Bluebirds

    

One of our bluebird boxes was not being used. We cleaned it and hung it upside down on the fence to dry.

A couple of days later when we returned to get the house to hang it, the bluebirds seemed to have already occupied it.

They seemed to be going in it a lot as if building a nest and later feeding babies. When we checked, nothing was in there.

We have had high winds and although the box is simply resting on the fence rail, it hasn't blown off.

We set the box upright. Maybe all the activity was desire to build in it for soon there were four little blue eggs.

He knows I'm watching him watching me. Makes for a good photo!

Time passes and soon

four more little bluebirds

are ready to join our big beautiful world.

    Daily Bluebird Development                  

Daylily Garden 2011

My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose

My love is like a red red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
My love is like the melodie
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in love am I;
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun:
And I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only love
And fare thee weel, a while!
And I will come again, my love,
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile.

Let's Go With Red

Pelargonium/Geranium

We have had a long cold spring, but our temperatures are in the 90s F lately. It is definitely summertime weather.  The heat will probably curb the pelargonium's enthusiasm for bloom unless it has been bred to endure more heat. Night time temps are more favorable.  We will see.

Young Male Red-bellied Woodpecker

I'm usually outside working in the garden from the crack of dawn until about 9 a.m. Then it is time to go inside where it is cool.

I have to watch out for that cat.

Are you smiling yet?

Grapevine Sphere and Gerber Daisy

Purslane

Purslane can take the heat. It needs full sun to open those pretty flowers. I have a few sunny spots in my mostly shade garden.

Purslane Close-up

Poker Primrose/Primula vialii Close-up

Fruit, Nuts, and Honey

On hot days I love fruit, nuts, and honey with a cold glass of milk. There is more than one way to beat the heat. Hubby cooks on the grill a lot. Think cool.

Hemerocallis 'Charles Johnson'

Hummingbird, Come Back

For some reason, the hummingbirds seemed to abandon the feeder. I expect the female to not come as often because of nesting but the two males were also missing.  First, I made sure the feeder was clean and had fresh nectar with a higher percentage than the 4 to 1 sugar mix I usually use.  They soon returned.

I went to Lowes looking for plants that hummingbirds might find attractive and noticed Primula vialii.  Common names for this plant are Chinese pagoda primrose, orchid primrose, and poker primrose. These flowers, a red cone of calyxes from which orchid funnel flowers bloom from the bottom up, last for many weeks beginning in late spring. The 1' to 2' plant prefers a partly shady location with perhaps early morning or late afternoon sun provided it is kept moist. Originating in the mountains of Yunnan province in China, it is hardy to - 31 °F.  It does well as far as heat is concerned to USDA Zone 8b.  An ideal location for this plant in your garden would be at pond edge, around fountains, or even downspouts where the soil is always moist.

Since we are having cool wet weather at present, I can enjoy Primula vialii on the deck in a container in dappled shade. When the temperature soars, it will be relocated to the garden.

I thought the Gerbera jamesonii 'Jaguar' red was the perfect hummingbird color. If you have observed hummingbirds for long, you realize they will feed from any color.  They will probe each and every orifice.

It is reported their favorite color is red, however.  Gerber daisies flourish when the temperature is in the 70s F. 

Of course, in a few days when the sun shines, the temperature will zoom back into the 80s.  The red verbena I bought will be happy in the sunny spot I have chosen. Verbena's cascades of umbels will also make great landing pads for butterflies.

Now, no matter what our erractic weather conditions, I have a tempting offering for the hummingbirds advertising the feeder. 

Happy Mother's Day

Easter

Let all the earth praise him.

Woodland Spring Fantasy

'

Hydrandgea macrophylla 'Merritts Supreme'

If spring is a little late in your area, you can always pick up hydrangeas that have been forced for the Easter flower market. They can keep your spirits high as you wait for spring weather.

Spring beauty is an edible corm sometimes called fairy potatoes.

By the middle of April, spring is in full force. It is my favorite time of year. After weeks and weeks of longingly, expectantly waiting as for a lover, the weather is mild, the flowers are blooming, the hummingbirds have arrived, and I am filled with happiness.

First Tree Peony Bud Ever

I rush to the garden with euphoria as my companion to see what spring charms await me.

Irises are coming along nicely.

What gifts did spring bring? Where are they? What delights are in store? Perhaps, a lovely fragrance or a diamond drop of dew. Listen. I hear music. It is in the trees, the birds, the wind, the water, and the air. From the pond, from the grass, from the flowers, I hear spring everywhere soft as a whisper or loud as the thunder.

Persian Lilac

Why do I love dogwoods so? Without any help from me, the woods around me turn white with myriads of dogwood blossoms. It's all natural. They just flourish here. They are like a starry night sky. All I do is marvel at their numbers and drink in the beauty which fills me with awe and wonder. I am at peace and one with the universe. Embraced by a breeze and kissed by the sun, I'm a part of every living thing. Ecstacy!

It is dogwood season here.

Street View

Looks like an almost all white hosta sport down in there.

And, oh the wonder of it! Something new I've never seen before. Genes re-aligned in an endless cycle of possibilities and sprouted from a spec of a time capsule dissolved by the rain and ignited by the sun.

Hosta With White Edge

All Green Hosta

Yes, spring washed away the gray of winter and filled the skies with blue.  Up and down the mountains leaves bloom in every hue.

Azalea

Hellebores are setting seed and new foliage.

Narcissus biflorus/Twin Sisters

Fern Urn/Kimberly Queen

Clematis

Tree Peony

From the Heart Comes Spring

Persian Lilac/Syringa x persica

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold:  when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.  ~Charles Dickens

Weeping Cherry/Prunus pendula

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.  ~Ruth Stout

Narcissus 'Bell Song'

Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart. 

Victor Hugo

Narcissus 'Ice Follies'

Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day.
W. Earl Hall

Twisted Trillium

Where flowers bloom so does hope.

- Lady Bird Johnson

Trillium stamineum

I think my favorite ephemeral is the trillium. I find its mottled leaves are so pretty against the leaf litter.