Gifts for Gardeners

Something a little different for my post today.

If you're looking for a gift for a gardening friend, or even as a treat for yourself, you might like some of these garden-themed gifts from Zazzle.com.

I should mention here that I recently opened my own store at Zazzle -- 3D Designs by Jayne, featuring my own artwork created in the 3D graphics programs Vue and DAZ 3D.

None of the items shown below are from my store. They are the work of other talented designers that appealed to me (I just purchased the first t-shirt shown below) so I felt other garden bloggers may like them too.

You can click on each image to view details of the item. Links underneath will take you to more items in each category.

Enjoy!

I'd Rather Be Gardening Tees and Gifts by naturetees
View more Gardening Shirts.

Master Gardener Hat by CowPieCreek
View more Gardening Hats

I'd Rather Be Gardening Tees and Gifts by naturetees
Browse Zazzle for more mugs.

Madam Monarch Butterfly Laptop Sleeve by Butterflysarebloomin
Browse Zazzle for a different laptop sleeve.

Gardening Planner and Journal Binder by lifethroughalens
See more Gardening and journal Binders

WhiteLilies, "Earth Laughs In Flowers " Mouse Mat by GardenAndGifts
View more gardening mousepads on Zazzle.

Blessed are the Gardeners by gardening
Browse Zazzle for more gardening bags

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

Nest Watch!

We have two small live oaks in our front garden.  One was planted as part of the landscape package when we moved in four years ago.  It's now about 15 feet tall and nice and full. The other is one that we planted to replace one of the originals that died a year after it was planted. It's much smaller than the first, but it's coming along.

Both of them seem to be bird magnets and last year we had Northern Mockingbirds nesting.  So last weekend, when we were being serenaded all afternoon by a mockingbird, we assumed they had taken up residence again.

However, when I zoomed my camera in to the higher of the two nests in that tree, I was surprised to see it wasn't a mockingbird sitting on the nest, but a Mourning Dove.

I've entered this year's first nest attempt report at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Nest Watch web site, even though the nest is too high up for me to get details like the number of eggs etc. 

She's been sitting on the nest all week, and Eric, whose "man cave"/den looks out to the front garden told me that the mockingbird has been hanging around most of the week too.

We joke that the babies will be probably be some sort of mocking-dove hybrid.

Has anyone else seen this kind of camaraderie between bird species?


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

Blooming Wonderful!

In my last post, I mentioned that the Achillea beside the Vitex tree had made it through the winter and I pondered whether or not it would bloom this year.

Well today I got my answer!

I was out taking photos and noticed it's covered in tiny flowers. They haven't quite opened yet, but it's going to be lovely when they do.  There also seem to be quite a few seedlings around it and I'm wondering whether I should leave them where they are or move them and risk losing them.  This is my first time growing these delicate, feathery plants so I'm not sure how to treat them.

I've been watching the bulbine with interest too. It's another new plant to me, this is the only one I've ever had.  I really expected it to turn to mush over the winter and was pleasantly surprised when it stayed plump and green.  Now it's covered with these delightful little blooms.

 The Mars grape vines is leafing out nicely.  I wonder if we'll be lucky enough to actually harvest any grapes this year?  Last year, the local raccoons had a feast and left us with nothing.

 
 Here's a battle I chose not to fight.  Around the back side of the pine tree, a lot of very prickly green briar started popping out of the ground.  I had seen this around the gum tree on the lot next door before it was cleared and it's obvious the whole area was covered in it before they started building the subdivision.  Well when this started coming up, my first instinct was to yank it right out of the ground.


Easier said than done... even with gloves on it proved painful!  


So last summer I decided I'd let it grow and all I do with it now is to whack it back with the trimmer at the same time when I edge the grass around the garden.  It keeps it in bounds and now (for the first time) it's putting out flowers.  I think the birds might have a treat this year if it puts out berries.

I made a start this weekend, planting the island bed. It still looks pretty bare, but at least it's a start.  I put in a couple of pink muhly grass, some burgundy gaillardias, some bare root hollyhocks and some columbines. There are already some day lilies in the bed, as well as the river birch at one end and a Sam Houston peach tree sapling at the other end.

I love the columbines, but had the hardest time trying to photograph them because of the breeze.

While I was working on the island bed, Eric was planting some veggies and herbs in the veggie bed. We're starting easy, since this is the first time either of us have ever had a veggie garden.  We've got a couple of tomato plants, a bell pepper, and some parsley, basil and spearmint.  He also sowed seeds for some peas, cucumbers and carrots.



Wish us luck with our venture!





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

Spring has Sprung!

I think I probably do a post with that title around this time every year! Even though I've spent over half my life here in Texas, it still excites me when I see the gardens coming back to life so much earlier than they did as I was growing up in England.


But looking around the gardens this week,  there's quite a bit going on (although admittedly, not nearly as much blooming as I've seen on the blogs of more experienced and organized gardeners than I).

In the front border, the Gazania or Treasure Flower has been blooming all winter.  The flowers were actually closed for much of the winter, but I learned they do that in damp and dull weather to protect the pollen.  The day I was out taking photos was dry and warm and the Gazania blooms were wide open.

In the back garden, I was surprised to see the Homestead Verbena blooming already.  This particular plant did nothing last year, but suddenly it's taking off this year.

The Achillea behind it made it safely through winter too, I hope I see some blooms on it this year.


I had mentioned before that my husband Eric and I were thinking of building a small vegetable garden. I'm happy to report that Eric took the reins on this one, and after a couple of weeks of hard work on his part, we now have a small veggie patch waiting to be planted.

The first job was to remove the grass around the outline of the bed, so that a concrete foundation for the brick border could be laid.  I think Eric gained a new respect for the tenacity of St. Augustine during this process.  He was considering how to employ a small thermo-nuclear device to shift it.

Then he had to build a wooden form for the concrete foundation...

He used some of the bricks that were leftover when the house was built, that had been taking up a corner of the garage.  Then he added a cap row to finish it off...


Once the borders were built, we used brown paper and newspaper to cover the grass inside and then made a trip to Lowe's for some bags of soil -- Scott's Miracle Gro Organic Choice in this instance...

We filled it up and Tada!!!  A small veggie bed ready for planting...

It measures 4 ft x 8 ft and is pretty shallow, only about 8 inches deep but we think it will work for us. 


Now we have to decide what we want to plant in it.
 

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

The Great Backyard Bird Count - 2012

After being woken up by an impressive thunderstorm in which we got a reported 1.7 inches of rain, I wondered if perhaps I might have to take a rain check for the Great Backyard Bird Count.

However, it had more or less stopped raining by 7 am and when I stepped outside to put birdseed along the (soggy) fence, there were already a throng of birds out there, pecking around on the ground.

I ate breakfast and had some coffee and by 8 I was ready to start my official count.

Although it was cold and grey out there, it wasn't actually raining and conditions were pretty good for the count.  The birds certainly seemed willing to cooperate, anyway:-)  I counted from the comfort of the dining room.

Most populous were the Chipping Sparrows, but the photo above  was the only photo I managed to snap of them.

Here are my totals as submitted for 2012:

23 Chipping Sparrows

15 House Sparrows

6 Mourning Doves

3 White-Winged Doves

1 Carolina Chickadee(I think I saw two really, but you have to count the total number you see at one time, not a cumulative total)

4 Blue Jays

6 Northern Cardinals

1 Northern Mockingbird

1 Red-Bellied Woodpecker

2 Downy Woodpeckers

4 (Too many) Brown-headed cowbirds - later, after I had submitted my tally, I counted even more of them.

We have at least three pairs of Northern Cardinals that nest nearby, in spite of the loss of habitat either side.  None of them have chosen to occupy the Cardinal nesting shelf we put up yet, but perhaps they will this spring.

 The White-Winged Doves and Mourning Doves were quite content to share the seeds along the back wall.

 And they shared with Mrs. Cardinal and Mr. Brown-Headed (you're not welcome in my garden) Cowbird.

And they also shared with -- hmmmm, can't quite place the species of the rather strange and hairy bird in the middle of the photo....


We're supposed to have lovely weather tomorrow, so I'm going to count again tomorrow.  You can join in too -- Great Backyard Bird Count



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

Are You Ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count?

This year's Great Backyard Bird Count runs from Friday, February 17th through Monday, February 20th.

This will be my third year participating, and I have to say I'm excited about it.

 Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Simon Tan, Texas

The idea behind this "Citizen Science" project is to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. This can provide answers to questions such as how the cold winters in some areas are influencing bird populations, and  how the timing of bird migrations compares to previous years.

 It's simple to do, it's fun and it's FREE.

You can count for as little as 15 minutes, or as long as you like each day of the event.  You count the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time and report your findings online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count website.

Click here for more details on how to participate.

As the count progresses, you can keep track online and see reports from your area and around the country.  I live in fairly small town north of Houston and last year I think there were two other people from my area who filed reports.  It would be interesting to know who they were! 

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

Squirrels in the Rain

I got woken up by a pretty spectacular thunderstorm Saturday morning.  Not that I'm complaining, we certainly will take all the rain we can get! 

I was surprised to notice, while I was having breakfast, that there was a squirrel out on the feeder, getting soaked, but enjoying the goodies in the feeder, which I just filled up the day before.


He was still out there an hour or so later, when the rain had let up a bit and the sky was a bit brighter, so I was able to get some photos. If you click on the photo to see the full size, I think you can see the rain drops.

Suddenly I realized there wasn't just one squirrel out there.  Another one was on the ground under the feeder, picking up seeds and nuts that had dropped.  As I appeared at the door with my camera, this second one scooted across the lawn and up the pine tree.

 

It wasn't until I downloaded the photos that I realized the squirrel appeared to be saying grace!

I'm keeping the feeder full, I hope they stay around.
 


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