Suburban Wildlife Garden

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Not Just A Dream Garden

Tired of waiting for my pool to be built before starting to plant my back garden; I have begun. I started by laying some pavers so the mower won't murder any more plants.

The plants are still babies, but they are doing well thus far. I plan to add some pots in the arched gothic hangers; though I haven't decided what kind of hanging plants to put in them yet.

The Carolina Wrens seem to approve of all the interesting activity. Here she's checking out the feeder though she doesn't eat the sunflower seeds.

The Mockingbirds seem to find more insects in my back garden since I don't use herbicide there. (Must admit to using it in the front lawn to keep the HOA off my back, but that's a different blog entry).

My coral honeysuckle and lipstick salvia are still growing well in the new bed...

I had to plant a new passionflower since the local Tom Cat obliterated my old vine with his spraying. Hopefully this new plant will grow faster than Tom can spray.

This urn below was from 3 houses ago and the green sedum on the left was a cutting my great-grandmother, Vinny. I was surprised to notice the finches eating the tops off the green sedum. They seem to really enjoy it.

Here are a few plants waiting to be popped into the ground this weekend if I'm feeling up to it...

If you look closely -- to the left of the bottle -- you'll see a green anole sunning himself above the young plants.

Here he is up close and personal...

Meanwhile in the front garden...MSS from Zanthan Gardens suggested that I should have shown off my lavender a bit more. So, here it is...

And here are the last of my Texas bluebonnets...

My winecups (Callirhoe involucrata), have finally come out to play...

And the red yucca is blooming this year...

And last but not least, I just had to share the photos below. Since I've been under-the-weather for several weeks my cat, Mariah, and I have had lazy competitions. As you can see she's taken it to an extreme with head-on-pillow inaction. I assure you she did not strain herself...

And yes, she is spoiled... :-)

One of my dreams is to have a screened-in lanai again so my two cats can enjoy visiting outside without getting eaten by the local wildlife, (a problem for cats in our area, unfortunately).

A cat improves the garden wall in sunshine, and the hearth in foul weather. ~Judith Merkle Riley

Sunday, April 6, 2008

It's a Spring Fling Thing

I had a pleasant time meeting Garden Bloggers from around the country at the 2008 Spring Fling here in Austin. I didn't get a chance to talk with everyone, but most of the Bloggers I did speak with were very kind. Thank you to Pam, Diana, MSS and Bonnie for doing all the heaving lifting (and a special thanks again to Pam & MSS for inviting us into your homes and gardens)... and thanks to the out-of-towners for coming all the way to Austin to make this happen.

The Fling started for me on Saturday when I joined with the group's tour -- already in progress -- at the Lady Bird Wildflower Center. Here are some photos I took of the plants and hardscapes we looked at...

I was very happy to meet Susan Wittig Albert and purchase two of her autographed books. [Mysteriously, I saw a beautiful garden nymph climb out of a cage just as we were leaving the center, but perhaps it was my imagination...?]

The Flingers had a delicious lunch at Nuevo León and enjoyed an eloquent talk by KLRU's Tom Spencer.

After lunch we drove to my favorite nursery, The Natural Gardener, where several people found botanical goodies. It was all I could do to not purchase something, but I will likely go back and buy one of these beaded animals soon. They are too cool!

Next stop was a tour of James David & Gary Peese's magnificent gardens. To see a map of the property click here. My photos do not do them justice, but here is a brief tour...

My son would love this collection of fossils.

When we stepped into the garden I said "Now I know how the kids felt when they were let loose in Wonkaland." I half-expected Gene Wilder to start singing "Pure Imagination".

Visions of my therapy pool are dancing in my head...

Looking back up towards the house you can see the Flingers are enjoying the garden.

In my next life I'd like to come back as a bird in this garden.

This table is ready for a Feast.

They do have a pitch of lawn with a vista.

There are beautiful pots throughout the property.

I love this grouping of succulents...

No idea what these cool 'tongue-looking' succulents were among the poppies...

More poppies...

Bill & I went to visit the chickens.

Yes, I loved the chickens.

You may also want to watch this cool KLRU video with James David...

Check out some of the other blogs to see more of the social photos. Unfortunately my camera's battery lost power after the David/Peese Garden, but there was a lovely tour of MSS's garden, a Happy Hour at Pam's house and then a dinner at the County Line.

Thanks again to everyone for all your hard work and kindness. Happy Gardening!

"You don't have to garden just for yourself. You have to share it."...Augusta Carter

Friday, April 4, 2008

My 1st Blogoversary

It's my first blogoversary today. Not sure what the netiquette rules are for announcing one's own celebration. I realize I don't have a knockout garden nor an amazing blog like some of the really talented people in the Gardening Blogosphere, but I am enjoying myself and have made some lovely friends. Thanks to all of you who've kindly commented here over the past year. You've made me feel so welcome in cyberspace.

There is another small milestone here at my house: For the first time ever one of my orchids has re-bloomed. Not sure how I managed it. Just dumb luck to be honest. But here it is...

Woohoo!

I've also decided to stop waiting for my illusive swimming pool project to materialize and am putting in some edgers around a little flower bed I've been half-heartedly planting near my back fence.

So far I have lipstick salvia...

...coral honeysuckle...

...milkweeds and an assortment of annuals & baby perennials in that area. Unfortunately I've had a few casualties: the neighborhood Tom Cat marked my year-old passionflower to death and the Lawnmower Monster murdered my newly purchased misterflower. I am hoping an edging will protect the perennial bed; if not from the cat, at least from the Lawnmower Monster.

The hummingbirds are back in force. As you can see by the cloudiness of the sugar water in the photo below it was time for a new batch of the sweet stuff yesterday...

This Black-chinned Hummingbird seemed content to sip even when I was only a few feet away.

They really are amazing acrobats...

I also have a sunflower seed feeder near my family room windows that the finches and squirrels love. This squirrel enjoys the upturned crock as his own personal throne.

Today also happens to be the beginning of the 2008 Garden Bloggers Spring Fling here in Austin. Pam, MSS, Diana and Bonnie are on the Planning Committee. Thanks ladies, for all your hard work! :-)

How lucky I am to have made new friends in only one year of blogging! Like Anne of Green Gables, I feel quite fortunate to have found some 'kindred spirits' in such a short time. For this I'm truly grateful.

Love is like the wild-rose briar;
Friendship is like the holly-tree.
The holly is dark when the rose briar blooms,
But which will bloom most constantly?~Emily Brontë

Friday, March 21, 2008

'The Winds of March With Beauty'

Spring is in the air. This American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) and his friends come by almost daily to take a bath in my water garden.

They seem to prefer it to the birdbath; maybe to avoid the neighborhood tomcat. Here is one goldfinch balancing on my solar fountain...

My son and I went to The Natural Gardener. We bought some columbine (Aquilegia) , verbena and salvia sylvestris. Here they are waiting under the ilex to be planted.

I've hesitated to plant things before putting in a pool for my son's therapy because I know the workmen will likely stomp the plants -- not purposely, but in the line of duty, as it were. But with displays like the one below, what is a gal to do?

We saw some beautiful Texas Mountain Laurels (Sophora secundiflora) at the nursery as well. They are spectacular in Austin this year. I wish I could afford to have a goodly-sized specimen planted in my front garden to replace my crepe myrtle. Too bad they grow so slowly. I do love them as do the butterflies and birds.

We are getting ready for Easter here. Our lovely friends in Scotland -- my son's pen pal's family who we've known for over 10 years -- sent a box of Easter goodies that arrived today. What a wonderful surprise! My son opened it to find a plenthora of treats...

Mysteriously the Scooby-Doo Chocolate Egg vanished almost immediately. Heehee! There was even a package of "Scottish Wildflower Mix" for me (my friend knows me so well). Looks like there are all sorts of wonderful seeds included. [And it even meets the Worldwide Agricultural Requirements. So take that Seed Police!] We are truly blessed. I hope all of you will have a Happy Celebration as well.

Free Easter Greeting Cards.

I'm trying to keep my mind calm before my son's spinal surgery. When we lived here in 1989 I began reading the China Bayles mystery series by Susan Wittig Albert and loved it, (I still do). Recently I discovered Ms. Albert's Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series of books and recommend them to anyone who enjoys mysteries and gardening.

These are delightful books that transport the reader directly into Miss Potter's world. I love the way some of the characters 'hear' the animals speak without realizing it. The books are a real solace for me right now as I crave peace. As you can see, they go well with a morning cup of coffee...

Some of you may know that Susan Wittig Albert has kindly agreed to join the Garden Blogger's Spring Fling for a book signing. Please take the time to check out her impressive Lifescapes gardening blog as well.

Speaking of reading, I read a sort of love story on Der Spiegel recently. Seems Petra the black swan fell in love with a swan-shaped paddle boat and wouldn't leave its side. Officials in Muenster decided to bring the swan and the boat into the city zoo over the winter. Happily, Petra met her Prince Charming: a real flesh & blood white swan named Paul. Whew! You can see them here...

As my friend Nancy so aptly phrased it: "Goodbye Mr. Right Now. Hello Mr. Right!" Well said. Though is it just me or does Petra seem to look a little wistfully at Herr Paddle Boat? Ah, unrequited love can be a real bite. sigh.

Update: As of 3/26/08 Petra's 'real' swan dude seems to have left her and Petra is to be reunited with her Paddleboat once again. Read about it here.

I hope all of you have a very Happy Easter, Spring...or whatever you happen to celebrate. And for a little smile, please check out Ceasar the cat's photo from Stuffonmycat.com.

"First a howling blizzard woke us,
Then the rain came down to soak us,
And now before the eye can focus -
Crocus." ~Lilja Rogers

Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I love St. Patrick's Day. It reminds me of traveling to Ireland just before my son was born. One of my very favorite movies is Waking Ned Devine. If you haven't seen it, please check it out. It's very funny. Here's a little St. Paddy's e-card with a sweet song you might enjoy...

St Patricks Day Postcards.

And now, back to gardening...the holly near my front porch has brilliant red berries right now which you see here and tiny white flowers that attract the bees.

The lavender I planted around my front garden birdbath is finally coming up. I can claim these blossoms as my own.

So far I can only see a few bluebonnet leaves peeking up from last year's batch, just left of the terracotta water dish...

I can't believe the same dianthus are still alive after almost a year. Still, I'm going to have to fill in the bed with some more plants this spring. Time to go to the Natural Gardener! :-)

No great reason to show my hose holder other than the fact that it's rather new & I like it. :-)

In other news, my cat Lily has taken it upon herself to start a new, rather disturbing, habit called 'barbering' where she nibbles the fur from her belly and lower legs to about one millimeter in length. Here she is in all her naked-tummy glory... Oh Lily!

Yes, she is a shaven maven. The vet says her condition is not life-threatening, but we're still trying different foods at this point to see if perhaps she's developed an allergy. I wonder if she's getting ready for bikini weather. On the bright side she seems just as fat & happy as always. The photo proves the fat part for certain. Heh.

I will now leave you with something hopefully a bit more in keeping with the holiday; a little Loreena McKennitt...

"May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you, and all your heart might desire." ~Irish Blessing

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

My Sister's Visit

My sister came to visit us last weekend. She's actually toying with the idea of moving to Austin so we showed her some of the sights within the limited time she had with us. Here are some nice things we saw while she visited.

One of our first stops was Georgetown, Texas. We admired this unique flower bike-rack...

One of the most beautiful buildings in Historic Georgetown is the Old Masonic Lodge...

Near the Town Square was a sweet secret cottage tucked away on a wooded lot...

The next day we took her to see the view from Mount Bonnell. From up here you can see Town Lake...

Below is the ubiquitous tree-on-a-cliff photo. Yes, it's a cursed cedar, but it still looks lovely...

On Sunday we dropped by Wimberly, Texas for a little shopping. We always have to visit the whimsical metal animals by Lloyd Burns. I liked these saber-toothed tigers...

Then we said hello to the ducks on Cypress Creek...

This area is a favorite spot to swim during the summer.

This is a whimsical fellow...

The cypress tree on the left is huge. I wonder how old it must be...

The water was very green, but we saw some fish that were at least a foot in length.

As we were leaving I admired this planting of violets and kale by the road. Amazing how well it survives with all the fumes from the cars driving by.

"Sisters are different flowers from the same garden." ~Author Unknown

Monday, February 18, 2008

Hartman Prehistoric Garden

After finding out from the orthopedic surgeon that my son will need spinal surgery this summer, we decided to take a break from our worries and visit the Hartman Prehistoric Garden within the Zilker Botanical Garden.

In 1992 dinosaur tracks were found on this site. They were mapped and preserved. Plants were chosen for the garden that would have been there at the time of the dinosaurs like this Desert Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera)...

What a wonderous waterfall...

My son was excited to find some ammonites...

And we could see something staring at us from across the water as well...

Hard to believe anything could eat these various types of Sagos (Cycas), but we're told some dinosaurs found them quite yummy.

We finally found something blooming as we walked by this Chinese Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum)

Uh oh! Cool footprints!

My son went to investigate...

"Do you see anything?"

"What's that you say, dear? It's an Ornithomimus?"
Okay, so he's all about reading the plaque. I'm just glad the creature wasn't alive.

Ornithomimus was 12 foot long and 7 foot high. That's one big turkey. Yikes!