I grew up in Northern Illinois most of my younger years. I had an idea of mid-winter that is really nothing like what I experience now. The closest that I can come to describe it under N. IL conditions would be a prolonged spring.
Little Anna apple has decided to join the Dorsett apple tree in bloom. She has a slight pink-red blush to her pettles which was enough to attract at least one honeybee today.
The Goldfinches from half of San Diego apparently have decided that I am a major provider of Nijer seed. I must fill the "thistle" socks every 2-3 days! There are three socks and each one takes about a quart of nijer seed. I hope to get a good picture soon. It is amazing to see up to 16 or so finches on a sock at one time!
I continue to work on many of the bulbs that I failed to plant in the ground and remain in pots from previous years. I have so many areas of the garden that I want to work over or repair and I certainly have quite a pallette of bulbs to plant everywhere. Rodents are always a consideration in a wildlife garden. The bulbs that I have planted that have been the most resistant to gophers, rats, and mice are Amaryllis Belladana, Ipheion uniflorum, Narcissus sps., Tulbaghia simlleri(formerly T. fragrans, the tuberous Alstroemeris, Gladiola tristis (yes, how triste...this extremely fragrant orchid-like glad is used at funerals in its native south Africa), and Freesia laxa (formerly Anomotheca laxa). Bulbs that multiply rapidly enough to always stay one step ahead of foracious rodents are Sparaxis, Babiana, Triteleia (formerly Brodiaea), Iris species and relatives, ie. Morea and Sisyrinchium fair very well. I have so many other bulbs to try in the next few years. Since I have an extremely limited budget I do not have any qualms about buying 6 bulbs that will give me 30 or more bulbs that I can plant is 2 or 3 years. That way I have a pallette of 40 or 50 species and varieties of bulbs!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hey, Mike -
ReplyDeleteIs it time for me to put up my goldfinch sock? When I did it last mid-summer, I was completely ignored. Except the squirrel checked it out a couple of times.
Looking forward to seeing some photos! I'm sure Paul can help you with that part!
Love,
Joan
I am waiting for the pink trumpet tree (Tabebuia impetiginosa) to bloom in the back garden! I am so glad I followed your advice and trimmed off that wayward bough.
ReplyDeleteI miss my big brother! xxxx
Hey, Joan...responding here and to your later comments:
ReplyDelete1, I have continuous Finch visitors to my thistle socks. I also live above a nature preserve which is a wildlife corridor into the foothills and mountains. I will get visitors that you might never get where you are! However I would not give up hope in your situation! You need to always have the source available for the finches whether you see them or not. All it takes is one finch to discover the sock and then there may be two or three...then if you are a real charmer there might just be a whole flock gathering at your sock! Just remember that these finches spend most of their time in the canyons and chapparel scrub of So. CA. They are certainly there and maybe not exactly in your vicinity...but they DO exist and are always looking for a legitimate source for food! Spring is coming and the urgency is real!
2, I developed this humble blog out of necessity; however I may not have any reasonable assumption as to where it might take me!
You've got your start Michael. I'm finding a blog is just a place to talk to whomever, where ever, what ever, whether they listen or not. It's just the fun of sending something out into the ooooooooooooo land knowing someone or something, may or may not, see, hear or talk no evil.
ReplyDeleteSummation: If it's evil don't send it. Cuz in that case it's also known as a boomerang.
Another question for the Nature Guy!
ReplyDeleteBuffy said she gets loads of lilacs in Acton. But I suspect those are the native California wild lilacs (Ceanothus), rather than the common lilacs (Syringa) that grow back east. (Don't you miss those?)
What do you think?
Joan,
ReplyDeleteI hope that you will back-track this blog to get my very late reply to your question. It could be either the traditional lilacs as she is living in a climate zone that is condusive to growing the traditional "Lilacs" as long as the soil is rich and with abundant summer moisture. Then again there are also many unrelated western lilacs which she might be referring to. Sorry, again for the late response!
Love,
natureguy, Michael