Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Future Queens
Wandering through the garden early this morning, checking the status of some recently planted plants, my eye was caught by something colorful against the green stem of a milkweed plant.
No, it wasn't the Monarch caterpillar that I've been hoping might turn up, but it was the next best thing - a Queen caterpillar. As you can see, they are marked very similarly to the Monarchs, even as the butterflies themselves are, but the Queen caterpillar has three matched sets of fleshy tentacles protruding from the body.
You can see those tentacles - and their shadows - even more clearly in this shot of one of the caterpillars that had crawled off the milkweed and onto the nearby fence. Most likely looking for a likely resting spot for a chrysalis.
I'll keep hoping that one of my early morning walks around the garden will turn up Monarch larvae someday soon, but, in the meantime, these beautiful future Queens made my day.
~*~*~*~
The Monarch migration continues. You can report your sightings, as I reported my first sighting of the fall last week, at Journey South. Be a part of this important Citizen Science project.
No, it wasn't the Monarch caterpillar that I've been hoping might turn up, but it was the next best thing - a Queen caterpillar. As you can see, they are marked very similarly to the Monarchs, even as the butterflies themselves are, but the Queen caterpillar has three matched sets of fleshy tentacles protruding from the body.
You can see those tentacles - and their shadows - even more clearly in this shot of one of the caterpillars that had crawled off the milkweed and onto the nearby fence. Most likely looking for a likely resting spot for a chrysalis.
I'll keep hoping that one of my early morning walks around the garden will turn up Monarch larvae someday soon, but, in the meantime, these beautiful future Queens made my day.
~*~*~*~
The Monarch migration continues. You can report your sightings, as I reported my first sighting of the fall last week, at Journey South. Be a part of this important Citizen Science project.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
A gardener's week - #9
Ah, September, we hardly knew ye! Your thirty short days went by in a blur. Hardly had we begun to recover from the insufferable heat of August when sweet October was peeking over the windowsill. Where did you go, September, and what was accomplished during your tenure?
Well, actually quite a lot was accomplished in September now that I am looking back, and a lot of it was done within the last week or ten days of the month when suddenly the weather turned quite pleasant. A lot of fall cleanup was completed and much of the fall veggie garden was planted. In fact, things are beginning to look more like a garden than a wilderness in my yard. Now I just have to try to keep up the momentum.
So, this week in the garden, the challenge was to refrain from just sitting down and looking around with a foolish grin while glorying in the gorgeous fall weather and my recent accomplishments, but to actually keep slogging along, making a little progress every day. That and keeping the hoses moving around the yard to sustain my plants until the autumn rains finally begin. (They are coming, aren't they, Mother Nature?)
One of the fun things about this week and most weeks in the garden has been observing the critters that come and go here. I've already written about my first Monarch butterfly sighting of the fall, but here are some of the other critters with whom I've shared my garden this week.
Little Sammy, the baby Eastern Box Turtle, has been back looking for a meal of kibble. He's very shy and shuts up tight as soon as he sees me and my camera, so it is almost impossible to get a picture of him with head and limbs out of his shell. I love the pristine, shiny quality of his shell. Most of the adult box turtles that I see have worn and damaged shells.
On Thursday, I was doing some pruning and deadheading around the garden and I decided to "limb up" my lemon tree which is now close to four feet tall and had several bushy limbs around its base. As I started to snip one of the limbs, the base of the limb twitched!
I nearly dropped my pruning shears when I realized I had almost cut a Giant Swallowtail caterpillar! Funny thing is, I've had lots of Giant Swallowtails around the garden recently and I had just checked the lemon tree and the Satsuma a couple of days before to see if there were larvae or eggs there. I didn't find anything, but obviously this guy had been there for quite a while, for he was about ready to pupate.
Only a day before, when I was watering my bronze fennel, I had found a cache of Black Swallowtail larvae of all sizes. I had not even seen any Black Swallowtail butterflies around the yard lately, but they had been here and had left me some presents.
This was the largest of the group and I only found one of his size. Like the Giant Swallowtail caterpillar, he was about at the end of his life as a larva and ready to move on to the next phase of metamorphosis.
The caterpillar on the left was about two-thirds the size of the one above, but the one on the right was very young indeed. There were several of his size scattered over the plants.
There were other interesting tiny critters around the yard this week, including all the baby anoles, toads and frogs that seem to be super-abundant this year, but I would rank katydids right up there with the rest of them.
Not a critter, but named for a critter is this butterfly ginger (Hedychium) from which I've been waiting for a bloom for three loooong years.
No waiting was necessary for this red ruellia which was all too anxious to bloom. And bloom. And bloom.
Same goes for this salvia 'Otahal' which seems to bloom continuously spring to fall, with maybe just a short rest during the hottest days of August.
In fact, as many Gulf Coast gardeners have learned, there are few more dependable bloomers or more useful plants in our gardens than the many varieties of sages and salvias, including the beautiful and prolifically blooming 'Mystic Spires'.
Even the Texas sage (Cenizo) has favored me with a few blooms recently. I had watered the xeric bed where it lives a few days before and apparently it triggered a bloom cycle.
I've been disappointed in my oxblood lilies this year. I had dreamed of a nice, lush display of blooms when I planted them. Instead, they have come up one by one by one and bloomed. The effect is very sparse, not at all what I had hoped for. I thought about possible reasons for this and finally realized that these blooms too are triggered by rains, and my rains have been extremely spotty to nonexistent ever since July. Also, these little bulbs live in a bed where I don't routinely supply supplemental water, but next year (if I can remember) if we are not getting rain, I will try to start watering that bed in August in hopes of getting better blooms.
The spring-blooming redbud is now full of seed pods that show its relationship to the legume family of plants.
This banana is showing neither blooms nor "seeds" so far. Last year it began its bloom in mid-October, so I'm keeping my eye on it.
And, finally, this, surely, is the very last of the blossoms from the milk-and-wine lilies. These tough old Southern beauties have bloomed repeatedly and often unexpectedly throughout the summer and at the end of September offered the "last of the summer wine".
I hope your week in the garden was a good one and that next week will be even better.
Well, actually quite a lot was accomplished in September now that I am looking back, and a lot of it was done within the last week or ten days of the month when suddenly the weather turned quite pleasant. A lot of fall cleanup was completed and much of the fall veggie garden was planted. In fact, things are beginning to look more like a garden than a wilderness in my yard. Now I just have to try to keep up the momentum.
So, this week in the garden, the challenge was to refrain from just sitting down and looking around with a foolish grin while glorying in the gorgeous fall weather and my recent accomplishments, but to actually keep slogging along, making a little progress every day. That and keeping the hoses moving around the yard to sustain my plants until the autumn rains finally begin. (They are coming, aren't they, Mother Nature?)
One of the fun things about this week and most weeks in the garden has been observing the critters that come and go here. I've already written about my first Monarch butterfly sighting of the fall, but here are some of the other critters with whom I've shared my garden this week.
Little Sammy, the baby Eastern Box Turtle, has been back looking for a meal of kibble. He's very shy and shuts up tight as soon as he sees me and my camera, so it is almost impossible to get a picture of him with head and limbs out of his shell. I love the pristine, shiny quality of his shell. Most of the adult box turtles that I see have worn and damaged shells.
On Thursday, I was doing some pruning and deadheading around the garden and I decided to "limb up" my lemon tree which is now close to four feet tall and had several bushy limbs around its base. As I started to snip one of the limbs, the base of the limb twitched!
I nearly dropped my pruning shears when I realized I had almost cut a Giant Swallowtail caterpillar! Funny thing is, I've had lots of Giant Swallowtails around the garden recently and I had just checked the lemon tree and the Satsuma a couple of days before to see if there were larvae or eggs there. I didn't find anything, but obviously this guy had been there for quite a while, for he was about ready to pupate.
Only a day before, when I was watering my bronze fennel, I had found a cache of Black Swallowtail larvae of all sizes. I had not even seen any Black Swallowtail butterflies around the yard lately, but they had been here and had left me some presents.
This was the largest of the group and I only found one of his size. Like the Giant Swallowtail caterpillar, he was about at the end of his life as a larva and ready to move on to the next phase of metamorphosis.
The caterpillar on the left was about two-thirds the size of the one above, but the one on the right was very young indeed. There were several of his size scattered over the plants.
There were other interesting tiny critters around the yard this week, including all the baby anoles, toads and frogs that seem to be super-abundant this year, but I would rank katydids right up there with the rest of them.
Not a critter, but named for a critter is this butterfly ginger (Hedychium) from which I've been waiting for a bloom for three loooong years.
No waiting was necessary for this red ruellia which was all too anxious to bloom. And bloom. And bloom.
Same goes for this salvia 'Otahal' which seems to bloom continuously spring to fall, with maybe just a short rest during the hottest days of August.
In fact, as many Gulf Coast gardeners have learned, there are few more dependable bloomers or more useful plants in our gardens than the many varieties of sages and salvias, including the beautiful and prolifically blooming 'Mystic Spires'.
Even the Texas sage (Cenizo) has favored me with a few blooms recently. I had watered the xeric bed where it lives a few days before and apparently it triggered a bloom cycle.
I've been disappointed in my oxblood lilies this year. I had dreamed of a nice, lush display of blooms when I planted them. Instead, they have come up one by one by one and bloomed. The effect is very sparse, not at all what I had hoped for. I thought about possible reasons for this and finally realized that these blooms too are triggered by rains, and my rains have been extremely spotty to nonexistent ever since July. Also, these little bulbs live in a bed where I don't routinely supply supplemental water, but next year (if I can remember) if we are not getting rain, I will try to start watering that bed in August in hopes of getting better blooms.
The spring-blooming redbud is now full of seed pods that show its relationship to the legume family of plants.
This banana is showing neither blooms nor "seeds" so far. Last year it began its bloom in mid-October, so I'm keeping my eye on it.
And, finally, this, surely, is the very last of the blossoms from the milk-and-wine lilies. These tough old Southern beauties have bloomed repeatedly and often unexpectedly throughout the summer and at the end of September offered the "last of the summer wine".
I hope your week in the garden was a good one and that next week will be even better.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
A notable garden visitor
While putting in some red cabbage plants in a bed in the veggie garden on Tuesday morning, September 28, I stood up to relieve my aching back and wipe my sweaty brow and looked around me. And saw my first Monarch butterfly of the autumn in my yard.
I was, of course, in gardening mode, not photography mode, so there was no camera around to record the event. I could only stand and watch and admire, and record the event in my mind's eye.
She (I always think of Monarchs as "she" unless proved otherwise) was flitting about a bed that contained hamelia, buddleia, lantana, butterfly weed, and yellow cestrum. She stopped to sip from each plant in turn. Her wings were worn and faded. I wondered how far they had carried her.
As I watched, she left the first bed and headed over to some esperanza that grows by the fence. She settled down to feed and I wished that she might linger with me for a while.
But a butterfly's life is brief. She had no time to waste. In a few minutes, as if she had heard some distant call, she rose from the shrub on her tattered wings and headed south once again. I last saw her as she crossed the yard of my next door neighbor and headed across the next yard, her wings beating strongly and with purpose.
When I thought about it later, I thought how appropriate it was that the last plant from which she fed in my yard was esperanza. Hope.
I was, of course, in gardening mode, not photography mode, so there was no camera around to record the event. I could only stand and watch and admire, and record the event in my mind's eye.
She (I always think of Monarchs as "she" unless proved otherwise) was flitting about a bed that contained hamelia, buddleia, lantana, butterfly weed, and yellow cestrum. She stopped to sip from each plant in turn. Her wings were worn and faded. I wondered how far they had carried her.
As I watched, she left the first bed and headed over to some esperanza that grows by the fence. She settled down to feed and I wished that she might linger with me for a while.
But a butterfly's life is brief. She had no time to waste. In a few minutes, as if she had heard some distant call, she rose from the shrub on her tattered wings and headed south once again. I last saw her as she crossed the yard of my next door neighbor and headed across the next yard, her wings beating strongly and with purpose.
When I thought about it later, I thought how appropriate it was that the last plant from which she fed in my yard was esperanza. Hope.
Monday, September 27, 2010
"Top 10 Rookie Gardening Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)"
In the middle of my daily online reading recently, I came across this title,"Top 10 Rookie Gardening Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)" by Colleen Vanderlinden. Well, of course, I had to read that!
As I started reading Ms. Vanderlinden's list, I thought, "This woman must have been looking over my shoulder!" By the time I finished the list, I knew for sure that she had written the unauthorized and unexpurgated biography of my life as a gardener. Yes, she told all my dirty little secrets.
The dirtiest of my secrets though is that these aren't just rookie mistakes with me. I keep making them over and over again.
Some rookies in that other game that I love, baseball, just never learn that they can't hit that low and outside slider. They'll keep right on swinging at it until they are finally sent back to the minor leagues for "seasoning." In gardening, there are no general managers to send me down to the minors, but Mother Nature certainly tells me, "You're out!" often enough. But you, gentle reader, are better than that. You don't have to make these mistakes that I seem doomed to repeat. Here's how to avoid them.
1. Clueless watering: I've drowned so many plants in my life as a gardener that I really should probably be declared a mass murderer. On the other hand, I've let many die of thirst, although not as many, I think, as I've drowned. Over/underwatering is so easy to avoid that there really is no excuse for doing it. First of all, we should make the effort to know our plant's requirements, whether it likes to dry out between waterings or stay consistently moist or have its feet wet, and secondly, what could be easier than sticking a finger in the soil to see if it is wet? If it is dry, then it is probably time to water.
2. Wrong plant, wrong place: Mea culpa! I confess! Oh, how many times have I done this in my gardening career? Planted a shade-loving plant in the sun or a plant that requires full sun in the shade of an oak tree. Stuck a plant that needs a protected southern exposure on the north side of the house or a plant that needs only gentle morning light where it will get the full brunt of the harsh afternoon sun. Yes, I have done it not once but many times. And all it would require to avoid this mistake is reading the plant tag, or, if there is no tag, doing a little research to find out what the plant needs to thrive. Successful gardeners know that the most important thing you can do for a plant is to give it the conditions that it likes and not try to force it into a situation where it is uncomfortable. Stressed plants will not perform well for you. Happy plants will.
3. Not giving plants enough space: You've got this big, empty bed to fill and you're looking at some dinky little quart or gallon plants and thinking to yourself that your space is going to look very bare. And so you buy more plants and you shove them all in close together. But plants grow! And some of them grow very large and very fast. Once again, look at the plant label and believe what it says about how much space the plant requires. Give it the room that it needs and then be patient. Truthfully, patience is probably the last lesson that any gardener learns. And the hardest.
4. Not knowing your zone: It is important to know your USDA Hardiness Zone and to believe what the charts tell you about temperature ranges of that zone. Many area gardeners who had disregarded that information in their planting had some very sad experiences last winter, when, for the first time in a long time, we actually had a winter. Read the plant label and compare it to your known hardiness zone and if it says the plant can only survive in zone 9 or higher, don't plant it if you are in zone 8.
5. Haphazard fertilizing: Some of us have this crazy idea that if a little is good then a lot must be better. Not true - especially when it comes to fertilizers. You can overdo it even with organic fertilizers, and giving the plant more than it needs is not unlike giving a child more food than it needs. You may end up with an obese and unhealthy child or a stressed and unhealthy plant. And stressed plants send out signals that are easily interpreted by insects looking for a meal. They say, "Come and eat me!" and the munchers will not need a second invitation.
6. Not mulching: Ah, mulch, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. You discourage weeds and keep the root zone cooler. You reduce evaporation and add nutrients to the soil. Few things are more important to plants in our climate than a good organic mulch of leaves or grass clippings or wood chips. (I like the native cedar mulch myself.) And besides all the good things it does for our plants, it makes the beds look neater and more attractive.
7. Indifferent soil preparation: It all begins with the soil, no matter what you are growing. One of the smartest things you can do is to contact your County Extension Office for a soil test kit. Follow the directions, collect your soil and send it in for analysis. Soon you will know if your soil is deficient in some nutrients and you can make the necessary amendments. Before you plant, you'll want to thoroughly loosen the soil and add plenty of organic material such as compost or well-rotted manure. This is where your plant's roots will be growing and roots make the plant. But soil makes the roots.
8. Sun/shade fairy tales: This relates back to #2. Don't stick a plant that needs sun in the shade or a plant that needs shade in the sun. You'll only stress the plant and make it more prone to disease, as well as easy prey for insect pests.
9. Not knowing your site: Even in a small backyard garden, there are microclimates and special circumstances that require consideration when you are planning what and where to plant. You may have a spot that collects water when it rains. You wouldn't want to put your xeric plants there. Or you may have a location that is particularly exposed to wind. You shouldn't plant something with tender, easily bruised leaves in such a spot. Knowing the eccentricities of your site and planning and planting accordingly can save you a lot of annoyance and frustration and can save a lot of innocent plants' lives.
10. Listening to "experts": This may seem counterintuitive, but no one can know your garden as well as you do. You are the one who lives there, the one who puts your hands in the soil, the one who watches the shadows move across the yard each day, the one who sees where the rain collects and how it flows through your yard. There are many "experts" out there and they have a lot of valuable information and advice to give. But take it all with a grain of salt. They don't know your yard like you do. In your garden, YOU are the expert.
Now you know all the terrible, horrible, awful, no-good mistakes that I made as a rookie gardener - and every year since. You can avoid them and be a successful gardener. What it really takes, chiefly, is common sense (which, in fact, is not very common) and reading the plant labels.
Happy gardening!
As I started reading Ms. Vanderlinden's list, I thought, "This woman must have been looking over my shoulder!" By the time I finished the list, I knew for sure that she had written the unauthorized and unexpurgated biography of my life as a gardener. Yes, she told all my dirty little secrets.
The dirtiest of my secrets though is that these aren't just rookie mistakes with me. I keep making them over and over again.
Some rookies in that other game that I love, baseball, just never learn that they can't hit that low and outside slider. They'll keep right on swinging at it until they are finally sent back to the minor leagues for "seasoning." In gardening, there are no general managers to send me down to the minors, but Mother Nature certainly tells me, "You're out!" often enough. But you, gentle reader, are better than that. You don't have to make these mistakes that I seem doomed to repeat. Here's how to avoid them.
1. Clueless watering: I've drowned so many plants in my life as a gardener that I really should probably be declared a mass murderer. On the other hand, I've let many die of thirst, although not as many, I think, as I've drowned. Over/underwatering is so easy to avoid that there really is no excuse for doing it. First of all, we should make the effort to know our plant's requirements, whether it likes to dry out between waterings or stay consistently moist or have its feet wet, and secondly, what could be easier than sticking a finger in the soil to see if it is wet? If it is dry, then it is probably time to water.
2. Wrong plant, wrong place: Mea culpa! I confess! Oh, how many times have I done this in my gardening career? Planted a shade-loving plant in the sun or a plant that requires full sun in the shade of an oak tree. Stuck a plant that needs a protected southern exposure on the north side of the house or a plant that needs only gentle morning light where it will get the full brunt of the harsh afternoon sun. Yes, I have done it not once but many times. And all it would require to avoid this mistake is reading the plant tag, or, if there is no tag, doing a little research to find out what the plant needs to thrive. Successful gardeners know that the most important thing you can do for a plant is to give it the conditions that it likes and not try to force it into a situation where it is uncomfortable. Stressed plants will not perform well for you. Happy plants will.
3. Not giving plants enough space: You've got this big, empty bed to fill and you're looking at some dinky little quart or gallon plants and thinking to yourself that your space is going to look very bare. And so you buy more plants and you shove them all in close together. But plants grow! And some of them grow very large and very fast. Once again, look at the plant label and believe what it says about how much space the plant requires. Give it the room that it needs and then be patient. Truthfully, patience is probably the last lesson that any gardener learns. And the hardest.
4. Not knowing your zone: It is important to know your USDA Hardiness Zone and to believe what the charts tell you about temperature ranges of that zone. Many area gardeners who had disregarded that information in their planting had some very sad experiences last winter, when, for the first time in a long time, we actually had a winter. Read the plant label and compare it to your known hardiness zone and if it says the plant can only survive in zone 9 or higher, don't plant it if you are in zone 8.
5. Haphazard fertilizing: Some of us have this crazy idea that if a little is good then a lot must be better. Not true - especially when it comes to fertilizers. You can overdo it even with organic fertilizers, and giving the plant more than it needs is not unlike giving a child more food than it needs. You may end up with an obese and unhealthy child or a stressed and unhealthy plant. And stressed plants send out signals that are easily interpreted by insects looking for a meal. They say, "Come and eat me!" and the munchers will not need a second invitation.
6. Not mulching: Ah, mulch, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. You discourage weeds and keep the root zone cooler. You reduce evaporation and add nutrients to the soil. Few things are more important to plants in our climate than a good organic mulch of leaves or grass clippings or wood chips. (I like the native cedar mulch myself.) And besides all the good things it does for our plants, it makes the beds look neater and more attractive.
7. Indifferent soil preparation: It all begins with the soil, no matter what you are growing. One of the smartest things you can do is to contact your County Extension Office for a soil test kit. Follow the directions, collect your soil and send it in for analysis. Soon you will know if your soil is deficient in some nutrients and you can make the necessary amendments. Before you plant, you'll want to thoroughly loosen the soil and add plenty of organic material such as compost or well-rotted manure. This is where your plant's roots will be growing and roots make the plant. But soil makes the roots.
8. Sun/shade fairy tales: This relates back to #2. Don't stick a plant that needs sun in the shade or a plant that needs shade in the sun. You'll only stress the plant and make it more prone to disease, as well as easy prey for insect pests.
9. Not knowing your site: Even in a small backyard garden, there are microclimates and special circumstances that require consideration when you are planning what and where to plant. You may have a spot that collects water when it rains. You wouldn't want to put your xeric plants there. Or you may have a location that is particularly exposed to wind. You shouldn't plant something with tender, easily bruised leaves in such a spot. Knowing the eccentricities of your site and planning and planting accordingly can save you a lot of annoyance and frustration and can save a lot of innocent plants' lives.
10. Listening to "experts": This may seem counterintuitive, but no one can know your garden as well as you do. You are the one who lives there, the one who puts your hands in the soil, the one who watches the shadows move across the yard each day, the one who sees where the rain collects and how it flows through your yard. There are many "experts" out there and they have a lot of valuable information and advice to give. But take it all with a grain of salt. They don't know your yard like you do. In your garden, YOU are the expert.
Now you know all the terrible, horrible, awful, no-good mistakes that I made as a rookie gardener - and every year since. You can avoid them and be a successful gardener. What it really takes, chiefly, is common sense (which, in fact, is not very common) and reading the plant labels.
Happy gardening!
Friday, September 24, 2010
A gardener's week - #8
This week I have mainly worked in the veggie garden, trying to bring order out of chaos. I've pulled the weeds from several beds and readied them for planting and actually got a couple of them planted. I went by Arbor Gate on Monday and picked up some plants, including mesclun mix plants and broccoli for the veggie garden, as well as a few plants for the renovation I'm doing on my front yard beds. (More to come on that at a later date.)
I got the mesclun and broccoli planted and weeded the beds that still have plants from spring in them and the tomatoes that I planted last month. The only things from spring that are still producing are the eggplants and peppers.
The eggplant is going wild right now! It had stopped producing for a few weeks during the hottest part of summer but now it is full of new fruits. In short order, we'll have eggplant parmigiana again!
I also had a bed ready to plant potatoes, but I took the day off from gardening today and went birding at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge. Time enough to think about planting potatoes tomorrow.
Other than vegetable gardening, the main attractions in my garden this week have been my hibiscus bloomers. All the plants are in bloom except for one.
This is my non-bloomer that was killed back to the roots during winter and took a very, very long time coming back in the spring. It looks healthy now but shows no signs of producing buds. It still has about two-and-a-half months before frost so maybe it will yet give me some blooms.
This is another plant from last year that died back to the roots in winter but it came back quickly in spring and has bloomed profusely all summer long. The only thing is, the blossom is different. Last year it was a singleton - now it's this very pretty double. It is my mystery hibiscus.
I learned last year that I actually quite like hibiscus. Some of the blossoms on these plants can be quite complicated and fantastical, but, actually, I'm really partial to the clean-cut single blossoms. So I added three of them this year.
This pretty orange one is called 'Carolina Breeze.'
My new sunny yellow one is called 'Sunset Yellow.' At least that was the name that was on the plant tag when I bought it, but frankly the blossom doesn't look quite like the picture. Never mind, I like it anyway.
The third new one features a pink blossom with a red eye and it is called 'Candy Wind.'
Then, of course, there is my old stand-by 'Texas Star' that has really outdone itself with blooms continuously since spring.
And, in other parts of the garden...
I haven't seen the tiny baby turtle this week, but this guy who turned up earlier this summer has been back for his share of the kibble on the back porch.
The milkweed is attracting any butterflies that wander by but also these red milkweed bugs. Notice that they feature the bright colors to warn predators that they taste bad, just like the Monarch butterflies and...
...their cousins, the Queens. I've had a pair of these beauties in my yard this week and they've spent a lot of time around the milkweed. I hope they are laying some eggs there.
Still no Monarchs though. The migration is well under way now. They should be arriving soon.
I got the mesclun and broccoli planted and weeded the beds that still have plants from spring in them and the tomatoes that I planted last month. The only things from spring that are still producing are the eggplants and peppers.
The eggplant is going wild right now! It had stopped producing for a few weeks during the hottest part of summer but now it is full of new fruits. In short order, we'll have eggplant parmigiana again!
I also had a bed ready to plant potatoes, but I took the day off from gardening today and went birding at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge. Time enough to think about planting potatoes tomorrow.
Other than vegetable gardening, the main attractions in my garden this week have been my hibiscus bloomers. All the plants are in bloom except for one.
This is my non-bloomer that was killed back to the roots during winter and took a very, very long time coming back in the spring. It looks healthy now but shows no signs of producing buds. It still has about two-and-a-half months before frost so maybe it will yet give me some blooms.
This is another plant from last year that died back to the roots in winter but it came back quickly in spring and has bloomed profusely all summer long. The only thing is, the blossom is different. Last year it was a singleton - now it's this very pretty double. It is my mystery hibiscus.
I learned last year that I actually quite like hibiscus. Some of the blossoms on these plants can be quite complicated and fantastical, but, actually, I'm really partial to the clean-cut single blossoms. So I added three of them this year.
This pretty orange one is called 'Carolina Breeze.'
My new sunny yellow one is called 'Sunset Yellow.' At least that was the name that was on the plant tag when I bought it, but frankly the blossom doesn't look quite like the picture. Never mind, I like it anyway.
The third new one features a pink blossom with a red eye and it is called 'Candy Wind.'
Then, of course, there is my old stand-by 'Texas Star' that has really outdone itself with blooms continuously since spring.
And, in other parts of the garden...
I haven't seen the tiny baby turtle this week, but this guy who turned up earlier this summer has been back for his share of the kibble on the back porch.
The milkweed is attracting any butterflies that wander by but also these red milkweed bugs. Notice that they feature the bright colors to warn predators that they taste bad, just like the Monarch butterflies and...
...their cousins, the Queens. I've had a pair of these beauties in my yard this week and they've spent a lot of time around the milkweed. I hope they are laying some eggs there.
Still no Monarchs though. The migration is well under way now. They should be arriving soon.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
A remarkable confluence of events
As a confirmed moon watcher, I was out to watch the rise of the Harvest Moon over my backyard last night. It was a beautiful night with only a few wispy clouds and the "Queen of the Night" ruled over all in her matchless beauty.
The Harvest Moon as seen over my yard last night.
The Harvest Moon, as you probably know, is the full moon which occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. Well, you can't get much closer than having it come on the actual day of the autumnal equinox.
Autumn arrived quietly enough last night at 10:09, our time, and the full moon was already there to greet it. This unusual occurrence of the Harvest Moon and autumnal equinox coming on the same day had not happened since September 23, 1991, and it will not happen again until 2029. This particular "Super Harvest Moon" was made even more special for sky watchers because Jupiter and Uranus were in alignment, as well.
The Harvest Moon got its name because, in the days before electric lights and mechanized farm equipment with their own light sources, this moon was very important to farmers who were able to continue their fall harvesting activities into the night aided by its light.
Though it may not be needed for harvesting any more, some of us like to look at our gardens by its light, a light which is much kinder than the sun's. By moonlight, even my garden is beautiful, and as I walked the path through my vegetable garden last night, gazing at the new plants I had installed there this week, those little plants looked very perky and happy and I could go to my bed and dream blissful dreams of harvests to come.
The Harvest Moon as seen over my yard last night.
The Harvest Moon, as you probably know, is the full moon which occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. Well, you can't get much closer than having it come on the actual day of the autumnal equinox.
Autumn arrived quietly enough last night at 10:09, our time, and the full moon was already there to greet it. This unusual occurrence of the Harvest Moon and autumnal equinox coming on the same day had not happened since September 23, 1991, and it will not happen again until 2029. This particular "Super Harvest Moon" was made even more special for sky watchers because Jupiter and Uranus were in alignment, as well.
The Harvest Moon got its name because, in the days before electric lights and mechanized farm equipment with their own light sources, this moon was very important to farmers who were able to continue their fall harvesting activities into the night aided by its light.
Though it may not be needed for harvesting any more, some of us like to look at our gardens by its light, a light which is much kinder than the sun's. By moonlight, even my garden is beautiful, and as I walked the path through my vegetable garden last night, gazing at the new plants I had installed there this week, those little plants looked very perky and happy and I could go to my bed and dream blissful dreams of harvests to come.
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