New Adirondack Chairs
After years of making do with decaying benches bought from big box stores, we decided it was time to move on to some improved ways of encouraging relaxation among the flowers — something that still doesn’t happen often enough. This notion was inspired by our visit to Chanticleer in June. They have a lot of benches and chairs in the gardens and they are often painted whimsical colors which brings of smiles of delight. When you pause and view the vista you get a different picture than when you are just walking through the grounds.
We found our chairs at Lands’ End. They are made in the U.S. of North American Maple and come fully painted and ready to go after a short assembly (all the fittings pre-drilled and it only takes about 15 minutes per chair). They are just as comfortable as they look and were marked down from from $159 to $110.50 each. Shipping was just $18.95 total for both chairs. They have been used to watch the fireflies in the evenings or to look at approaching thunderstorms with a glass of wine at hand.
Also out on the bank above the pasture we have put a new three-person wooden bench.
Hardwood bench
This one is made in Viet Nam from Kapur (a teak-like tropical hardwood) and is available through Amazon. Assembly was a little more complicated but it’s quite well made with the same kind of metal inserts and bolt combination that was pioneered by scandanavian furniture makers. And the old weather-worn bench has been moved to the fairy circle in the woods.
Our picnic table had basically fallen apart this past year so we also replaced that item with an unfinished kit from Home Depot that was made of untreated southern pine. We then spent a morning staining that table with the following result.
New Picnic Table
Also in the back yard now is a tiny new bench for our one and only granddaughter. Besides some possible use while she is visiting, it serves to remind us of Aoife everytime we look in the backyard.
Aoife's Bench
Those are jungle animals carved in the back of the bench. So altogether these have been very satisfying additions to the outdoor ‘rooms’.
Aoife Bench and Picnic Table
On the garden front the Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ that I had mentioned previously have come out into full bloom. They do a good imitation of a jungle plant.
Crocosmia 'Lucifer' in bloom
Another big contributor on the flower front right now are the gladiolus. We have a family tradition raising glads. Years ago my Aunt and Uncle in Canada came within one garden of qualifying an All-American Glad (the All-Americans get tested in trial gardens around the country). I still remember my Grandmother breaking the old corms off the glads as a wintertime activity. Probably our favorite right now has to be the bicolor that Beth picked off the rack at Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland, MA a couple of years ago. The picture on the bag looked impossible flashy but indeed it was pretty accurate (congrats to Jonathan for identifying this one as ‘Princess Margaret Rose’, named in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s sister).
Princess Margaret Rose Gladiolus
We dig them every year for the winter even though glads are sometimes hardy in our area. And they have multiplied since we first got them. They make spectacular arrangements when brought indoors.
Princess Margaret Rose Glad arrangement
Of course glads are almost a natural for flower arranging on the inside. All those ruffles and widely varying colors. Another color that has a lot of impact is the green one (I think it’s ‘Green Star’ from Brent & Becky’s). But it’s pretty hard to go wrong with glads…
Green and Yellow Glads
More Birds and Bugs
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) female
It seems that every day now I am seeing more and more hummingbirds. I can be working in the garden and hear this little motorboat sound by my ears as their rapidly beating wings are just a few feet away. At first I thought of them as only occasional visitors but it’s apparent that there are multiples to be found. They are territorial and I’ve seen a little whorl of hummingbirds as three of them went round in a rapidly moving and rising circle into the sky. More typically I’ll see them visiting the garden while I’m bird watching in the morning. Then it’s just a small movement out of the corner of my eye and I’ll turn and see a little visitor like the one pictured above just about five feet away, clearly people watching…
Sometimes I’m completely stumped trying to figure out what bird has come to visit. That happened a couple of weeks ago and I turned to 10000birds for help. I emailed my distinctly poor picture to Charlie and got back a response within the day that I had found a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher without its tail. Well, as it turns out, it was just my picture that excluded the tail and if I had sent the picture that I had of the bird from the rear it would have been easier for him to identify…
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)
I tried to follow up this successful id with a second picture last week of what I think might be a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher but so far no response. I can imagine they get a lot of requests.
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher? (Empidonax flaviventris)
As you can see he’s been busy chasing bugs. Apparently the Gnatcatchers and Flycatchers are major assistants to the Swallows that have chief reign over our skies.
When it comes to bugs I saw one last week that was a new discovery for me. It was crossing the deck and I was not quite certain as to how to react — I know am allergic to hornets and I managed to get a bee sting on my eyelid on the 4th of July weekend (my fault, not the bee’s, he got stuck between my glasses and my eyes) — but I chose my usual course and fetched the camera.
Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus)
It turns out to be an Eyed Click Beetle. The rather fearsome eyes are just a camouflage item and despite his fearsome appearance this guy is harmless and actually does a fair amount of good eating bad actors while in the larval stage. His name comes from a defense mode whereby he compresses and then does an acrobatic spring (with a clicking sound) to scare his enemies.
Another contributor to insect control on the property was found on one of the Shasta Daisies.
Crab Spider (Misumena vatia)
This guy is also called a Flower Spider. It hangs out on flowers waiting for choice little edibles to come walking or flying along.
Crab Spider detail
I had this mental image of this crab spider trekking all over our seven acres looking for the perfect white flower to match his camouflage. However as it turns out these spiders are able to change color to match their environment. Much more sensible when you think about it. Imagine if human beings had the same ability…
I’ll close with one more picture at late evening as the sun is setting and the fireflies are twinkling about the yard again — it’s magic time…
Fireflies overlooking the pasture
The Great Sunflower Pilgrimage
A Favorite Sunflower
Last week I attended a photography workshop aimed at preparing for the annual flowering of the sunflowers at the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area near Poolesville, Maryland. The sunflowers are planted for migratory birds but a byproduct of this effort is a beautiful field of yellow-gold flowers all coming into flower at once. It is not unusual to see 20 to 30 photographers out there at 6am waiting for the first touch of sunlight.
Photographers at the McKee-Beshers sunflower field
After attending the workshop I decided to join the other photographers in pursuit of the perfect image. I got up this morning at 4:45am and following the last hints of moonshine down the misty country roads to the field of sunflowers. Mine was the fifth car there this morning. I walked out in the field and took my spot next to a chosen row of sunflowers and mounted the camera on my ancient tripod. And then the fun begins as you experiment with various ways to view that which has been photographed by many people already. Before the sun comes up it takes a pretty long exposure to get the sunflowers but with a good camera it certainly can be done.
Sunflowers before dawn
However the real objective is to take advantage of the first rays of sunlight on the flowers. I didn’t choose the ideal spot for that early light. There were trees blocking the sun but eventually I did get some sunlight, especially for some closeups.
Sunflowers in the light
Sunflower closeup #1
Sunflower Closeup #2
All the while you can sense the great potential of this area for birdwatching as well. At one point a lovely Indigo Bunting landed on one of the sunflowers in view. Unfortunately my lens chose this point to develop condensation on the outside so I have this very impressionistic view of the Bunting, as though a sudden fog had descended onto the field. It’s definitely worth checking out as the seeds ripen in the future.
That Other Garden
Hummingbird in the Corn
With all the flowers in the yard doing their thing with the gay profusion of high summer it’s worth noting that there is that ‘other garden’ where all the veggies are coming into the house on a daily basis. Now that the vegetable garden is fully fenced off from the deer (thanks Benner Gardens) for the first time we are getting yields that are reminiscent of when we first moved here. That is to say more than any two people could possibly use.
Bringing in the Corn
Of course even though we relish the taste of the fresh beans,corn,squash, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, peas, and so on, it was never just about the food coming in. It’s the whole process of putting seed in the ground, feeling that fertile earth between your fingers (and under your fingernails), anticipating the rainfalls that make it happen, and then seeing the flowers that lead to the veggies. And along the way are all the birds and insects that come with the process.
Over time we have added more and more flowers to the vegetable garden. I guess it was a gradual recognition that a 5000 square ft garden produces more food than we really can use. I mean it’s hard to really justfiy 20 tomato plants… :). We now plant a large cutting row in the garden in addition to the sunflowers, dahlias, and gladiolas which have their own dedicated row. Both contribute to the birds and butterflies that we see in the ‘vegetable garden’.
Cutting Garden
The cutting row is chiefly zinnias, cosmos and marigolds, but any of the wildflower seeds that can compete with them are encouraged to grow as well.
Now it may be the careful digging of all those rows or just possibly one of the rainiest May-June periods that I can recall but the garden as a whole, flowers and veggies, is growing wonderfully well.
Cukes in the garden trail up the fence
Even the early corn is 6' high
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for July
Lily oriental 'Time Out'
This is Garden Bloggers Bloom day for July where we take time to pause and note the outstanding flowers that are especially nice in bloom at this time . The lillies continue to take first rank around the yard. While ‘Time Out’ is a particular favorite, there are numerous other Orientals in bloom.
Oriental lily with pink edge
Most of the Orientals stand four to six feet tall and have a knockout fragrance that is a powerful ingredient to the cutflower mixes.
Tall Oriental Lillies
A distant relative of the lilies is the Agapanthus or Lily of the Nile. Although often treated as a potted plant or relegated to California and Florida gardens, it is marginally hardy in zone 7. I tried putting it in the garden several years ago and it seems to be doing just fine.
Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus africanus)
Along the same lines, another African plant is the Crocosmia. It’s not in flower yet, but even in bud it is more interesting than the flowers on many plants. Our little patch of ‘Lucifer’ in the rose garden is about 4 ft tall this year and creating a little tropical element next to the back fence.
Crocosmia Jungle
Crocosmia 'Lucifer' in bud
For pure quantity of flowers in the summertime it hard to beat the Perennial Sweet Pea. They cover the bank next to the driveway in a shared domination along with Pennsylvania Crownvetch. This is a hardy plant that competes well in difficult conditions but I have never seen it outside of the area where I planted the single plant.
Perennial Sweet Pea on the bank
The flowers are quite variable by color and generally quite beautiful.
Perennial Sweet Pea (Lathyrus latifolius)
There are a good many plants in flower right now, such as the sundrops, the Echinacea, the poppies, zinnias, cosmos, Black-eyed Susans, and so on. But the real attention grabber in the front yard is the stand of Shasta Daisies.
Shasta Daisies 'Becky' (Leucanthemum x superbum)
It would also not be a fair summary if I didn’t point out that the first of the sunflowers is in bloom, one of several volunteers in the garden, as seeds from previous plantings.
Volunteer Sunflower
Patience is Rewarded
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) enjoying mulberry breakfast
I often find that with my morning birdwatching by the Mulberry Tree I can go for 30 minutes with nary an unusual arrival, just the standard birds that are there every morning. However, if I hold out for an hour I usually end up with a colorful visitor. Yesterday it was the Baltimore Oriole above that stopped in for breakfast.
This morning it was a Great Blue Heron that provided the surprise. I looked up to see a large Heron overhead. I expected to be able to grab some pictures as the Heron flew over, but after getting this first abortive shot I realized that he was circling and not transiting the sky.
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) flying away from the camera
As I tried to follow his flight pattern he circled and then dropped down toward my neighbor’s pond. He stopped short however and landed in one of the trees by the pond. This was an incredible sight. It may be the biggest bird I have ever seen in a tree. Unfortunately while I could see it through a gap in the fence there was no way to get my camera lens to focus through the hole.
A similar kind of patient observation of nature occurs while sitting on the bench overlooking the pasture as the sunlight fades into the evening sky. Son Josh captured the scene the other night as the first stars appeared.
The evening sky overlooking the pasture
This inspired me to see if I could capture the fireflies as the twinkle over the grass at the same hour. And if you look at the following long exposure you can see the trails of the fireflies.
Fireflies at sunset
Hello Lillies
Lillies in the rose garden
About ten days ago we came home and took an evening tour around the yard. We discovered these six-foot tall beauties not only via our eyes but by the smell — a strong lovely fragrance on the night air. Both varieties are charming and I think they are trumpets, but the mango-colored one defies identification by looking at my records.
Mango-colored Lily, probably a trumpet
Trumpet Lily 'Lady Alice'
Two nights later as we were showing these flowers to my brother we were surprised to see a rather large skunk waddle out from the bushes next to the garden. We almost had another entirely different fragrance to deal with.
It is indeed the time for the Lillies to shine. The Orientals are starting to come in as well. There are still a number of them in bud but ‘Muscadet’ has opened up a cluster of full-sized flowers on very compact plants.
Lilium oriental 'Muscadet'
As is typical of the Orientals the fragrance is wonderful.
In addition to these lillies I should mention the Daylillies which are flowering up a storm as well. My favorite is a yellow variety that overcomes a very shady location in the garden that divides the front and back yards.
Yellow Daylilly
It was this variety that I used for making Enlargements as a gift for Beth for Christmas last year.
Detail of Yellow Daylilly
And yet another Lily-like plant, the Alstroemeria, or Peruvian Lily is flowering. In particular it’s Alstroemeria ‘Laura’ that has shown itself to be reliably hardy in our area.
Alstroemeria 'Laura'
The birds continue to come to our trees for morning breakfast. The surprise visitor last week was an Indigo Bunting. I’ve only seen one here once before.
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)
And almost every morning I see one or another of the Orioles. A particularly close visitor was this female Orchard Oriole.
Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) female
As I was sitting in the garden the other morning I had a small female hummingbird fly up less that five feet from me and then perch on a plant for minutes. My large zoom lens that enables me to photograph the birds could not focus that close so I smiled, abandoned technology and just enjoyed her company. It was only the next day that I realized that there was a switch on the lens that allows it to take photographs at a closer distance as well. I smiled for the second time, and realized that I didn’t really mind that much, given that by trying to photograph I would have lost some of the experience as well.