Nosy Neighbor

June 23, 2015April 9, 2017 | Flower Roberts

I went into my neighbors houses while they were away and took pictures. I knocked at the door and if no one answered, I went in with my camera to check out their housekeeping and furnishings.

At one house, some babies were home alone. I took their pictures while they were sleeping.

Once the lady of the house ignored my knocking and was inside when I opened her door. It was quite a shock for us both, but she let me take her picture without a fuss.

Here is Mrs. Chickadee stuck at home incubating those eggs.

She was probably glad for my company.

That fluffy stuff is fur from my New Zealand rabbit named Barley. How cozy? I love her colors.

Here are the babies that were left home alone.

I don’t get this free-range parenting.

I’m a helicopter mom, like my mother before me.

I saw Mrs. Wren leave, so I took the opportunity to check out her decor.

Then I dropped by the Bluebirds’ house and…

What’s this? Darn cowbird. You brood parasite! You need to mooooove on.

Kidding aside, let’s compare these three nests of three different species.

All three nests were in birdhouses connected to the deck on my home. They are the standard bluebird type houses.

The Carolina Chickadee lays 6-8 lightly speckled white eggs in a flat, soft nest with fewer twigs.

The Carolina Wren usually lays 5 brown-spotted, whitish eggs in a domed nest. It looks like a bassinet made of twigs and grass.

The Eastern Bluebird lays 4-6 light blue eggs in a loose, cup-like nest. All three nests included pine needles and moss.

Bluebird nest: loose with an indentation in the middle

The Brown-headed Cowbird (not really pictured)lays one white speckled egg at a time in the nests of other, usually smaller songbirds. The foster chick grows more quickly than the biological offspring of the nest owner. The cowbird chick out-competes the smaller chicks for food and sometimes pushes his “siblings” out of the nest.

If you hear a squeaky, rattling gurgle-like sound, look around. If you see two strangers and one is in all black with a brown hood, alert your neighbors to the possibility of an impending invasion.

NO, not me with my camera. I was referring to the cowbirds.

Follow the Flower!

Save the Seeds

June 19, 2015June 22, 2015 | Flower Roberts

No, this is not going to be a rant against Monsanto. I won’t even go there.

I am sharing my methods for saving seeds of annuals, biennials and perennials.

I do this to have more plants, keep “heirloom” plants going, share seeds, and avoid buying annuals’ seeds every year.

I will demonstrate with some poppies that were given to me by a dear, artist friend, Bill Troutman.

He is no longer around, but every spring these poppies take my breath away with their beauty.

Poppy Pods

Once the pods are brown, the holes around the crown will open. Shake some seeds out onto a piece of paper with the name of the flower written on it. This labels the inside of the seed packet. I do this to avoid that “What is This?” issue if I forget to write the name on the outside of the folded paper.

I do this on a box lid to avoid losing seeds in the process. I have multiple sheets of paper in it, so I can walk around the yard collecting different seeds at the same time. It’s also handy for carrying the roll of tape and the marker.

Then fold up the paper and tape it up. Then write the name again on the outside.

I sow these poppy seeds in November.

Some other seeds I save in June are foxglove and columbine.

Tiny Foxglove seeds. Don't sneeze. — Tiny Foxglove seeds. Don’t sneeze.

Now, share some seeds with your gardening friends.

They make great hostess gifts for garden parties. Just add a photo and bow and wah lah!!! Future flowers.

Follow the Flower!

Fairy Lily Surprise

June 13, 2015June 24, 2015 | Flower Roberts

Years ago my little niece came to me with a fund-raiser catalog for her school. I was pleased to find bulbs offered among the usual nuts and wrapping paper. I ordered a packet of five pink “Fairy Lily” bulbs. The scientific name is Zephyranthus robustus. It’s nickname is rain lily.

I planted these in a pot that had some extra space and forgot about them. Later, I noticed little green shoots. Then one day some sweet little pink faces were peeking out. When the central plant finally out-grew that pot, I divided the bulbs and put them in many more pots with space in them and even planted some in the yard.

The fairy lilies tend to bloom after it rains. I am surprised to see some blooming in different spots at different times. The blooming periods are unpredictable, so it’s like getting a little surprise from my niece whenever more bloom. I smile every time I find some blooming and remember my little pink fairy niece.

You know you are getting old when you plant things yourself and then are surprised to see them later.

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Like White?

June 3, 2015April 21, 2017 | Flower Roberts

White flowers pop in shady spots. They never clash with other colors. They even show up at night.

Here are some of my favorites.

I have white and pink varieties. — Diamond Astilbe

Camelot White foxglove — Camelot White Foxglove

My newest bulb has shown it's lovely face. — Peruvian Daffodil

Follow the Flower!

June Buddies

June 1, 2015July 17, 2015 | Flower Roberts

A quick walk around the yard with my camera to capture all my little friends in the garden.

I almost stepped on Mr. Snake while looking at clouds. My daughter calls him “Big Guy.” He showed up at one of our parties. We had to stand in front of him as my sister-in-law passed. I hope she doesn’t read this!

We have lizards everywhere. I suspect some arrived in bales of pine needles. We have had baby snakes come that way also.

The tree frog on the rocks is named Mortimer. He used to stay near our front porch at a little patio pond. He has now moved onto the porch behind a piece of art. He peeks out as we go and come. You will see him in future posts.

I wish this picture of the frog at my daughter’s pond did this frog justice. He is bigger than my hand and makes a big SPLASH as he jumps into the pond.

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Night Moves

June 1, 2015June 22, 2015 | Flower Roberts

Just because you aren’t out enjoying your garden at night, does not mean it is empty.

Here are some of our neighbors who prefer the darkness.

Some silently creep along the ground, some climb trees leaving a shiny trail behind, while others are loudly calling their friends to come to a pond party.

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Just Add Water.

May 30, 2015September 12, 2015 | Flower Roberts

Add a splash of fun with some water gardening. You don’t need a pond. Any watertight container can be filled with water plants and several fish. I use shubunkins in the patio pond. They are hardy, colorful and eat larvae.

All ponds need shade. Don’t have a fish fry on your patio. Add plants to shade the water. These can be floaters like duckweed, water hyacinth, parrot’s feather and water lettuce. Also potted plants with height add dimension and shade. Little Tut and smaller water lilies are good for smaller ponds.

Once you are hooked, you will be grabbing a shovel and digging up your yard.

My son put his pond under his bedroom window. He can check on it from his desk. The downside of having a pond under your bedroom window is when the frogs are “a wooing”, there is a cacophony of mating calls. I find the call of the Peeper especially irritating. It’s like adding nails on a chalkboard to a symphony.

Cluster of flowers on a four foot tall stalk.

Follow the Flower!

The Daylily Parade

May 30, 2015October 29, 2015 | Flower Roberts

The first in line was Whooperee on May 30, 2015. The last to bloom was Sabre’ Salina on August 12, 2015. The parade of blooms lasted 72 days. I enjoyed every single morning of walking around with my camera.

I must admit I missed some bloomers due to a week of back pain and a week of vacation. I also left out the spiders. I omitted the six or seven that don’t have names, except for the yellow giant(pictured with Santa). That one was too big to ignore.

I have many daylilies because my best friend used to have a beautiful daylily farm. They gave me many of these. (Thanks Joyce and Jimmy.)

How do I remember all the names? My little secret is etching the names onto colored plastic knives from any party store. I use a Dremel tool, that way the names don’t fade away like when you write them with a sharpie. I stick these knives in the ground near the base of the plant. When I want the name, I look for the colored handle and pull it from the ground; instead of trying to pull the name out of my brain. It’s so much easier than trying to remember them all.

If your daylilies don’t bloom, it’s time for some fertilizer and more water. If that doesn’t work, it’s time to divide them or they are not getting enough sun.

If anyone offers you an orange, old type named Kwanso; politely say no and run away as fast as you can. It’s the kudzu of the daylily family. It will spread and is very hard to get rid of.

#1 Whooperee/May 30

#2 tied Sammy Russell and Mac The Knife/ June 2

#3 Emperor Butterfly/June 4

new daylily blooms 003 — Oh, no!!! Kwanso

OH, No! Kwanso — Kwanso again! Dig it up before it spreads some more!

This giant, yellow daylily is the workhorse of the bunch. Its blooms are the biggest and it blooms the longest.

I hate to tell you this, but I do not know its name.

We got it many years ago at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens daylily sale.

If you haven’t been to DSBG, you must visit it if you come to North Carolina.

It and Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina are my two favorite places on this planet.

Follow the Flower!

May 28, 2015June 20, 2015 | Flower Roberts

I will be posting events that occur in my garden. It may involve a buzzing bee, a screeching bird,a frog named Leo or two running bunnies. They are all players on the colorful stage of flower gardening.

	derrickjknight on The Disappearing Trees
	Ted Jennings - TPJ P… on The Disappearing Trees
	automatic gardener on The Disappearing Trees
	Flower Roberts on The Disappearing Trees
	Flower Roberts on The Herd

floweralley

Flora and fauna in a North Carolina garden.

Author: Flower Roberts

Nosy Neighbor

Save the Seeds

Fairy Lily Surprise

Like White?

June Buddies

Night Moves

Just Add Water.

The Daylily Parade

Follow the Flower!

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