have a reputation for being more aggressive than some of the other non-venomous snakes. I'd rather it were a king snake, but it's been living in our yard for at least the last year without causing any serious problems.
Since there's kind of an animal theme going with this post, here are a few more creature featur...ing photos to close things out...
(What? It's animal-themed!)
And last but not least, my two favorite creatures in the garden, Luna...
and Trixie (looking a little worried here, for some reason):
Happy March!
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Loropetalum
Loropetalum, from what I recall, has light, sporadic rebloom during the summer and fall, but its BIG bloom comes in spring, and we're in the thick of it.
There are three in our garden. The newest is still small, in the front yard. (No photos of that one, in this post.) It has pink flowers and was labeled 'Ruby'-- but given the unreliability of those labels, there's no telling if that's correct.
The oldest loropetalum is one we originally had planted in what once was the dog pen, back when we lived in a trailer on the other side of the property, before the house was built. After moving into the house, we eventually transplanted the shrub to its current location on the north side of the house (in the "semi-shade garden" area).
It grew so tall that I decided to prune it into a tree, and it's now towering over our covered patio:
I have no idea what cultivar/variety this one is, but it has dark green leaves and hot pink flowers that fall like confetti onto the ground below. It's a thing of beauty when in full bloom. The sunlight that filters through it is tinted ever-so-slightly pink!
Before we transplanted the hot pink loropetalum, I noticed that a small baby plant had sprouted underneath it-- and it had a tiny bit of white flower. So I dug it up and planted it on the west side of the house. It has grown since then and is actually too close to the house, to be honest, but I doubt I'll ever transplant it. (Maybe I'll prune it, if necessary. I think I'll try to root some cuttings, this spring... I'd like to have a "spare".)
The hot pink/magenta/fuchsia loropetalums are gorgeous, but I love this white one, too. Such frothy, airy flowers, and they just glow in the sun. White loropetalum reminds me of a "grandpa graybeard" tree, which also is covered in "fringy" white flower. (We don't have one in our garden, but my mother planted one at their old house, my childhood home.)
I took quite a few photos of it in bloom, this week. (This isn't even all of them!)
The white flowers stand out well against dark trees or buildings.
It's not a native, but it's easy to grow, doesn't seem to be invasive, and makes a beautiful evergreen addition to our garden.
If you live in a climate with mild winters (zones 7 to 10), I can recommend loropetalum. Just give them plenty of room, because they always seem to get bigger than they're "supposed" to, based on personal experience!
There are three in our garden. The newest is still small, in the front yard. (No photos of that one, in this post.) It has pink flowers and was labeled 'Ruby'-- but given the unreliability of those labels, there's no telling if that's correct.
The oldest loropetalum is one we originally had planted in what once was the dog pen, back when we lived in a trailer on the other side of the property, before the house was built. After moving into the house, we eventually transplanted the shrub to its current location on the north side of the house (in the "semi-shade garden" area).
It grew so tall that I decided to prune it into a tree, and it's now towering over our covered patio:
I have no idea what cultivar/variety this one is, but it has dark green leaves and hot pink flowers that fall like confetti onto the ground below. It's a thing of beauty when in full bloom. The sunlight that filters through it is tinted ever-so-slightly pink!
Before we transplanted the hot pink loropetalum, I noticed that a small baby plant had sprouted underneath it-- and it had a tiny bit of white flower. So I dug it up and planted it on the west side of the house. It has grown since then and is actually too close to the house, to be honest, but I doubt I'll ever transplant it. (Maybe I'll prune it, if necessary. I think I'll try to root some cuttings, this spring... I'd like to have a "spare".)
The hot pink/magenta/fuchsia loropetalums are gorgeous, but I love this white one, too. Such frothy, airy flowers, and they just glow in the sun. White loropetalum reminds me of a "grandpa graybeard" tree, which also is covered in "fringy" white flower. (We don't have one in our garden, but my mother planted one at their old house, my childhood home.)
I took quite a few photos of it in bloom, this week. (This isn't even all of them!)
The white flowers stand out well against dark trees or buildings.
It's not a native, but it's easy to grow, doesn't seem to be invasive, and makes a beautiful evergreen addition to our garden.
If you live in a climate with mild winters (zones 7 to 10), I can recommend loropetalum. Just give them plenty of room, because they always seem to get bigger than they're "supposed" to, based on personal experience!
More (Too-)Early Spring
March is supposed to bring more seasonable weather with it (not too cold, I hope, for my garden's sake), and some rain is cooling things down a little, at the moment, but we're still having an early spring.
There's no shortage of things to photograph!
Green anole (with a loropetalum in the background, providing all that pink):
A few rosebuds have begun to appear on 'Peggy Martin' (a.k.a. "the Katrina rose"):
Purple oxalis is springing up here and there:
Trixie, enjoying the nice weather:
Strawberry begonia (Saxifraga stolonifera) with pink "confetti" from the loropetalum above:
Next, here's more strawberry begonia, this time with Spanish bluebells. No flower buds on the bluebells, yet, but at least the foliage means they've survived another year!
Hedychium 'Elizabeth'. This and the common white butterfly ginger have both started putting up stalks. I thought February was awfully early for these gingers to make an appearance, but looking at the last year or two of the blog, maybe it's actually right on target... Some of our gingers ('Scarlet Fever' curcuma, for instance) don't usually do much until around May.
Salvia madrensis is up, too. (And I noticed that the bit down in the southwestern corner of the yard has started to grow, too, so it did survive the winter in that damp spot.)
Unfortunately, the wasps (and carpenter bees) are also out early, this year. There are a few jobs I should've done a month ago that will now probably wait until next winter, because I'm terrified of disturbing a hidden wasp's nest and being stung repeatedly. (Yes, I am a wasp-wimp. I will go out of my way to avoid wasps.)
Salvia purpurea is popping up, which is always cause for celebration. Every winter, I worry it will die. I'm still holding my breath over the 'Pizzazz Purple' salvia. No sign of life from that, yet, though some of the Mexican bush sage have already sprouted leaves. (I tend to wring my wrists a bit over these salvias. I never have complete faith that they'll return.)
'Sunshine' ligustrum is sprouting bright new chartreuse leaves-- which makes me very happy! Love that color!
Neither of the spirea at the bottom of the yard look exceptionally happy, but at least one of them is blooming a little:
Likewise, the pale Japanese magnolia in the backyard has less bloom than usual, but at least there's been some:
There are early signs of life from 'Tea Cup' and 'Black Ripple' elephant ears-- as well as some of the plain ones. No photos, but the canna lilies are also all sprouting new growth.
More flowers from the camellia...
Moss, just 'cause I like it...
Wild white violets have the tiniest flowers. They grow in a weedy way, here and there-- wherever-- but as long as they don't overcrowd the "real" plants, I'm happy to have them around.
The roses always look their best early in the year-- spring and maybe early summer. The leaves are at their fullest and most flawless, then. Fresh, new leaves that haven't had a chance to go spotty and fall off...
The dianthus by the garage (south-facing wall) is still hanging in there. I never expected it to live this long.
Only a few more days of February...
When the cooler air returns, I need to make the most of it and get some more mulching done!
There's no shortage of things to photograph!
Green anole (with a loropetalum in the background, providing all that pink):
A few rosebuds have begun to appear on 'Peggy Martin' (a.k.a. "the Katrina rose"):
Purple oxalis is springing up here and there:
Trixie, enjoying the nice weather:
Strawberry begonia (Saxifraga stolonifera) with pink "confetti" from the loropetalum above:
Next, here's more strawberry begonia, this time with Spanish bluebells. No flower buds on the bluebells, yet, but at least the foliage means they've survived another year!
Hedychium 'Elizabeth'. This and the common white butterfly ginger have both started putting up stalks. I thought February was awfully early for these gingers to make an appearance, but looking at the last year or two of the blog, maybe it's actually right on target... Some of our gingers ('Scarlet Fever' curcuma, for instance) don't usually do much until around May.
Salvia madrensis is up, too. (And I noticed that the bit down in the southwestern corner of the yard has started to grow, too, so it did survive the winter in that damp spot.)
Unfortunately, the wasps (and carpenter bees) are also out early, this year. There are a few jobs I should've done a month ago that will now probably wait until next winter, because I'm terrified of disturbing a hidden wasp's nest and being stung repeatedly. (Yes, I am a wasp-wimp. I will go out of my way to avoid wasps.)
Salvia purpurea is popping up, which is always cause for celebration. Every winter, I worry it will die. I'm still holding my breath over the 'Pizzazz Purple' salvia. No sign of life from that, yet, though some of the Mexican bush sage have already sprouted leaves. (I tend to wring my wrists a bit over these salvias. I never have complete faith that they'll return.)
'Sunshine' ligustrum is sprouting bright new chartreuse leaves-- which makes me very happy! Love that color!
Neither of the spirea at the bottom of the yard look exceptionally happy, but at least one of them is blooming a little:
Likewise, the pale Japanese magnolia in the backyard has less bloom than usual, but at least there's been some:
There are early signs of life from 'Tea Cup' and 'Black Ripple' elephant ears-- as well as some of the plain ones. No photos, but the canna lilies are also all sprouting new growth.
More flowers from the camellia...
Moss, just 'cause I like it...
Wild white violets have the tiniest flowers. They grow in a weedy way, here and there-- wherever-- but as long as they don't overcrowd the "real" plants, I'm happy to have them around.
The roses always look their best early in the year-- spring and maybe early summer. The leaves are at their fullest and most flawless, then. Fresh, new leaves that haven't had a chance to go spotty and fall off...
The dianthus by the garage (south-facing wall) is still hanging in there. I never expected it to live this long.
Only a few more days of February...
When the cooler air returns, I need to make the most of it and get some more mulching done!
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