Becky's Garden - Fall 2010

Pink higes ...

Gypsy Bride blooms ...

I've always wanted to grow Hollyhocks, but never had any luck. Well, I am growing 2 in one of the shallow, but longer containers and they are huge!!! LOL! Hopefully they will bloom in the months to come...

Shrimp plants that bring the hummers chirping to my backyard ... :-) :-) :-)

The larger mixed hige vines growing together in the large container ...

I made a concrete bench that is placed in the hummer and butterfly garden. This is the view I see when I am sitting on it ... One of my favorite spots to sit in the yard. ♥

These are the blooms from my Cassia/Senna trees.

Oops wrong photo. I meant to post this close-up of the Cassia blooms...

Beautiful blooms Becky. Gorgeous Gypsy Bride and the Shrimp Plant
is especially pretty.

Was checkin' thru my plants as I rolled the big shelf out for sunshine this morning..... saw one of my Sunsmiles MG starts has verigated leaves...AND A BLOOM fixin' to open!!!!

what a differance a few hours can make....this is the SAME BLOOM BUD

Will be a lovely flower in the morning, enjoy.

it's in my kitchen...sitting at the bar..been there since about 8 this morning....

Dgirl the suspense is unbearable! lol

Here an interesting video for 2011.
Has anybody ever tried?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shIBFdGBGfo

For MG in container would be possible and I guess effectient.There are many studies that seek to understand the interactions between bacteria and roots .
It would be interesting to test a container with and without tea.

Ok...been snapping pic's since 6 this morning...

at 7 am

and this one, at 8:15am

it's so pretty...unique color ...at least for me it is!

Jackie - Thanks! I plant a lot of hummer nectar plants in my backyard, but especially in the southeast back corner. This morning I had the interesting observation of watching two hummers chasing each other around in that corner of my yard for almost 30 minutes. Both managed to get their fill of nectar and then flew off to taller trees near my yard. I don't know if one was the hummer from the front yard or a migrating bird, but the female hummer that has claimed the backyard wasn't tolerating it very well. Their dive bombing techniques are amazing to watch! I tried to get a photo, but they move way too fast! It reminds me of shadow boxing. One hummer follows every move the other one makes, face to face. I was amazed that neither were speared with their long beaks in the fighting. It got pretty fierce!
This is a YouTube video of two hummers fighting over a feeder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aFZCOPorYQ&feature=related The birds in this video had a fighting arena that was confined to a smaller area. They were zooming down and trying to stab each other in my yard with their beaks! I am surprised neither was speared! More like a sword fight, I suppose...

The photo was taken through my closed french doors, the patio screen, and zoomed in as far as I could go. (Obviously my camera isn't that good! lol) The bird at the top is the female that lives near my yard who is possibly here year round. The bird at the bottom is the intruder which appears to be a male rubythroat hummer. The male was possibly passing through on migration to stop for a bite to eat. :-) I might not see him again anytime soon...

Tiffanie - Did your vine finally have an open bloom? If so, I hope you'll get a photo of it and share with all of us!

Dany - Charleen swears by compost tea! You should see her plants!! Maybe she'll stop by and comment about this!

This message was edited Nov 11, 2010 9:24 AM

Tiffanie - We posted at the same time. I didn't see your photos until I loaded my post. Lovely little bloom!!! Looks like a pink Sun Smiles vine/bloom! Sweet!!! Nice to see an I. nil bloom. Now you need to hand-pollinate it with a small artist's brush! Just do a little dusting very carefully inside the bloom. You can actually see the white pollen on the brush when you dust it! If you do, you'll get a seed pod with hopefully 1 to 4 seeds in it when ripe. But if you have plenty of seeds and don't need anymore ... then enjoy your pretty little bloom! ♥♥♥

Thought I'd update this thread.

I am seeing a lot of hummingbirds (likely migrating hummers) trying to get to the feeders and blooms in my yard. The territorial hummers are doing their best to chase the intruders away. I added a 3rd hummingbird feeder in the other corner of my backyard and at least one hummer found it already. Not sure if it is a new hummer or one of the two that guards their territories in my yard. But I was outside checking things out and the hummer headed right for the feeder and some of the blooming plants on that side of the yard. It hovered above me for a few seconds and zipped away! So all 3 feeders are being used. It didn't take this hummer long to find the newly added feeder. I'm a firm believer that if you plant it (or add it), they will come! :-)

I received an email reply from a master hummingbird bander who I had emailed earlier this week and she is going to try to stop by my home in January/February to try to band my hummingbirds. This is something that I have been hoping for ... to determine if my birds are year round residents or migratory. It will be exciting to find out!

AND there IS current research going on by Hummingbird Research, Inc.:
http://www.hummingbirdresearch.net/p66.html

"Overwintering Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

A new emphasis for Hummingbird Research, Inc. is Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. The numbers of wintering Ruby-throated in the Southeast have been increasing to the point that they are now one of the most common winter hummingbirds. We have started a project to determine whether these birds are migrating into the Southeast in the fall from more northern locations, or whether a population of nonmigratory, resident Ruby-throated Hummingbirds may be evolving. Even though many Ruby-throated have been recaptured for consecutive winters in a number of states in the Southeast, no one has ever recaptured one of them during the summer months."

I am thrilled to see this particular research is currently going on! I do believe my two hummers are resident, nonmigratory ruby-throated hummers. Banding them this winter and then capturing them this summer to check for their leg bands will tell us for sure! :-)

Here's a photo taken this week of the front yard hummer. I thought it was a female, but it may have been an immature male. It is looking more & more like a male ruby-throated hummer these days.

This message was edited Nov 21, 2010 8:22 AM

I have a resident Red-shouldered Hawk (possibly a mating pair) that lives within a few residential lots from me. I hear and see a hawk flying the skies above me all the time. I have also photographed this bird sitting on the very top of my bird feeder. Well, today I walked outside to fill the feeder and squirrel dishes and saw the Hawk sitting on the top of my 6' privacy fence. I suspect this bird was waiting for breakfast ... squirrels or doves. :-(

I want to move the feeder away from the picket fence as the squirrels jump from that fence into the upper bird feeder. I want to protect the birds that come to the feeder and the squirrels as much as possible from being easy pickings for the hawk(s). I feel like I am setting them up for easy pickings for this Hawk to nab them where the feeder is currently located. I plan to move the wooden raised bed, post, and bird feeder further to the back south corner sometime in the very near future. There are more trees and brush there that they can dart into to get away from the hawk.

Here is a photo of the Hawk sitting on my fence just to the east of my bird feeder. This was taken earlier this morning. Beautiful bird, but I hope to give the other birds and the squirrels a fighting chance of survival at the feeder since this predator is hunting them.

This message was edited Nov 21, 2010 8:19 AM

I have seen the hawk in flight carrying a squirrel and a snake at different times in it's talons. I haven't seen any snakes at all this year in my yard. For years I had 3 nice sized snakes that hung around my yard. (Non-poisonous.) I rather liked having them around. I suspect that the hawk got them or perhaps the bobcat. We have a mother bobcat that had three cubs from what my neighbors told me. She was raising them in one of the vacant lots 3 properties down from my home on the densely wooded corner lot. Our neighborhood was getting too many fruit rats ... I had a lot coming into my yard and doing damage to my plants and the wood around my house. I haven't seen a rat in 3 months. I think the bobcats, owls, and the hawks got most of them. I know these predatory creatures will follow the food source. Unfortunately, I've also seen a pile of bird feathers in my yard several times this year also. They looked like dove feathers. So something got one of those birds from time to time. Likely the hawk.

At one point, I was ready to call an exterminator about the rats. But nature proved once again that there is a balance in all of this. :-) I have seen the mother bobcat a few times this year. But not lately. Her and her cubs may have moved on if the rats and snakes and other live food have all been eaten by her, her cubs, the screech owls, and the hawks. She may be on the move for new territory and live food. You'd never guess by my posts that I live in a typical residential neighborhood. We do have quite a few vacant, wooded lots in our area ... especially around my home. I am always amazed at the wildlife I see here. Quite a contrast to hearing the noisey traffic a block away and all the usual noises in a busy neighborhood. I haven't seen any raccoons in almost a year. I guess the bobcat ran them off, too! LOL! But the squirrels are still here along with all the different resident and migratory birds!

Another photo of my front yard hummer.

that was as open as it got....I hope to see another soon, tho

Becky, I hope moving your bird feeders into an area with
more greenery will give your birds and squirrels more protection.
Great photos by the way.

Good luck, DirtyGirl71!

Jackie - Yup! I definitely need to move that bird feeder to give the critters more safe spaces to run to when the hawk swoops down to grab one of them. They are sitting ducks right now for that predator!

I indica produced a nice sized bloom yesterday! Love this species!

Jasmine is blooming like crazy now too that the weather has cooled down a little:

Firecracker (Russelia equisetiformis) plant with a Passiflora vine growing behind it. In the birdbath is Sidare (the weeping I. nil JMG):

Dwarf Yellow Poinciana blooms:

Firespike (a hummer favorite in my yard):

And some red Scarlet Salvia (Salvia splendens) that the hummers also enjoy:

Photos of 2 of 3 hummers in my yard currently. I put up three feeders in different areas of my yard, and it appears that different birds claimed each feeder as part of their territory. I believe two to be female ruby-throated hummingbirds. Those two I suspect might be year-round residents, the newest is a male that took over the front yard feeder and ran one of my females off to possibly the backyard where she may have claimed the new feeder as her new territory.

Here's the new male Ruby-throated hummer perched at the top of the Poinciana tree:

The Poinciana is a beauty and the Firecracker too.

I love your beautiful garden and I bet it smells good too.

Jackie - I've had numerous folks walking their dog ask about the Poinciana and have shared seeds with them. The Firecracker was a trade from someone else here in Florida. It was a small starter plant and has done really well in a container for me. I hope the hummers are using it!

Thanks, Debra. The only thing blooming in my yard right now with a scent is the Jasmine. And it has a very light scent. I would love to have a Gardenia bush in my yard, but the smell is so strong and so sweet that it actually makes me a little sick. LOL!

We've had rain for the past couple of days and a cold front is moving in tomorrow. Highs in the 70's during the day and lows in the high 40's at night. About darn time ... it is December 1st tomorrow! Sheesh!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

A.

How about Happy New year...come on, lets start the new year with little vines growing :0)

Hey friend in FL, miss ya...Hope Princess is growing nicely, you know who!!!