For The Birds!!

I've not been feeling like getting in the garden lately… its not the heat, that's let up, its just that I've been a bit discouraged - mostly due to a crabgrass infestation that came about during a hot spell (too hot to treat).  I've treated now, but will probably have to re-treat… sigh… I'm also discouraged that I've not made the progress I'd like on the brick edging project (which will help keep the lawn out of the flower beds), the arthritis in my hands has been acting up & I've been fighting off some sort of infection, so the combination has kept me from moving bricks & digging - both required for the task.

In the mean time I've had lots of visitors to the feeders & birdbath lately, some unexpected visitors among the bunch, I was able to get some pictures of the usual characters…

Little Woodpecker on the Oak, female.

Little Woodpecker at the Suet, female.

Sparrow on top of the feeder arm… female, kinda hard to see...

Same Sparrow, zoomed in...

Chickadee & Sparrow sharing a feeder...

Chickadee at the Suet...

Chickadee at the Birdbath...

Sparrow at the feeder...

Nuthatch joins her for lunch...

They seem to be enjoying each other's company...

That might be a female Finch on the left… hard to tell the female Finches from Sparrows

Nuthatch and Sparrow...

Sparrow is now in the tree, almost hidden by the leaves...

Later, when I was filling the feeders, this little Woodpecker was cleaning
himself on a branch above me...

You can tell he's a male by the red spot on the back of his head...

To my frustration I wasn't able to get pictures of: House Finch, Gold Finch, Red Winged Blackbird.  There just aren't as many of them & I've not had my camera on hand when they've been around, but they've been here the last couple days!! Today I went to my favorite local bird food supplier, Chickadee's House, & picked up some new foods to try that might encourage these new visitors to stick around, and might tempt the Cardinals to come by more often.

In other garden news, my next-to-last-to-bloom Hosta has put out her blooms, they're a deeper purple than her cousins put out.  My last-to-bloom Hosta hasn't even put shoots up yet… stubborn girl!!

Italian Parsley, Sage, Thyme

Dill, Cilantro, Tarragon

My herbs, except my Peppermint, continue to grow like crazy.  What's going on with my Peppermint?  Well….

That's right, she's been blooming… normally blooms on plants are good… but for herbs I've been told to keep the blooms off to encourage better leaf production… so I've been a bad plant-mommy…  Well, maybe just a discouraged plant-mommy, since she'd been a bit of an unhappy plant & I'm not sure why, so I'd let her do what she wanted for a while… that is until today.

Peppermint blooms in a bud vase...

Peppermint leaves pulled from the bloom trimmings...

Yep, I trimmed off all her blooms…  I thought they were kinda pretty, so I put them into a tiny bud vase - after I removed the big leaves of course, we'll be having the leaves with our Sorbet tonight (Yum!)…

A Cool Spell...

This week was good for getting out into the yard & pulling things back into shape…

This cute little moth/butterfly reminded me of a fighter jet the way its
wings were configured as it sat on a Salvia bloom… my Salvia are
continuing to bloom since I'm keeping them dead-headed.

My large Weigela is continuing to grow & fill in, she's new as of last Summer & still not
to her expected full size but progressing nicely.  She's also decided to put out another set
of blooms…..

She's not blooming as heavily as her first bloom of the season, but her blooms continue
to be beautiful hues of pink...

My Hibiscus is getting huge this year, he's also a relative newcomer, and
he's going to put out a bumper-crop of blooms this year! :)

This Mallow surprised me, she'd had blooms when I planted her &
subsequently dropped all her blooms… I thought she was done…
boy was I wrong!!  She was just taking a little rest before her 2nd round...

My Beardtongue also surprised me…  The bloom-shoot had flowered & died off…
I had no idea the same shoot could/would reflower…. and she's come back a brighter
color than her original flowering… I'm going to have to get used to her behavior...

So my gardens are looking better now that they've been cleaned up a bit again… now I'm already thinking about which plants need to be moved/replaced next season… I've got some troublemakers that need to be dealt with & some things that just don't "fit" their spaces… always more to do in my yard!!

Moving right along...

Things are moving along at a fast pace this year, I'm amazed how much of the growing season is already past!!

This guy was moving a little too quickly for me to get out my camera, or even to get a good pic with my phone (he was a quite vibrant red)… but he was such a delight I just had to "capture the moment"…   This male Cardinal was flitting between my oaks & the feeder as I was running the sprinkler in that area, he was taking a shower & having breakfast at the same time, how efficient!!

My Hibiscus, my late bloomer, has finally started putting out blooms… Wow…

These blooms are huge!!  I sometimes forget how big they get…

Detail on the Hibiscus…

My Royal Cape Plumbago had stopped blooming shortly after I got her (new plant), but she's started blooming again :)  I just love these pretty blue bloom clusters…

My Pentas Graffiti Violet is growing & blooming like crazy…

My Rose Glow Landmark is also continuing to bloom nicely…

These are my Tomatillos, the ones I started from seeds, they're finally taking off… and they're taking off!!

What's that on the base of my Oak Tree?

Could it be?  Do I perhaps have a new resident in the yard?

No… its just me being a little silly :)  This would have stirred my imagination as a kid, and the kid inside just couldn't resist :)

Happy Gardens!!

Saturday in the garden...

Hubby had to work on Saturday… and I was under the weather, so I didn't have the energy or desire to put in more brick edging (still lots more to go… wondering if it will get completed this season)… I did get outside in the garden, simply to enjoy what's growing/blooming/changing…

Delphinium

I've had this Delphinium for a few years now, but this year I didn't think it was going to come back…

Delphinium close-up

It initially put out a few leaves, which subsequently got nibbled by a local bunny…

So I put a little fence around it put out a few more leaves… and stalled…

It had been in the midst of some California Poppies which had taken over that area, I decided to pull the Poppies because I didn't like their aggressive behavior (I'll container some next time)…

At that time I almost pulled up this lady, but I decided to let her go for a while… and she bounced back to life!!  Now she happily shares her little plot of the yard with some Tomatoes & Tomatillos I'm trying to grow from seed...

This is my well-nibbled Phlox, she's decided to start blooming again… the Deer Scram I put around her seems to be keeping her from getting nibbled further :)

My Kalanchoe continues to put out more blooms, she seems to like being promoted from houseplant to garden plant.

I put out a non-melt Suet Cake & guess who came to visit… I took this picture from quite a distance & zoomed way in with my little digital camera - not the greatest picture but I like capturing the moment :)

I captured (on pictures only) another fluttery friend visiting the Liatris, she let me take several pictures, I'll let you peruse & enjoy….

Until next time…