Wordless Wednesday: Gulf Fritillary on lantana

Winter is coming

33 degrees F. on November 12??? Really? Well, that's what the Weather Channel website shows as our predicted low for tonight. It seems as though winter may be arriving a bit early this year.

Our high today, which occurred at mid-morning, was 64 and already the temperature has fallen to 58, so 33 does seem eminently reachable tonight, especially if the clouds clear out as expected and the skies are clear.

All of which raises a delicate question for a gardener: Should I protect any of my plants? After all, 33 degrees is just one tiny degree away from freezing.

Most of my plants that are in the ground are very tough and I'll take my chances with them, but I do have some plants outside in pots that could be damaged by the low temperatures. Should I lug them inside or cover them with frost cloth?

One plant in particular comes to mind. My Christmas cactus has flourished in a pot under the magnolia tree all summer and it is now full of buds. I would be devastated to lose it, so that one will definitely be coming inside to rest in a closet for a few weeks.

Then there's the big Ficus benjamina tree that lives in a pot on the patio. It has sentimental value for me because it was a gift from friends on the death of my father fifteen years ago. I have babied that tree through various traumas over the years, including a previous unexpected freeze. It made it through that time, but it doesn't like cold weather. Time to bring it inside, I think, or at least to a protected corner of the back porch.

So, time to get outside and start shifting some plants before the temperature drops any further. Our average first frost date is still about three weeks away, but there are always unexpected exceptions. Tonight just may be one of them.

Veterans Day 2013

This is the day set aside to stop and consider and honor the sacrifices made by those who serve in the armed forces and also the sacrifices made by their families and loved ones. They also serve who only stand and wait.

Thank you for your willingness to serve.

From the archives: Copper Canyon daisy

The Copper Canyon daisies are not yet in full bloom in my garden, but they are getting there. Almost a year ago, I blogged about this tough, drought-tolerant plant and at that time it was in full bloom. Here's that post from November 29, 2012.

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Copper Canyon daisy (Tagetes lemmonii)

Autumn is Copper Canyon daisy time in my garden. This tough, drought-tolerant shrubby plant has been a part of my garden for several years and this year it has been particularly floriferous.

This perennial shrub can grow to about three to four feet tall and five to six feet wide. That pretty much describes mine in its present form. It has feathery foliage which gives the plant an airy, rather blowsy appearance. At the height of its bloom (mine is a bit past that point now) the inch-wide blooms can completely cover and obscure the leaves, making the plant look like a big mound of yellow. It is quite a striking sight. This native daisy will grow in full sun or partial shade. Mine is in partial shade.

The original plant was native in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and northern Mexico, but it has been introduced and naturalized in many parts of Texas and it grows extremely well even here in humid Southeast Texas. Yes, this is one tough and versatile plant!

One of the most noticeable attributes of the plant is its scent. It has a very strong "marigold" scent which some people might find objectionable, but which I actually enjoy..The scent may be one of the things that makes this plant deer-resistant, a very important trait in many areas.

Other names for this plant include Mexican bush marigold, Mt. Lemmon marigold, and mountain marigold. The plant was collected by John Gill and Sara Lemmon in southeastern Arizona in the 1880s. The Lemmons developed the plant and introduced it to the nursery trade in California. The botanical name, Tagetes lemmonii, recognizes that contribution.

As our climate changes and we have to deal with extended droughts, area gardeners search for plants that can thrive in such conditions and Copper Canyon daisy can be added to that list. Once established, it does not require any extra water and no fertilizer. It is a lazy gardener's dream plant.

Do you know me?

(Re-posted from The Nature of Things.)

Several days before I got sick in October, I stepped out onto my patio one morning to find this rather elegant and gaudily dressed beetle crawling across.

Well, well, I thought, what bug are you? I don't believe we have met before. I snapped his picture and later started researching, trying to learn his name. I knew enough to call him a beetle, but that was able all I knew. But at least that narrowed the field a bit.

I finally found him in an old field guide I owned, A Field Guide to the Insects by Borror and White. Turns out my little visitor is a scarab beetle of the family Scarabaeidae, subfamily Scarabaeinae, or dung beetle! Yes, that elegant-looking little beetle makes his living from dung or carrion.

The little guy, whose proper scientific name is Phanaeus vindex, is also known as the rainbow scarab, which I like much better than dung beetle so I think that's what I'll call it.

The rainbow scarab beetle is resident in the eastern U.S. all the way to the Rocky Mountains, so if you live in that area, you might have encountered one. But I really don't recall ever having seen one before that lucky find on the patio. I was glad to make his acquaintance.

Ah, autumn!

What a glorious weekend of weather we had. The temperatures were just right, the sunshine was golden and the breezes gentle. After being forced to stay indoors for most of the previous ten days, it was a wonderful release for me to be able to get outside for at least a few minutes each day. I wasn't really able to do anything but sit and enjoy the weather, but that was enough.

Then today the weather turned gloomy and drizzly and kept me mostly indoors again, but even that seemed perfect. How often we have longed in vain for these drizzly autumn days in our recent drought-ridden years. It's a comfort to have them return.

I say I didn't do much while outside on the weekend except sit, but I did accomplish one thing with some assistance from my husband. I refilled my empty bird feeders. I had found my garden to be eerily quiet. The birds all seemed to have fled, except for the House Sparrows which, unfortunately, never desert me. Once all the feeders were empty and no one refilled them, I'm sure they all found other sources of food.

It's an inconvenient time for the birds to abscond, though, because Project FeederWatch begins next weekend. I'll be observing, counting, and reporting the birds that show up at my feeders or to feed at the plants in my garden. Unless I can entice them back in the next few days, there won't be much to report.

I found that some other things besides the birds had changed in my garden during my absence. The big almond verbena shrub near my patio was in full bloom once again, perfuming the air with its sweetness. Likewise the Cape honeysuckle had embarked on another cycle of bloom and had set its corner of the garden ablaze with its fiery orange blossoms. And the white mistflower which I was really beginning to have my doubts about proved to me once again that patience is the essence of being a gardener. It truly looks like a white mist in the middle of the backyard.

Wonderful autumn. It is so good to be able to enjoy it once again.

Note to my readers

To those of you who may have noticed my recent blog silence and wondered about it, the truth is that I have been quite sick. A bacterial infection has flattened me and made it impossible for me to do much of anything, including blogging. I hope to be feeling better soon and back to my normal activities. Meantime, thank you for your patience.