Gulf Frits - nice. I hope your P. incarnata does well. Do you have a lot of woods?
More native things blooming in a Tennessee yard
Lest anyone worry- I'll never be rid of all my maypop, this does say that maypop and violets will feed another frit in this area. Plenty of violets around.
http://butterflysocietyofva.org/raising_var_frits.htm
:). I have lots and lots of wild violets too. Personally, I luv them.
I make a lattice of sorts with twine on the railings of the front porch and train the P. lutea to it. The bees love the flowers and the birds love the tiny purple fruits. AND it blocks the hot summer Sun so the people likes it too.
Yes, it's a very nice plant, IMHO. Luv those Passifloras.
Gonolobus suberosus pod just split open.
the inside looks just like common milkweed- is this another new name thing?
I have your passiflora parts packed up, Cville. THe roots I had dug last week were dried out, I included them but then went and found all the sprouts I could, and put them in. Something has got to grow from that!
The caterpillars devoured the P. incarnata I intentionally planted on a trellis near the main building. It must have been especially tender and succulent from the pampering because the cats didn't hit what grows wild at the edge of the north woods nearly as hard. I will trellis and care for maypops again to have the butterflies nearby, but not in such a front and center location. The plant is a tattered mess by the time the cats are finished , but it always comes back the next spring stronger than ever.
Viola sororia 'Freckles' is allegedly more heat tolerant than the straight species. I want to try that one in the south woods. The most experienced gardeners in this area recommend not planting any perennial that isn't rated to Zone 9 because one scorching summer can decimate plants with Zone 8 as a southern max. I've always found that good advice. But, it limits my choice of violets. Zone envy! :-)
Nadi gets a kick watching what she calls the "pigeon police' or, in her darker moments, the "mourning dove mafia." (Mourning dove=Carolina pigeon=Carolina turtledove) The crows can sit on the east fence, but the doves won't allow them beyond that point. The doves are so numerous they can gang up on the crows. She tells me having violets would be like a salary increase for the pigeon police. Even though the crows take their toll on song birds during nesting season, I find it comforting they are thriving across the fence. Crows are very susceptible to West Nile. If the crows are thriving, it means the virus isn't active.
Camellia replaced goldenrod as our state flower in 1959. If I could make the decision, the state flower would be our native oak-leaf hydrangea or return to being goldenrod. Don't get me wrong. I love Camellia japonica and it grows wonderfully here, but I believe a state flower should be a U.S. native, at least. lol.
... I believe a state flower should be a U.S. native, at least. lol.
Read more: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1311784/#ixzz2jdlDAKVn
i agree!
It does seem like a state flower should be a native. Oak Leaf Hydrangeas are gorgeous, IMO, and would make a lovely state flower as well. I suppose the legislature decided on the change. Pfffft.
The "pigeon police" - how funny. Reminds me of Hitchcock's movie. I didn't know crows are susceptible to West Nile. Good thing to keep in mind. So far, we have lots of crows around here.
G. suberosus is a vining relative of the milkweeds. It has smaller flowers ... http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek060522.html
interesting link cville
Snow already?! My condolences.
No, that shot is from last winter. They were on the hunt for easy food pickins at our bird feeders. :) The cardinals, gold finches, wrens and the other birds just sort of backed off and watched from a bit of a distance. Can't say I blamed them. The crows never did come back in those numbers.
What a huge murder of crows! (Nadi corrected me when I wrote "flock of crows. "Murder of crows" seems an odd phrase to me, but Nadi assures me that is the proper bird savvy lingo. And, a group of cardinals is a "Vatican of cardinals.) ROFL. I learn something every day around here.
Having mourning doves in such numbers is something new for us. We are experimenting with amaranth as grain and edible landscaping. The doves arrived with the first crop of seeds and made themselves at home. 'Hopi Red' and 'Giant Golden' amaranth are a success so I suspect the doves will be staying. The 'Love Lies Bleeding' seeds will go on our "Have' list. The leaves made a very tasty salad green, but too many other creatures found them just as tasty. We would have to spray to grow LLB and that would defeat our lower maintenance goal and the edibility factor.
"Murder of crows" - interesting. I know there are names for the various groups of animals and birds. I used to know more of them but would have to think hard about it to remember what they are. That picture looks like it fits that name. :)
Funny you should mention Mourning Doves. There was a single MD sitting on the phone line to the house not far outside the kitchen window early this morning, even before the sun came up. S/he sat there for a very long time. There used to be several pairs eating at the feeders and I think roosting in our big Norway Spruce, but I've not seen them for awhile. We have Cooper's Hawks and they seem to relish feasting on the MDs. I have a love-hate relationship with those hawks. They are magnificent birds but I hate seeing them feeding on other birds. :(
I have a lot of Amaranth seeds that I wasn't able to plant this year but hope to get some in the ground next year. The young leaves do make tasty salad greens.
I've grown a red Amaranth and it is horribly riddled with pigweed flea beetle holes. I gave up!
My doves get picked off by hawks too. They fly so slowly that they're easy prey. I know it's part of nature, but I feel bad because by feeding the birds, I'm making it easier for the hawks to get them. I try to scatter feeders around the yard and put them near shelter, but I can tell they get some of my birds anyway.
The doves like open spaces to feed. The only way I've managed to protect my critters is to leave my dead plants standing overwinter to provide cover, I've containerized (is that a word) several arborvitae and here and there around certain feeders at least offer some resistance/obstacles to a head long dive from a hawk. AND you know the last one - made friends with the crows in the neighborhood. Lastly - when I see the hawk land I go out and chase it, I throw sticks and stones (the tree he lands in is at least 100' tall. They have good eyesight but the dope flies off as soon as I pull my arm back to let 'er fly.
I haven't seen signs of any birds being preyed upon in the yard, though I did see the hawk actually hit a large rodent (...) on the ground next to the fence right at the entrance to the garden. Still chased it off. Found the rodent dead there the next day.
ack. NIMBY!
Sally, some of the Amaranths are so susceptible to that and I don't spray. Grrr...
That's exactly the way I feel too, Muddy. I have lots of brush piles but the hawks swoop right down on the perching birds and snatch them. I've had them swoop into the cover of the limbs of the Norway Spruce and snag birds right off the protected feeder. They can take off from a standstill from a branch there and swoop in a heartbeat - the victims never even saw it coming. They know how to hunt other birds since that's what they do. My Spruce is very tall and large. It's 45 years old or so. The doves are ground feeders, and I only put down a little food at a time so they don't hang around possibly exposed for too long.
I received the package of P. incarnata plants and spinning gourd today, Sally. Thank you so much for your generosity!!
you're quite welcome! I was so glad my article ran, and you commented, while I had time to add the gourd.
Well, I've neglected to post for awhile. You know how life sometimes gets in the way. I just read this, found it interesting, and learned some new things.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5306468.pdf
very informative and beautiful! Thank you! I feel even better about my natural yard.
Sally, so you have anything blooming in your yard now?
We had our first real frost last week…I can't think of anything in bloom- but I've been preoccupied with work, getting potted plants in, and leaf raking, so may have missed if any.
How about you? Have you had frost?
Yes, we had our first hard frost several weeks ago. We've had a number of them since. A few things are still green but most things have been killed back. The only blooms I've seen are a few on the 'Alabama Crimson' honeysuckle.
i have one native honeysuckle but it blooms spring and I haven't noticed any on it now. Recalling that I usually have Salvia coccinea Coral Nymph blooming till frost, (but didn't have any volunteer this year) t think the Black and Blue salvia may still be OK on the south facing wall. And pansies in flower pots.
Thanks for that link, Cville. Only thing blooming for me here in GA is that climbing aster I mentioned earlier. At our cabin in western NC last week I noticed three Hamamelis virginiana in bloom. I've walked by them many times without knowing what they are. Fairly unremarkable but what a nice surprise to see them in bloom. I planted Hamamelis va in the same area and it looks like a stick. These are all between 10' and 20' tall.
Great, back40. When you mentioned the Hamamelis, I had to go out and see if mine were blooming and I'd somehow overlooked them. But, alas, mine won't bloom for awhile longer. True, they may not be as flashy as some things, but I really like them. Thanks for the photos.
Cville, thanks for the links! I wanted to identify the bees buzzing around on my Black and Blue Salvia all summer long, but didn't get around to finding a guide. Now I have one for next year!
Speaking of Salvia, my Black and Blue was blooming until a week ago, maybe less, but when I looked at today, the stalks were dead. Like Sally said, we just had our first real frost in our area.
I have another kind of salvia (see photo, not taken today!) that still had green leaves and flowers until today, when I decided it would probably be better to cut it back. I don't know what kind it is, because it is supposed to be an annual so I didn't bother saving the tags.
Downy Skullcap was blooming until sometime during this past week. Some leaves were still green, but I cut it to the ground today anyway.
Muddy, I believe that is a Salvia farinacea. I have had them and they often lived over winter- actually they were either overwintertng or volunteering for YEARS in some corner or another, ever since the year I grew a bunch from seed.
That's good to hear! I really like them and would love it if they fill in that area. Beautiful, insect- and disease-free, and deer-resistant: what more could I ask for?
Been out of the country for a bit with work and wanted to pop in and say Thank you! for all the pics and updates from everyone's yards this year. I've enjoyed reading about them and have learned a ton from all the good articles posted. Hope everyone is doing fine and isn't too cold....
Seed catalogs ought to be along shortly!
Mike
Welcome back to the USA, Mike. I hope you can get back to your yard and garden this coming year.
It's cold here, very cold. Ice cold for several days but that has just about all melted now. It's amazing how big, full and even overcrowded some of the yard looks during growing season. And now you wouldn't know very much was there - even with leaving the clean-up and pruning chores until Spring. Looks rather bare out there.
I will have to say there are still a few blooms on the 'Alabama Crimson' honeysuckle. Amazing to see them.
Hope everyone is okay and has power.
An early winter in Arkansas River Valley with lots of snow, ice, and cold so no bloomers here. Plenty of birds and berries. But my wild verbena (Rose vervain?) is still green. This is its third winter and it usually blooms until Christmas. A great backyard plant that blooms profusely from Spring to Winter and attracts all kinds of butterflies and bees.
Looking forward to Spring violets and Falcated orange tip butterflies.
Nice photos, shorthog. That cardinal definitely looks ready for spring. And the icy berries are quite beautiful. You've definitely had some winter weather. I'm with you and the cardinal ... ready for spring!!
Thanks for posting those.
I second that, Shorthog - great photos! Lucky cardinal to have you to feed it during the winter.
Is that a Winterberry shrub?
I've got the giant red camellia beginning to bloom, and I have scads of tiny white asters still blooming mostly situated at the base of south facing walls. They are so cheery. :)
Nothing is blooming here, although if the weather stays warm the daffodils might be soon!
I can't wait for the daffodils but guess I'll have to. The only thing I see blooming out there right now are a few blooms left on the ''Alabama Crimson' honeysuckle. Seems to be quite hardy here. Either that or it's frozen in time.
