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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Renewal

My husband's office is at the front of the house, looking out over the front garden. One day this week, when I got home from work, he pointed out of his window and said, "I think there's a bird nesting in the tree."

The tree in question is the small live oak we planted in May 2009 to replace the builder-planted one that had "drowned." Click here for my husband's amusing account of that adventure. 

Personally, I don't think it's nearly big enough to house a nest, but sure enough, there was a mockingbird industriously hopping to and fro with twigs.


Strange that she didn't just use the fairly substantial nest in the other live oak tree, 15 feet away. (See the dark clump in the middle? 

 

That tree housed a family of mockingbirds last year but our guest this year prefers more custom features and is building her own nest.


I hope she keeps working on it, because looking at it close up, I'd say there's a good chance any eggs would fall through the bottom as it is right now!


 Here are both trees seen from the street. (This post gets its title from the fact that these trees, and a lot of other things in the garden, are covered in new, bright green leaves.)


Underneath the small live oak, the little clump of bluebonnets is in full bloom.


I hope I get more of these next year.  This self-seeded, but I think I'll try and collect some seeds to give it a helping hand next year.

In the back garden, the Star (Scentless) Jasmine is covered in buds. This vine is growing rampantly and will need to be trimmed this year.  I just need to make sure I do it at the right time of year and that I don't kill it in the process!  The scented Star Jasmine, growing next to it, is much smaller still but is also starting to bloom and grow.


In the back garden, I had pulled out a bunch of weed that was growing in with the homestead verbena.  Apparently I missed this one (which is actually in the lawn - the verbena has spread about 2 feet beyond the border) and I'm glad I did! I love the color combination!  Looking around the lawn, there's a lot more of it but it got mowed last night, so it won't get a chance to flower.


Finally, on the patio, I had pinched the fuschia back to remove the seed pods, and had given it a little fertilizer.  It's now rewarding me with a second flush of blooms.  They aren't as big as the first round, but I'm happy to see them anyway.


I hope you are all seeing signs of renewal in your spring gardens. 

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

7 comments:

Kyna said...

The birds all decide to bypass our trees, and go for building nests in our garage. We're the type that tend to leave the garage door open if we're at home. A lot of nest can get built in a short amount of time! lol

Rock rose said...

Most birds prefer to nest at the level of the one in your tree. It looks like a mourning dove nest. Very twiggy, so much so that you wonder how they sit on eggs without ever falling out. We have lots of these around here and the jays come along and pick the young out. Animals behave not much differently from humans! I am curious about your scentless star jasmine. I have the white and yellow and both are powerfully scented. Must look out for one as sometimes the fragrance can be overwhelming.

Jayne said...

We've never had birds nesting in the garage Kyna, but mice seem to like making nests in there.

Jayne said...

Lancashire Rose -- I'm curious about the scentless star jasmine too. It was labelled a Star Jasmine and it looks identical to the other one, which has a beautiful aroma. But you can stick your nose right up to it and there is no scent at all. Very strange!

Anonymous said...

My favorite time of the year. New life...it all looks beautiful in your garden.

Annie in Austin said...

From the looks of the nest that bird has a learner's permit instead of a license, Jayne - think it would have already blown off the tree here in windy Austin!
I'm also intrigued with the scentless Star Jasmine. I wonder if its rampant growth means the roots are already overwhelming and stunting the scented plant.
Must leave now... before fuchsia-lust becomes overwhelming!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I love those bluebonnets! I, too, hope that nest isn't finished.

Yes, I am enjoying all of the renewal I am seeing. It was good to see your young trees. I am undecided about whether we should try another tree or not.