Archive for the ‘Gardening News’ Category
Butterfly on the Susquehanna
June 30th, 2008 | 
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I went on a photo hike along the Susquehanna the other day and saw this little fellow. Some sort of Swallowtail, but I’m not sure which. His stripes look very aqua in person.
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Death of a Tree
For the past five years, I have been enjoying the sight of butterflies covering every flower on this pink Mimosa in the early summer. I have also spent thousands of hours pulling up Mimosa seedlings from every inch of my yard. Despite this tree’s overly prolific reproduction plan, it breaks my heart to know that this will probably be its last year as a host to "living blossoms" as the butterflies flutter amongst the flowers.
While even the seedlings in the shadiest corners have leafed out and are looking fantastic, this faithful old tree struggles to put out even a few branches of green. At first glance, you don’t notice, though, because it is home to several hundred wild violets, which have been seeded by nature in an effort to clothe the bare tree.
You may be wondering how a gardener could have a tree in this shape, but the truth is it was damaged beyond repair when I moved in and I’ve been holding my breath each year in hopes that it would make it one more season. Careless lawn crews let their mowers gouge the trunk and someone butchered a pruning job.
I hope to see one more glorious pink summer and then this steadfast old tree will have to be cut down because it is hazardously rotten and the kids won’t stay off of it. (It is perfect for young climbers, with its low branches.) I can’t bear to get rid of it completely, so we’ll cut the trunk right below the "V" in the branches and put a picnic table top on it for a few more years. In the meantime, it is the scene of quite a bit of activity, as little birds nest in the birdhouse and woodpeckers damage the diseased limbs even further to dine on grubs and assorted insect life.
Garden Fest May 2008
Welcome to the May 2008 edition of Garden Fest. My sister asked if I wanted to get a manicure yesterday. You can guess how hard I laughed, right? There’s no sense in getting a manicure when you garden until at least October.
nichole halsey presents Simply Irresistible, she?s so fine theres no telling where my money went? posted at Bad Human! Don’t take chemicals from strangers!.
Jen Carlile presents Seedlings are sprouting! posted at Modern Beet, saying, “This is a post from my food-related blog about starting my summer garden.
All of the recipes/posts emphasize locally grown (or homegrown) food.”
Never Have Garish Colors Been So Lovely
Seriously, where else but the garden would we pair taxicab yellow and barn red and think it was a pretty combination?
Sweet Sparrow
Isn’t he darling? I love these little birds. They travel in a cheery little flock and are almost tame.