Hummingbird Haven

Eric and I are going to the annual Hummingbird Festival at Kleb Woods today.  We went last year, and although we had a great time, there wasn't a hummingbird to be seen!  This year seems to be a bumper year for hummingbirds, so there should be plenty of them at Kleb Woods.  


Although, come to think of it, they may all be in our garden.  How many hummers can you see in the photo below? (click the photo to see the enlarged version).

Now see if you can count them in this video I took this morning.

I have to apologize for the out of focus video - not quite sure what happened, but I think it still gives you an idea of what's going on in Hummingbird Haven :-)


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

Rosemary and Thyme

I got a catalog from AcornTV in the mail the other day.  I've never ordered from them before, but I probably got the catalog because I have purchased DVDs of British TV shows from other outlets -- you know how that goes.

Anyway, I was  browsing through and came across a British TV detective show called Rosemary and Thyme.  I wasn't familiar with the show, since it originally aired from 2003 - 2009 and I moved to the U.S. in 1982.  

How's this for the premise for a show?

"Glorious gardens and classic whodunits combine in this hit British series seen on public television" (apparently I missed it there too). "Rosemary Boxer (Felicity Kendall) is a former professor, Laura Thyme (Pam Ferris) is a former policewoman. They share a passion for horticulture and a talent for sleuthing. Filmed in location in English and European countryside settings."

That sounds like something I would enjoy watching, I'm off to order it now!

Rosemary and Thyme - AcornTV Online


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

Winged Wonders III

 While I have some uncertainties going on in my life right now, I've been rather distracted and haven't blogged in a bit. 


But one thing that has brightened my days recently is the fact that our garden is full of hummingbirds.  I've posted about them twice already this season, but I'm just so amazed at how many we have this year.

Here's a minute and a half of video I took of them earlier today, on the patio.  


I hope to get back to my regular posting schedule next week.




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

Winged Wonders II

At the end of July, I posted  about how my garden was thriving, in spite of the heat and the drought. 

As we suffer on through August, the garden is winding down now.  There's not much blooming at all, except a few lantana in the front border.  In the back there are still some milkweed and the crape myrtles are still blooming.

But the star of the show right now has to be the Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii (A. wrightii), known as Flame Acanthus, Hummingbird Bush or the Texas Firecracker plant.  It's a Texas native plant, drought and heat tolerant so it's right at home now!

The reason I mention it now is because of the spectacle I witnessed this morning.  I'll just let the photos speak for themselves and you'll see why this post is called Winged Wonders II.

As always, you can view the full sized image by clicking on the photos below.

The Flame Acanthus is in the back border, within easy view of our patio.  As I sat outside with my morning coffee, a flash of movement drew my attention and I realized that the hummingbirds were out and about.  As I watched, three of them darted, swooped, hovered and generally played around the garden, and finally they settled in around the Flame Acanthus.

I just kept clicking - sometimes there was a hummingbird in the shot, sometimes there wasn't!

They really do love the Flame Acanthus and so do I.  It survived the onslaught of the kittens in the garden last summer, it survived the freeze this past winter and it's acting as though this summer's heat is nothing.  

I need to plant more of these!  But in the meantime, the sugar water feeders are out too, to help the hummers prepare for their migration.

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

Winged Wonders

Even though we're still locked in the worst drought ever in Houston history, I thought I'd blog about something more cheerful today.

I had seen a hummingbird in the garden a couple of weeks ago.  Although I thought it a bit early, I decided to go ahead and put my feeders out.  This weekend I have been entertained by at least three hummingbirds zooming around the garden, performing an aerial ballet that wears me out just to watch them.

I've only been able to snap a couple of photos, but I thought I'd share them anyway.

Our pine tree was the perfect place for them to sit and watch guard over the feeders to make sure no other hummingbirds came close.  Several times this weekend, I've glanced out the back door to see this little figure up in the tree.


I can never quite figure out how people get those photos of several hummers at the same feeder. The ones in my garden seem to spend all their time chasing each other away from the feeders, even though there were enough feeders to go round. 

I was pleased to see that in between taking sips from the feeders I had put out, or chasing/being chased away from those feeders, the hummers also seemed to enjoy the blooms on the crepe myrtle tree and the vitex. 


In addition to the hummingbirds, there have been some other winged wonders in the garden this week.


Overall this year, I haven't seen many butterflies, compared to years past, but this weekend saw some activity which I was able to get photos of.

I saw this little skipper on the white Texas Star hibiscus - he was so intent on collecting nectar, he was still there after I had gone indoors, got my camera, put fresh batteries in it and came back outside again.


The "Yellow Gold" lantana in the front garden seem to be favorites of many butterflies, including this Giant Swallowtail...

... and this Gulf Fritillary.

As I look over the monitor of my computer and out the back door, I can just catch a glimpse of my little hummingbird friend, resting in the Crepe Myrtle, next to the feeder.  All is peaceful... for now...



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

Mission San Jose - part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

On a recent trip to San Antonio, my husband and I went on a self guided tour of some of the historic Missions that make up the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

Specifically, we visited Mission San José, where the visitor's Center is located, Mission San Juan and Mission Concepción.

The park was established to preserve the chain of Spanish missions that were built along the San Antonio River in the 1700s.

We started our tour at Mission San Jose, where these photos were taken.

Around the visitor center and throughout the park, native landscape can be seen and there are impressive cacti and succulents, as well as other native plants which were shrugging off the heat and drought as if it were nothing.

 

There were informational signs throughout the park, illustrating what the buildings originally looked like, how they were used and detailing life within the Missions during that time.

This is what I meant by "impressive cacti and succulents." These were everywhere!

Mission San Juan is, I think, the most complete of the missions.  Not only is the church intact (although it's currently undergoing interior renovations) but the surrounding walls, gates, Indian quarters etc. can still be seen.

Here's the front of the church.

 Behind the church are the remains of the convento, where the missionary lived, which had an attractive garden growing in it.

 The exterior walls of the Mission compound contained the Indian Quarters, storage rooms and fortifications.

I'm pretty sure this isn't original, but it certainly made a nice shady place to sit and people-watch for a while :-)

In fact, porches with climbing vines seemed to be quite popular.

The main gate was rather imposing, with heavy doors and a row of ports, I guess you would call them, through which marksmen could fire when necessary.

And what's that on the right?

Yup - more cacti, this time growing on a lean-to roof!

Mission San Jose also has a grist mill, now mostly reproduction, and a 270 yr old acequia, or irrigation system. 

During this drought, there was virtually no water in the grist mill, although the acequia still held water, much to the delight of these birds.

Here are some snippets of information from the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park web site that you might find interesting:

* Spanish missions were not churches. They were Indian towns, with the church as the focus, where, in the 1700s, the native people were learning to become Spanish citizens. In order to become a citizen, they had to be Catholic; that is why the King of Spain sent missionaries to acculturate them.

* The four mission churches within San Antonio Missions National Historical Park are active catholic parishes, and hold regular services. They are open to park visitors during park hours, except for special services, such as weddings and funerals. (The church at Mission San Jose is currently undergoing renovations, but should be open again by the end of the summer).

And finally, I'll leave you with a couple of photos of plantings outside the Visitor Center.

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

All is Not Dead - In Fact, Quite the Opposite

With the severe drought we're having, I really didn't think I'd have anything to share.  But I saw a couple of unexpected surprises in the garden this evening and headed out with the camera.  As I snapped shots, I was quite astounded at how well things are doing, considering hot and dry it has been.
 Our area is on voluntary water restrictions so I've moderated the sprinkler schedule and it seems to be working.  Basically I run the sprinklers in the middle of the night twice a week, and I run them for an abbreviated amount of time, and then repeat.  So it's not using any more water than before, but more of the water is soaking in and not running down the street to the storm drain and it's not evaporating as soon as it hits the ground. 

I love it and the garden seems to like it as well. As usual, the photos will enlarge when you tap them.

In the repurposed grill-turned-planter, the vinca that I planted has put out a zillion seedlings. Not sure what I'll do with them, but I should be able to get at least a couple of plants going from this lot.

I forget what this is, and apparently didn't make a note in my garden journal (tsk. tsk)  It was looking pretty ragged a few days ago, but I trimmed off the dead bits, gave it a drink and it rewarded me with some new flowers.

I suppose I'm going to have to trim the "Scentless Star Jasmine" as we call it.  It's growing so rampantly there's almost as much on the other side of the fence as there is on ours.  Or perhaps future neighbors won't mind a vine taking over the fence?

Amazingly, in spite of being subject to benign neglect and drying out completely more than once, this petunia is still putting out blooms.  I've been deadheading and trying to keep it evenly moist this week and it seems to be thanking me.  As I was putting birdseed out early this morning, there was a hummingbird moth nectaring on it  which was neat, but I didn't get photos.

Underneath it, I almost missed this bloom on the Tropi-Canna.  It looks like there are some more blooms on the way too.

Underneath the Southern Wax Myrtle, this Dutchman's Pipe Vine languished for a long time.  Now suddenly it's growing and even flowering (see pic below).

 In front of the lattice hiding the phone and cable utility boxes, the bulbine is blooming.  I nearly lost this early in the year, so I'm thrilled to see the little blooms on it.

That's all I got photos of today in the back garden.  This doesn't include the Rose of Sharon, the Vitex and the Texas Star Hibiscus, which are all still blooming, but I thought it was time to show you the front.

Beside the driveway, this little bed bids you Welcome, and offers a view of the new house being built on the lot.

More rampant plants - this time sweet potato vines.  Does anything kill this plant? 

And when I looked closer, I spotted this daylily getting ready to rebloom (it even looks like I missed one bloom today)

 Elsewhere in the front, lots of Lantana "New Gold" (as well as "White Gold" not shown)  Can't kill this stuff either - I love it!

 Underneath the seedling Live Oak, a Guallardia "Fanfare" has been blooming for months.  I'm resisting the temptation to deadhead it and letting it reseed if it wants to.

Speaking of reseeding - last year's tropical milkweed reseeded everywhere. They seem to be doing well this year and you know what I noticed?

NO UGLY ORANGE APHIDS THIS YEAR!  Last year they were COVERED with those nasty things.  This year, not a one (YET)

And finally, one more reblooming daylily about to bloom. Please just ignore the raggedy-looking verbena. It needs trimming back, but I've been on the injured list this week and haven't done any weeding at all --- that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!


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