The Great Egret is one of my favorite herons. It's pure white plumage makes it hard to miss. Nothing is more graceful than watching one glide just a few feet above the water.
It's the largest of the egrets, and did you know that the Great Egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society.
Pretty cool, huh?
Be sure to stop by and visit this weeks edition of Bird Photography Weekly!
The dog days of summer can be very uncomfortable here in Hampton Roads. This is the time of year when the days get hot, humid and dry except for the occasional late afternoon thunderstorm. While the hot and humid part has remained consistent with the season, the weather here has been anything but dry. August has been a very wet month here thus far. As a matter of fact, I had to slip out between rain showers to snap the photos of this months bloom day. I'm not complaining however, any time spent taking photos in the garden is time well spent.
My landscape drains very well so the extra rain lately hasn't been a problem. It's actually been a blessing to my young, first year trees and shrubs planted throughout my landscape. The first year can be the most critical for any perennial type plant. Rain now will help the roots of these young plants become better established before dormancy sets in.
With that said, lets start with this months lineup -
First off is a knockout - a knockout rose that is. These roses live up to their name - requiring very little care. Keep them cut back and deadheaded and they will bloom all season long. Just be sure to keep the Japanese beetles off them.
Another pink bloomer is the 'Carolina Beauty' crepe myrtle tree. I have four of these trees planted in my front yard along the edge of the road. It's another carefree low-maintenance plant.
Here is a new addition to my landscape - 'Blue Fortune' Hyssop (Agastache 'Blue Fortune'). It has fragrant blooms and can be used as cut flowers. There are many different varieties of hyssops that come in many different colors and shapes. They are a great plant for attracting pollinators to the garden. Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds alike are attracted to this plant.
What can you say about 'Miss Huff' Lantana? This plant will begin blooming in late spring and will keep right on until the years first frost. It's a low maintenance plant and is drought tolerant once established. If you like butterflies and only have room for one plant - this is the plant for you! In most southern states 'Miss Huff' will come back year after year. In other areas its sold as an annual.
...and here is it's little cousin - 'New Gold' Lantana. It's smaller than 'Miss Huff' but blooms just as well with bright yellow flowers all season.
One of my new favorites is the Chinese Abelia. It's another butterfly magnet. This shrub reaches 6 to 8 feet tall with branches sticking out in all directions. As the summer wears on, plants produce massive terminal clusters of white, bell- shaped flowers. Look closely into the photo below and you will see a hummingbird clearwing moth hovering over one of the flower clusters.
Another hummingbird clearwing on the Chinese abelia.
Next is a 'Fan Scarlet' Lobelia (Lobelia speciosa). This is a new perennial I planted this summer. Seems to be doing well. It has showy flower spikes that bloom throughout most of the summer. It also attracts hummingbirds.
Another reliable summer bloomer is the coral honeysuckle. This is by far a favorite of the hummingbirds. I have it growing up one of the post attached to my deck. Look closely and you can see a hummingbird resting on one of the limbs in the center of the photo.
And as a bonus, red berries develop in late summer through fall on this honeysuckle.
A new addition to the landscape this spring is the Harlequin Glorybower (Clerodendrum trichotomum). This shrub/small tree offers a late-summer display of jasmine-like white flowers. Bright blue berries in autumn are accented by conspicuous bright, pinkish-red calyxes. These flowers have a nice scent and it's another plant that the butterflies and hummingbirds like.
Here's a close-up of the harlequin glorybower bloom.
A plant that's often overlooked is the marigold. Marigolds are easy, dependable and they bloom all season. Who could ask for more? I plant these plants along the edges of my vegetable garden because of their reputation for repelling certain harmful insects, and attracting beneficial ones.
Last but not least is my caladium plants. Not exactly a bloom but their foliage color is just as attractive. I have these mixed in with a few coleus plants to add some extra contrast. These plants are great for adding some color to shady spots in the garden. This is the first year I have grown caladium and was wondering if I could dig up the bulbs in the fall and replant them next year. I'm thinking you can but wasn't sure if there was some special requirement for storing them. If anyone knows for sure just let me know in my comments. I would like to plant some of these in pots next spring.
TIP: To help keep color in the garden year around I've learned by visiting local garden centers throughout the year helps keep me informed and provides a good indication as to what's blooming during that time of year.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed this brief tour through my garden. Be sure to check out more flowers in bloom over at May Dreams Gardens blog - there's lots of good stuff to to see there!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about my summer vegetable garden, but don’t let that fool ya, it’s been very productive this summer. So much so that it's been consuming most of my outdoor time recently – but with all this, who’s complaining, right?
As you can see, I enjoy growing a variety of vegetables. I tend to plant lots more than I can keep up with but the neighbors don’t seem to mind receiving the overflow.
Tomatoes are the main crop right now. They are really coming in at full force.
Tomatoes are one of my favorite veggies to grow in the garden - there's just so much you can do with them in the kitchen. I grow several varieties of hybrid and heirloom tomato plants. I personally prefer the paste (roma) variety. These are determinate tomatoes plants and are best for making and canning my favorite salsa.
However, tomatoes don't come without their fair share of problems. They can be finicky plants. I always plant a few extra in the garden incase I loose some to disease of any other unforeseen circumstance. Because they are susceptible to various spreading diseases it's a good idea to plant them in various spots around the garden as opposed to putting them all in one area. That way if a disease strikes a particular plant, it hopefully wont infect the whole bunch.
Crop rotation is also very important practice that I apply in my garden. I like to draw a sketch that outlines where I plant each thing in the garden so I can track where vegetables were located the year before. Rotation is especially important with tomatoes. Tomatoes are part of the solanaceae (night shade) family of plants that include potatoes, peppers and eggplants. If you can help it, it's best not to plant these vegetables in the same spot where they, or any of their kin (solanaceae family) were planted the year before.
A few simple techniques like these will not only help grow happier tomatoes but will help improve your overall garden vigor.
Just remember to keep it simple and have fun...like I've heard Felder Rushing say "it's just digging a hole and putting stuff in it".
For this weeks edition of Bird Photography Weekly I would like to present a summertime visitor to my backyard - the Eastern Kingbird.
I've been trying to capture a photo of this witty bird for a while now, and finally a couple weeks ago one hung out long enough for me to snap off a few shots. They never seem to stay very long when they visit - just long enough to gobble up a few insects and move on.
The Eastern Kingbird is a flycatcher that likes to hang out in open landscape, feeding on flying insects. Below is a neat photo of one in action.
As you can see, there were plenty of insects out on this particular hot, humid afternoon!
Don't let the word 'Eastern' in it's name throw you off, this bird has a wide summer range that stretches across most of the US. In winter they migrate to the tropical forest of South America.
One thing I've noticed about these birds are their aggressive behavior toward other birds. When it enters into my backyard, the bluebirds and purple martins become a little unsettled. I've watched a kingbird attack a purple martin in mid-air for no particular reason. Neither were hurt but the kingbird doesn't play when it comes to other birds getting in it's way.
Click here to learn more about the Eastern Kingbird.
One of the first things I look forward to in my yard come spring is the courting and nesting of the Eastern Bluebirds – and now that the summer is dwindling they are still hard at it. Eastern Bluebirds are early season nesters but will keep right on nesting into the late summer months – possibly raising up to four broods, but typically two broods a year are more common in most areas.
Here’s the second brood of the summer in my Gilbertson PVC nest box. They’ll be leaving this nest soon...
Studies show that bluebirds in their southern range have more broods per season mostly due to the longer, warmer days. Here’s a very interesting article that talks about the subject: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1244
Not far away is another bluebird nest box with chicks just a couple days old.
I was surprised to have a bluebird nest in this particular box being that it’s between two other nest boxes within 50 yards of each other. Most research suggests that Eastern Bluebirds nest boxes be placed at least 100 yards or more apart. Bluebirds are territorial, especially during nesting season; however, I have noticed that as the season progresses they seem to mellow a bit, and this particular box wasn’t occupied until recently. This was an additional box I added after spotting a tree swallow checking out some of my other occupied bluebird boxes. In the case that you have both bluebirds and tree swallows in the area, nest boxes can be placed closer together.
Although it’s now August, here's another bluebird nest just getting started.
As you can see, there's still a lot of nesting activity going on!!
This time of year bluebirds will build their nest very quickly. They know that the days are getting shorter and time is running out.
If interested in knowing the difference between nest of some common cavity nesting birds, check out the website below: http://www.sialis.org/nests.htm
Gray Squirrel relaxing on a hot summer day.
Get Wordless over at Wordless Wednesday.
