Amaralysis, that should get us going.
What's blooming in April
I cheated and bought oriental lilies already in bud. :) I've really been enjoying the fragrance.
Hatchling black rat snake. He's lucky I didn't accidentally stomp him into oblivion. He was hanging out on the driveway. He's about a foot long and no bigger than your pinkie finger around. We relocated him to a safer place.
Cool snake! Glad you relocated him instead of killing him - they really help controlling the rodent population.
Red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) has started to bloom...
Tulipa clusiana 'Tinka' - they really took a beating from the rain and wind this year.
Tulipa clusiana 'Cynthia'
B&J: The lilies are beautiful, cheat or not. :)
Tom: My first clusiana are just starting to bloom now. Did yours multiply to those nice clumps or did you plant big groups?
Deb
Naturtiums are blooming in the pots I started them in, so at least they can be protected from the upcoming frostiness.
Deb - All of my T. clusiana multiply by themselves with no special care - they seem to double in number every year. I started out with 20 of 'Tinka' and now there are over 100. Most other tulips decline after the first year in the South so the T. clusiana types have been a pleasant surprise.
Terrific photos!
Debin, what's the purple flower in the background of your clusiana photo?
Fleurs, that's just a big ol' azalea. :)
Nice Armaryllis CoreHHI, Mine are only about 5" tall so far.
bordersandjacks, There pretty! I have to get me some of those this year! I found a snake in my shed yesterday, Still not sure what kind it was, I let it go in the woods away from houses ( Just in case) here's a picture of it...
Tom, the Tulipa clusiana 'Cynthia' really stands out!
DebSC, Naturtiums stand out also, Especially when growing full force ( Another thing I need to plant!)
Another Columbine Blooming today, This is a different one..
Lithodora blooming in it's pot.. Didn't get it in the ground yet ....
Pretty columbine!
Thanks Deb! I have 2 different "Origami Mix’ columbine, 1 Winky rose, And the one above and the one above is the one I lost the tag on so don't know the name of it.
I love the tulips. That's another plant I don't have much luck with... Pretty columbine, too.
Iris, that kind of looks like another baby rat snake. Based on it's eye I'd say it isn't poisonous. I like rat snakes- although they get to be about 6' around here. They do their best to be unobtrusive and slink off whenever possible. I like that in a snake. Although the fact that they are great climbers does freak me out periodically.
We had a water moccasin that was in a dog run one day- yikes! That was an aggressive snake.
bordersandjacks, Hope that what my snake was, I let it go where I thought it would be safe for both the snake and people as I didn't know if it was poisonus or not. Water mocassin in your dog run? Yikes, That must have been scarry!!
The largest snake I have seen here so far is the Black Racer going up a tree, It was huge!
Snake is a young black rat snake, one of the good guys.
Look for that round eye, cat-eye means venomous.
Good news for most of us is that Water Moccasins (aka Cottonmouth) are not found above the fall-line. We have folks that insist that they are in Lake Murray, but they are not -- too cold. But on the other side of town in Sesqui State park they are all over the place.
Love the snakes, even the venomous ones- just do not want the latter in my yard.
Anyone in the Columbia area, if you want a rat snake (or other non-venomous) relocated, let me know, I will be happy to come and catch him and release him over here.
I love garter snakes, they eat slugs!
Anyone seen the carnivorous snails? They eat slugs, too. Very cool to see.
pyromomma, Thanks for the update, I'll keep that in mind, Especially the 'cat-eye means venomous' .. I'll have to look up carnivorous snail, Never seen one and never heard of one.
Iris, your columbine is just gorgeous! Great shot, too.
Not to be contrary but I wonder if your snake isn't a banded watersnake. Check out the first photo at http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/nerfas.htm.
bordersandjacks, aren't water moccasins poisonous?
Fleurs, Thankyou! ..I tried that link ..It didn't work for me, Maybe I could just look up banded water snake. Not to cut in to what you were asking , But, I think all water moccasins áre'poisonous.
pyromomma, I looked up carnivorous snail, Kinda scarry, Yikes!
This message was edited Apr 7, 2009 1:06 PM
Yup, feel kinda sure that it was young black rat snake, Came across this photo on google.. Pretty much looks like the one I had, Thanks for the info all! .. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/islandcreekes/ecology/Reptiles/Black%2520Rat%2520Snake/juvblkratsnake1m1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/black_rat_snake.htm&usg=__XLdwJe62j0TY-KBuyC1Gg8SS2j0=&h=593&w=800&sz=164&hl=eN&start=2&um=1&tbnid=IPKM9avOohak3M:&tbnh=106&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dyoung%2Brat%2Bsnake%26hl%3DeN%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
This message was edited Apr 7, 2009 1:10 PM
Banded water snake has a different head and banding.
Also if you look at them they are stocky-body, rat snakes are smooth and more slender.
Please do not take this next part as being a smartiepants:
Water moccasins are venomous, meaning that if they bite you they inject venom -- - They are not "poisonous" which means if you eat them you die - i.e. poisonous plant.
I teach this stuff to Scouts and kids. Sorry, the teacher part just cannot leave it alone LOL.
Here is the link (from above=- good source, just had an extra . in it) , a very good source to have bookmarked for our area
http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/index.htm
If you roll over the link with your mouse it will show you a preview of the snake, too.
Here is Black Rat Snake
http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/elaobs.htm
Here is Banded Water Snake
http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/nerfas.htm
note the stripes on the lips and the heavier body
Here is the Northern Water Snake
http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/nersip.htm
(this would be what would be living near Greenville)
And Brown Water Snake (common in Lake Murray, not so much in Greenville)
http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/nertax.htm
Good to know the differences. Now remember, that just because they are not venomous does not mean that they are safe to pick up. Rat snakes seldom bite, but Water snakes are quite cranky and will let you know it! But it can save you a trip to a hospital to know that you do not need treatment, just antibiotic cream and maybe a stiff one to get over the shakes (LOL)
And be sure to take a look at the frogs section, very cool!
Problem is the young ones don't look the same as the mature ones. Can make IDing a snake less than easy unless you're big on snakes.
Water moccasins are all poisonous and aggressive. Snake lovers will tell you they are just defending themselves etc but you stumble on one and you better move out of it's way fast. Even the little ones will go right into a striking position if you get close to them.
Rat snakes, racers etc move away from you quickly so I would just leave those alone. We had a hotel around here that had a huge rat snake living under it's deck. They had to fix some pipes under the deck so the guys freaked out and killed the snake but that was a mistake. Within two months the hotel had to call an exterminator to come kill off the rats that were multiplying out of control under the deck. LOL. They served food outside and the rat snake had been doing what his name says. No one ever saw the snake or rats so everything was in balance until.....
Learned something today. That snake under the deck very well may be a grey rat snake not a black rat snake.
pyromomma, Smartipants!!! LOL!! I don't take it that way at all, All info, Is good info!! When you teach these things, It's really hard not to say what you really want to say to explain it to the point, I totally understand.
It Ís " really good to know/learn the differences. Hoping I don't meet up with a bad one down the road, But, My Luck, I probably will, As I like exploring/ Photographing nature and wildlife, and I'm not all that familiar with the Southern Area!
Thankyou for the links, I will be checking them over.
CoreHHI, Learning new here too, I have been reading that the young snakes don't look the same as the adults for mainly camofladge reasons, Like a young baby deer is spotted, But, The adults are not. Ect.
There are many beneficial snakes/creatures out there, I guess I need to learn to distinquish the differences, I know some of them, But, Need to learn more.
Forgot to write, I wouldn't pick up a snake, Venenmous or not, The only reason, I got the rat snake is because I didn't know what it was and wanted to get it out of the shed before the dog got in there and found it, If I would have known at the time what it was, I probably would have left it alone as it was trying to go hide.
This message was edited Apr 7, 2009 4:41 PM
Good tip about the cat's eye thing.
Core, I have walked up on a baby Moc. and seen them do that show the fangs thing. Scary! Even if they're only a foot long.
I just went out and cut a couple of nearly everything blooming, since it's supposed to freeze tonight. I think this is every no-shrub that's blooming except tulips, iris, and pansies. :)
In this photo are (L to R, Top to bottom):
Sweet William, Snapdragons, Stock
Perennial Bachelor Button (centaurea), Gerbera,
Verbena and Cosmos, then two diff. Dahlias.
This message was edited Apr 10, 2009 8:11 PM
Hope I don't ever freeze if I ever see a "show the fangs thing.!"
What a beautifull display of blooms deb!! Such a nice sight to see on this cold windy day!!
I tried to cover up what I could, Hope everything does allright tonight.
Thanks, Iris. Hope you came through last night's frostiness ok.
Found this Salvia blooming when I got home this evening.
(greggii, "Navajo")
Deb
Yep, that "gape" that mocs do is pretty scary - that is how they got the name "Cottonmouth" because the inside of their mouth is cottony white when they show their fangs. That gape is a warning. And a good'un!
You definitely have mocs in the LC, and they are very aggressive, especially if cornered. It is because they are not real fast, so will turn and face you off. What is hysterical is when you see a Hognosed snake (harmless) also do the puffing and weaving, bluff strikes (but they forget to open their mouths), then they play dead. But if you turn them right side up they will go "nope, dead snakes look like this" and turn over again - Hognosed snakes are fun to play with!
Deb, I just bought that Navajo Sage and I just love it! My Furmans's autumn red is blooming too. ALl of my sages made it over, even the Pineapple sages.
Have taken a bunch of cuttings, should be ready in about 4 weeks (keeping fingers crossed - new to this cutting biz).
Deb, help me out, go back and edit (or repost) your blooms with names - There are several that I do not know.
DebinSC, Your Welcome! Came through fine, It didn't get as low temp as they originally though so I covered the palnts for nothing, But, On the bright side, Better safe then sorry! Love the red salvia! I have one, Not blooming yet though.
LOL pyromomma, I've seen pictures of the hognose but never seen one personally, Sounds like they would be fun, But, I'd pass up on the fun to just not see one. :)
A few from my jungle.
Clivia - this one was outside all winter in a sheltered spot but it did not seem to mind the cold.
A pot of Tulipa Lady Jane.
This is what they look like when the wind blows and it has been doing that a lot lately.
This message was edited Apr 9, 2009 12:10 PM
I never can rmemeber if this is an aloe or a yucca.
Old Blush Climber. I have tried to do away with this rose many times and it keeps coming back.
It is going to be a good year for citrus.
The bottlebrush is starting....
