Gardening

We knew that the screech owl in our owl box was raising at least one chick and that it was getting big. Mama owl had moved out but was still roosting nearby, as was papa owl. But any chicks were being shy about showing themselves, so this week I staged a post-dusk stake-out on the deck with my camera. The first evening I got nothing, mainly because I lack patience, but also because the parent owls knew I was there and were shy about feeding with me so close. The second night, though, I finally got a good glimpse. So cute! Only one owlet was brave enough to gaze at me through the entry hole. He was obviously impatient for mom and dad to deliver dinner because he kept looking around. I think there are at least two owlets, though, because of a flurry of wing activity I’ve observed with the aid of binoculars, and what looked like the fuzzy, gray tops of two heads. Mama owl has taken to roosting in a Texas persimmon along the back of the house since moving out of the owl box. I got some shots of her a few mornings ago. Check out those talons. She’s tolerant of the paparazzi, but if I get too close she flies to a tree in the lower garden, near papa owl. Here she is again, two evenings ago. As soon as darkness fell, she flew off to hunt. And after an unusually patient stake-out (for me), I caught a single image of either mama or papa owl feeding the chicks. Although I can’t really tell which end is up — and the owls feed their young very quickly before darting into the darkness again — this is one of the parents popping into the box, to the scurrying excitement of the owlet(s) waiting inside. The owlets will be fledging soon, I think. I hope I don’t miss seeing them make their first flights. After 4 years of watching owls raise chicks in our owl box, I’ve yet to get a good glimpse of that transition to independence. It always seems to occur over the Memorial Day weekend, when we’re busy with other activities. Do you think they plan it that way? All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Let's play a new gardening game called "Where's the Baptisia". Baptisia australis, which has the common name of Blue False Indigo, is a native flower in the eastern United States.  Well-planted in the garden, it can provide a stunning display of purple blooms in mid to late spring. Here in my garden, Baptisia is not well planted. Can you find it in the picture above? Let's go in a little

  Good afternoon dear Friends ~ It is a few minutes after 4 p.m. EST in s.e. FL. The skies are dark to the south, and thunder is rumbling in the distance.  Monday morning we had heavy rains with flooding in some areas getting over 5 inches of rain, then in the middle of the night we had a slow moving thunderstorm with torrential rains which brought more rain.  I prayed and read for awhile, waiting for the storm to pass over, finally it did and all was quiet again. My heart goes out to all who have lost family, loved ones, homes and businesses with these tornadoes that ripped through their area. The pictures and videos are heart breaking. May God be with these people as they go about rebuilding their lives, and continuing on, even with heartbreak. Rough times are ahead, especially with the grief and the missing of loved ones. It is devastation like we are seeing from these storms that make me appreciate so much, even with my own loss, as, I haven’t lost everything.         I am thankful for our little haven. *** Below are some of the flowers from the last couple of days. Spiderwort, with Borderer in the background. Spiderwort is so ‘easy’ to grow.  Some consider it a weed and a nuisance. Not me. This is Thryallis.  A wonderful shrub that gets pretty large.  I saw it at the botanical gardens and their specimen is huge. The flowers sweetly scent the air. Mine is in a pot right now. Whirling butterflies. Here is the morning glory bush cutting in the early morning in the scullery window. It’s barely light outside. I like how the light from the overhead light is shining down on the blooms. (By the way, nice roots formed on this so I planted it in a pot today.) Here it is a few hours later with the bright outdoor light behind. This is more the true color. This is the wonderfully scented unknown lavender rose I bought recently. Here it is on the left, with the McCartney rose on the right. This little sweetie is ‘Kathleen’ one of my very favorites and bought many, many years ago. She has a delicate sweet scent. Here is ‘Borderer’. An early morning view in the scullery.  This is what I come out to when I make coffee in the mornings, sometimes it’s darker out and sometimes lighter, depending on when I wake up.  This part of our kitchen is a dream come true and I love it. We took out a wall between the kitchen and the utility room and renamed that new space the ‘scullery’, definition~ a place where dishes are washed and food is stored. As an aside, DH worked in the Navy scullery when he was in boot camp in 1969, washing dishes.  He also voluntarily washed dishes in our scullery too. I wash dishes looking out into the ‘secret garden’, pure delight.  Thank you dear husband for your skills in making this dream become a reality, and in all the other dreams we built around here. I enjoyed being your ‘helper’ all through our years together and this project was one of my very favorites. It made our cottage seem so much bigger. Look at the sweet reflection in the window.   is Forever FlowerLady Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Psa_36:5

Old habits die hard....

Byzantine Emperor and a Solar Light   The Brug behind has a fat bud. I can hardly wait. Petunias in the background will get a haircut soon.   My old Livin' Easy roses are gone; this is a new start. I had forgotten just how pretty Livin' Easy is.   These ancient Gladioli grow and bloom on their own at an old house site on our property. Transplanted to the garden, they finally

A great ad goes viral. For some reason it won’t embed,  so click here to watch. Via Jane Milliman.

I received this picture from someone’s cell phone, texted to my email. Because cell phone emails aren’t real email addresses I don’t know who this comes from. Is it from you???? Anyway, someone was very excited to share their Echinocereus grandiflora hybrid from us in full bloom. Nice!

Some people are suckers for variegated foliage but not me. I can easily pass up a one of a kind variegated pine or magnolia. Show me a chartreuse leaved plant though and you have my attention. My affection for chartreuse first started with Salvia ‘Golden Delicious’ and then ‘Wasabi’ coleus but now I am enamored with Aralia cordata ‘Sun King.’ With the compound foliage and large, clumping form, Sun King aralia provides a punch needed to a New England landscape. We have several plants at CMBG planted en masse. When this perennial began emerging several weeks ago, it was like the sun was rising out of the ground. Not really, but it was nice to see such bright foliage after a long, dark winter. We have our plants sited in full sun but the further south you go, the more shade you want to give this plant. I imagine that as you move into warmer climes, that there is a greater potential for leaf burn to occur with direct or afternoon sun. If you are unsure how it will do in your garden, you might want to try it first in a woodland garden or shady spot. Once Sun King aralia is established, it will form a 3′x3′ clump of that wonderful, bright chartreuse foliage. It does produce white flowers in the summer followed by black berries in late summer into early fall. This Aralia was brought back to the United States from Japan by the wonderful plantsman, Barry Yinger. Supposedly, he found it amongst the racks at a department store garden shop. If you have not grown this plant yet, give it a go as I am sure the bright foliage will give your garden that pop it needs. -Rodney Photos: Terra Nova Nursery flickr, gardenshorts.com

The last few years my enthusiasm for the Rare Plant Research Open House had somewhat dwindled, a fact best illustrated by my declining purchases (maybe I already had all their cool stuff?).However this year I felt a renewed excitement about the event, due primarily to the fact I was attending with my plantlust.com partners. Nothing like fellow plant nuts to encourage your addiction!Well, that plus cool plants.No doubt the fact I actually had a list of a few “must haves” helped too, for instance I knew I wanted another couple of bromeliads.See those light green almost-glowing ones? They were even better in person.Had to have one.Oh Furcraea you taunt me so, yes I wanted to take you home but you know you won't be happy there...The time had finally come, I took the plunge and grabbed one of these Asparagus Ferns...This beauty was in the "look but don't even try to buy" section. Not that I could have afforded it anyway.Blooming bromeliad, so pretty.The trunking Yucca rostrata drew quite a crowd. There were both gasps of delight at the $150 price and gasps of shock. It all depends on your perspective I suppose.This little beauty was sitting all by itself, not another like it anywhere. I was smitten. And I walked away.But I came back, and someone else was picking it up! (NO!!!) But then it bit her and she put it down, looking at her finger where it drew blood. That's when I knew I had to have it (insert evil laugh here).Haemanthus humilis ssp. hirsutusYucca whipplei...mine!Now that's a lot of spikes!Beautiful colors of Eucomis leaves.Shocking!Here's my co-plant lust'er Megan as she swings her purchases around to be paid for. Can that woman shop or what?!!Makes my haul look downright pathetic! In my defense there is one other plant you can't see, a dark burgundy dyckia is hiding next to the orange aloe. Clockwise from the top...big NOID Bromleiad, Asparagus Fern, that cool variegated yucca, Aloe dorotheae, Fire Ball Neoregelia (bromeliad), and the Yucca whipplei.If any one has a guess on the I.D. of the variegated yucca I'd love to hear it, here's another close-up. I asked the owner, Burl, and he said Yucca aloifolia 'Variegata' but then started doubting himself. The Yucca aloifolia that I'm familiar with has a wider, flatter, softer leaf. These are very narrow, hard and sharp.Here's the car all loaded up with our purchases...it's a little deceiving too because that's a wagon, deeper than a normal trunk.Even the backseat was full...I'd call that a successful outing!All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Spring Green is a name familiar to most Wisconsinites as the location of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterful creation, Taliesin. At this time of year one can easily understand why the town fathers gave their community that beautiful, evocative title. Here's some of my own personal favorite Spring greens: