GBBD: Counting Birds, Not Blooms

Today is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, the day each month when gardeners from all over share whatever blooms they have, whether outdoors or indoors.  I had hoped after my paltry offering last month that I would finally have something to share today, but the anticipation I've felt the last couple of weeks has turned into disappointment.  Let's take a look, shall we?

From Jan. 21 to Feb. 4 to Feb. 14

It took awhile for my amaryllis bulb to show any signs of growth, but once it did, it quickly took off. But as you can see, the leaves are tall and glossy, but absolutely no sign of a flower stalk!  This isn't the first time this has happened to me; I wouldn't have been surprised if my older bulbs had done this because they've been pretty neglected, but this was a new bulb purchased this winter.  Looks like I need to go back to my local amaryllis expert to see what I did wrong this time.

My Kalanchoe has a few tiny blooms, and my Christmas cactus is budding up again.  But what I'm really interested in this week is not indoors, but outside:

This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count, a project sponsored each February by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society to collect data on wild birds across the world. With the snow cover we've had this winter, there has been no shortage of birds to count in my yard.

You don't have to be a birding expert to participate: the website has links to sites for bird i.d. help, including the one at Cornell, which is excellent.  I certainly don't know much about birds, but I have no trouble recognizing our state bird and my personal favorite, the cardinal, who has been a frequent visitor at the feeders.

Nor do I have any trouble recognizing the less flamboyant, but just as lovely, female cardinal. But what is that little bird to her left?   When I'm not sure, I turn to my well-worn copy of  Birds of Illinois Field Guide by Stan Tekiela.  Flipping through the pages, I'm pretty sure this is a goldfinch.  Not long ago, I discovered that the goldfinch, so easy to spot by its bright yellow body in the summer, turns to a dull brown in the winter.

A frequent visitor here every winter is the Downy Woodpecker, who particularly enjoys the suet feeders.  I've learned that little red spot on his head means he's a male, which means I have at least a pair here, because I've also seen one without the red spot, a female. The most common bird I've seen is the dark-eyed Junco, including the one perched atop the feeder here.There are so many of them, usually foraging on the ground, that I'm not sure--did I count that one already??

A less common sight is the Red-bellied Woodpecker.  I took this photo a week ago, so unless I see him again this weekend, unfortunately, he won't make the count.

You don't even have to step outside to participate in the GBBC, if you don't want to.  All the photos here were taken through my large living room window (badly in need of cleaning, I might add).  To make viewing from indoors even easier, I added a new feeder this year that attaches to the window with suction cups to replace an old one that broke.  The only problem I've found with this feeder is that  it doesn't have much of a perch, so the larger birds have trouble using it.  But maybe that's a good thing--it's been popular with the small birds, like this Tufted Titmouse.  Look at those little feet!

The small birds like the Titmouse and the Chickadees aren't the only ones who appreciate this feeder. Toby and the rest of the furry inhabitants of our household have been enjoying the close-up version of bird television, too.

Watching the birds at the feeders makes counting easier, but I also survey the trees for any others too shy to come closer.  Oops, I don't think this guy is going to make the count:)

Refilling the bird feeders has become a daily routine this winter--lots of hungry birds in this cold!  The Bluejays may have a reputation of being bullies, but I think they're beautiful, and I'll keep putting out more food to keep them and everyone else accomodated.

The Great Backyard Bird Count runs through this Monday, February 17, so you still have time to participate, if you wish.  You can spend as much time as you want counting birds over the weekend or as little as 15 minutes.  All the information collected will help scientists determine what is happening with bird populations.  It's a great activity to share with kids, too, as I've done in the past with my grandkids.  And in case any of you think I have digressed from the original topic here, I leave you with this image of a White-breasted Nuthatch--a photo of a bird and some blooms.

To see more of what's in bloom around the world, visit our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who always has something to share even if her garden is also covered in snow.

Waiting for the Circus to Arrive

The calendar may say February 1, but if I didn't know better I would think it was April.  Today's high temperature is supposed to be in the low 50's, and yesterday it got up to 61 degrees, warm enough that I quickly shed my coat while running errands around town.  It looks, feel, and smells like spring! 

Days like these make me eager to see blooms, of course, but also to see some of my usual spring and summer visitors.  The bumblebees, like this one enjoying the white salvia in the Arbor Bed last year, will probably be among the first to arrive.

Going through old photo files the last few weeks, I realized I had intended to do a reprise of 2010's Cirque du Prairie, but never got around to it.

While 2011 did have some acrobatic performers like this balancing bee  . . .

. . . or the mantis trapeze artist, 

. . . most were content with less death-defying activities. 

A variety of performers, however, kept the show interesting.  Some were so small they often went unnoticed until downloading photos onto the computer.

Others sent the audience searching through books and websites to find their names.

While there were plenty of bees in last summer's show, the circus appeared to have been downsized in other areas, perhaps another victim of the poor economy.  Butterflies, especially, were fewer in number in 2011.

Still, some of the usual performers showed up, like this Buckeye and the swallowtail in the previous photo.

And the Tiger Swallowtail, which found my new delphinium as captivating as I did.

The stars of the show, the Monarchs, finally showed up in late summer and early autumn.  You might notice a theme here, besides the obvious one.  Favorite perches for photo shoots were the coneflowers and the cosmos.  Agastaches and zinnias were also popular.  As I plan this season's garden, I am making sure to allow space for all these bee and butterfly magnets.

Moths also found the cosmos appealing.

Red admirals made a brief appearance, but somehow escaped the photographer.  However, I did manage to capture this unusual visitor--though not very well--after following him around the garden for awhile.  It was the first time I had seen this particular butterfly in my garden, and I still haven't identified him.

A brief visit by a fritillary was also welcome--it's not often that they visit my garden.

Some visitors avoided the spotlight, but left evidence of their amazing talents.

Although there weren't as many butterflies seen this year, the hummingbirds were numerous. This lovely lady (?) even was kind enough to pose for a long while, as long as I didn't get any closer.

Much to my delight, she was soon joined by a friend.

 A hot and dry summer in Illinois also means a multitude of grasshoppers, though not quite this size:)  This giant grasshopper was part of an exhibit of insects crafted from natural materials at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, which I visited in November.  I'm not particularly fond of grasshoppers, but I'm glad the ones in my garden weren't this Kafkaesque:)

Digressing for a moment,  I wanted to add a note to my last post.  One of the elements you won't see much of in my new Arbor Bed, or any of my garden areas, for that matter, is garden art.  Although I admire artfully placed objects and whimsical additions to others' gardens, I am too cheap frugal to spend much on decorative touches and not creative enough to come up with my own.  Even when I do have something, it takes me a long time to know how and where to place it.  Dear friend Beckie gave me these garden gnomes early in the summer.  I'm not much of a gnome person, as she knows, and stuck them under the arbor bench temporarily...which is where they stayed all year:)

However, some garden visitors enjoyed this placement. 

I rather like the more natural look of this garden "art," don't you?

Even better, the art exhibit changes periodically:)

Ah yes, Tarzan, Toby, and the rest of the furry clan are eagerly looking forward 

to the 2012 edition of Cirque du Prairie.  Maybe we won't have to wait long--I just saw the first bee flying around here today!

The Garden Team Welcomes Spring

As if on cue, the first hellebore opened this week.  More crocuses and primroses are blooming each day, and I spotted the first daffodil bud yesterday.  Yes, at long last spring has arrived!  Although the calendar's marking of spring doesn't automatically mean warm and sunny days here in central Illinois, there were several beautiful days this past week--even reaching to 70 degrees on Thursday!--that put me into a happy spring mood.  I cleaned up most of the flowerbeds, and now I'm anxious to start spring planting, although I know it's much too soon. 

This year there is some added stress to the spring ritual of gardening: my daughter and son-in-law-to-be decided they wanted to hold their wedding reception on our front lawn.  While we've been busy reserving a tent, hiring a DJ, and checking out caterers, to me this also means I want my garden to be perfect by the first of June.   While waiting for the weather to become more cooperative, I've been busy making lists of chores to be done and plants to buy this spring.  I've also talked to the garden staff, making sure that each understands his/her duties and the importance of getting everything done early this year.

"What garden staff?" you may ask.  That is a valid question, since I am always complaining explaining that I do all the garden work myself and that my efforts are limited by my time and stamina. However, I do have some full-time garden team members, and actually, some of you may have met them before, but perhaps didn't realize their valuable roles here at the Prairie.   Since I am depending on their assistance more than ever this year, I think it's time to properly introduce them and describe each one's important position on the staff:

Sophie:  Head of Excavation

Duties: Digging holes, assisting in soil prep and in weed pulling.

Sophie is eager to help in any way in the garden, but she excels in digging deep holes and pulling out stubborn weeds and debris when given some direction.

She is also the keeper of the garden gloves.  When she is let out of the house, she finds the gloves in my garden tote by the back door and takes one with her to let me know that she is ready for some garden time.  Unfortunately, by the time she hands them back to me, they may be missing a fingertip or two, but we are willing to overlook this minor flaw because of her overall work ethic and enthusiasm.

Other than myself, no one is happier to spend time in the garden than Sophie. When she's not busy digging or assessing the fragrance of new plants, she enjoys spending time bird-watching or chasing the occasional squirrel or rabbit away from the garden.

Marmalade: Head of Wildlife Management

Duties: Patrolling the garden and the surrounding area for small rodents and other pests. 

Quiet and rather shy, Marmalade is a true outdoorswoman.  Although her sleeping quarters are in the garage, particularly on cold winter nights, she will not enter the house and prefers to spend most of her time outside.  Her quiet demeanor helps her to excel in this position--not a mouse has been seen near the house in years. 

Although Marmalade is the head of this department, she is assisted by all the other staff members.  An incident last summer illustrates the cooperative effort of the staff:  Sophie discovered a vole near the front garden bed and unearthed it, then, when it ran up on to the porch, Toby and Tarzan (not pictured) kept a watchful eye on it until it eventually disappeared.  I'm not sure of the actual fate of the vole, which is probably just as well.

Sasha: Head of Quality Control

Duties: Collecting data on plant varieties; assisting in garden design

Sasha would rather work alone and prefers the heated/air-conditioned office to being outdoors in the middle of the day.  Because of this, her forays into the garden are limited to short periods of time (between naps) and used for general inspection.  She is particularly interested in aromatic plants, such as catmint, and offers her expert opinion on their quality.  Various vantage points in the garden also give her a different perspective on the overall design.

She is also the resident "plant sitter" if I am away, though her technique leaves something to be desired.

Tarzan: Vice President of Employee Relations and Head of Arbitration

Duties:  Providing encouragement and support to all staff members, including the head gardener; resolving any employee disputes.

If Tarzan attended kindergarten, he would bring home report cards with high marks in "plays well with others."  Sometimes living and working together twenty-four hours a day can cause team members' tempers to flare.  But Tarzan always keeps his cool disposition and is ready to offer a calming gesture.  He was the first of the feline contingent to embrace Sophie when she arrived. and he displays a remarkably open mind to all species, be they human, feline, or canine.  Besides Sophie, Tarzan is also the one most likely to accompany me as I garden, offering me encouragement and occasionally lightening my mood with his silliness.

And after a long day in the garden, Tarzan doesn't quit--to help Sophie unwind,

he even gives kitty massages!

Toby: Garden CEO

Duties: Whatever Toby wants to do . . .

Whether it is his aristocratic lineage or the fact he spent his formative years entirely indoors, Toby has less interest in the garden than in the creatures that inhabit the yard and trees.  (If you would like to know more about Toby's background, you can read earlier posts about him  here  or here  .)  As the senior member of the staff, Toby finds manual labor distasteful and prefers to oversee garden work from a comfortable perch.   Make no mistake about it, though, he is the lord of the manor and our little fiefdom.

Staff orientation was held this past week, including some stern reminders about unnecessary digging and "fertilization" in the garden.  Last year's perennials have been cut back, seeds have been purchased, and garden gloves washed.  The team is anxious and ready to work--let the gardening season begin!

June Muse Day . . . Excuses, excuses

It's the first of June, and to me that means summer, even if the summer solstice is still three weeks away.  It's certainly felt like summer the past two weeks with temperatures in the high 80's and even the nineties, along with the high humidity of a typical Illinois summer.

Tarzan naps while I garden.

Today is also Garden Muse Day held on the first of every month.  I haven't had much time to think of or find an appropriate poem for June, so here is my feeble parody of a familiar nursery rhyme:

Little Prairie Blue, come bring your hoes

The crabgrass is in the veggies, and the bindweed in the roses.

Where is the gardener while the weeds do creep?

She's on her cool couch, fast asleep!

Pretty lame, I know, but can you think of a flower that rhymes with hoe??  Besides, quite frankly, I have been feeling very overwhelmed lately.   Between the heat and frequent rainy days, I have had trouble getting everything done in the garden.  My typical early morning routine of coffee and blogging has been cut short in order to get an early start in the garden before the sun's rays get too strong.  Still, after a few hours, the sweat is running into my eyes, and my knees and arms ache from bending and digging.  After an early lunch, I collapse on the couch and spend the afternoon in the comfort of air conditioning.  With another birthday soon approaching, I'm beginning to wonder--am I getting too old to garden??

Besides the weather, another obstacle to my own gardening is trying to put in as many MG volunteer hours  as possible.  The past three Saturday mornings have found me in the Idea Garden, including two stints planting the Annual Color Garden assigned to the new interns. In the photo above you can see only two of my friends in the front area, but what you don't see are the other 20 or so in the rest of the annual garden on this very hot day.  Wouldn't it be nice to have this much help at home?!  Then there are the hours spent manning the help line in the Extension Office, where at least it's cool--too cool, in fact--but where I am learning how much I still have to learn. 

Meanwhile, the pot ghetto in front of my garage door keeps growing as I keep buying more plants . . . I haven't been able to find my favorite Persian Shield in any of the garden centers this spring, but I have found lots of other plants I didn't even know I needed.  I have many containers to fill, but this is one I don't need to worry about. This dianthus has been coming back in the same pot--and the same soil--for three years now! I should plant such a persistent flower in the garden, but I hate to upset it when it seems so happy being neglected.  And somebody should tell those pansies it's too hot to bloom:)

I have been a woman on a mission . . . a mission proceeding at a snail's pace.  While the frequent rain showers have kept me from getting all the plants in the ground, they have enabled the weeds to grow by leaps and bounds.  I have kept my nose literally to the ground, too busy to even take photos of the changes in the garden.  The chives, which along with the parsley survived the winter, sported lovely lavender blooms the past two weeks, but I didn't think to take out my camera until they had faded to a dull shade.

There are new blooms appearing each week, many of them new to the garden this year, which have not gotten the attention they deserve as I hoe and plant.  Inspired by Chicago gardens last spring, several types of allium were added last fall, including these, which I believe are Allium Roseum.  The catalog described their blooms as a dainty pink, but these are pure white.

Definitely pink, however, is this surprise bloomer--Penstemon X.  It's a little hard to see its bell-shaped blooms, I know, with the PPPP competing for attention in the back. Both were gifts from Gail on a visit to her garden last October--thank you, Gail!  I remember finding a small bare corner in the butterfly garden last fall to quickly plant them in, but I think the Penstemon deserves a spot all its own for next year.

Another Penstemon, 'Husker Red,' I think, is a passalong from Beckie.  I can see this one is going to pop up more frequently each year, as the one I received from Beckie has now turned into two plants.  In fact, the Butterfly and Friends garden is full of lots of re-seeders this year as well as many surprises.  A post on this garden will be written as soon as I have time . . . Isn't it ironic that there was plenty of time for blogging all winter long when the ground was covered with nothing but snow, but now that there is so much going on in the garden, there isn't enough time to show it all?

I have a bad habit of stressing myself out, with self-imposed deadlines and worrying about the loss of stamina I once had.   I realized after looking at my posts from last year, that I am actually ahead of schedule compared to this time last year.  I need to take a deep breath and remember that gardening is supposed to be fun and relaxing.  I need to return to that mindset where I look around the garden and simply enjoy what I see, like the return of the bees, rather than see what still has to be done.

One thing that has definitely brought me joy the last two weeks is the re-appearance of butterflies.  After the scarcity of butterflies we had last year, it is so reassuring to see them returning in large numbers this summer.

The Red Admirals are particularly numerous, covering their favorite purple blooms of the Nepeta here or the Salvia 'May Night' above (shown with the bumblebee). 

They have cavorted about, literally dancing through the air and providing another hot-afternoon diversion for Toby and Sophie--"Butterfly television":)

But the most exciting of all?--The hummingbirds have returned!  I think this little lady was so glad that I finally got around to putting out the feeders that she stayed just long enough for me to take some photos.  This is about as good a photo as my point and shoot camera will allow, but I'm happy.

 

Yes, I think it's going to be a good summer!

Gardening requires lots of water--most of it in the form of perspiration.

--Lou Erickson

For other musings on this first day of June, please visit our hostess, the talented Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago.