Recent Entries to this Blog Annuals to Grow Again
Posted: 07 Aug 2007
Meet Copper, the Beagle Pup
Posted: 07 Aug 2007
Bursting with Butterflies!
Posted: 16 Jul 2007
Hypertufa Garden Art--Mouth of Truth
Posted: 10 Jul 2007
Frit's Emergence, Monarch Pupas, and a Crazy Garden Man
Posted: 09 Jul 2007

All Entries
 


hummingbird3172's Blog

My Crazy Creative Chaotic Garden, a work in progress!


Good Morning!

Category: Morning Hodgepodge | Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 3:09 pm



I saw lots of these little Heavenly Blue MG's this morning. I didn't plant any this year, but they are growing better than any I personally planted. Lots of perky little volunteers from last year, but they are COVERED in buds! They are kind of just climbing over whatever, but you know what? Who am I to want to get rid of pretty flowers? So they will stay in their chaotic twining happiness.



Here is how my butterfly garden is growing in. I think maybe I should have mulched but I wanted a very natural look so I like a bit of grass stay and plan to remove it if it gets too pushy. The red shrimp plant is more evident in this picture....oh please hummingbirds come visit ME!!!



This was my first time with snapdragons and I have to say that I am really liking them. They have such vibrant velvety looking flowers and they are getting so full. I guess what really attracted me was the colors...I got two that are deep red and one that is this lovely coppery orange....hmmmm....might need to get some more of that one for the violet/orange bed.

On that note my sundown echinaceas arrived yesterday, these were an ebay purchase, and I am THRILLED. They look great and even have buds--they are better than plants I've purchased from a major company. I have bids on some purple echinacea, and white (for yet another bed), but I am about out on the white...bummer. This is what the sundown are supposed to look like:



AND, they are supposed to be fragrant!

This morning while watering I was taking pictures and I got the inspiration to make a little movie of one of my cocky male brown anoles. He was doing a little dance for me. I put it on youtube.com . It is pretty lame I guess, but I enjoyed it. My kids got a big kick out of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNFpQX5xnQM


When I was clearing my area for the butterfly garden I found that the hens and chicks that my grandma gave me are still alive! I don't do very well with this type of thing, and they haven't grown much. I put them in a container and they do seem happier. I'd like to make a big hypertufa bowl and fill it with these guys!



I am hoping maybe SOMEDAY they will fill in the back of this cat planter. Then my cat will have it's hair raised...haha. My kids keep bugging me about when it will have chicks...I DON'T KNOW! I am just thrilled that they are living and not brown! They don't typically do well where I live.

Well caterpillar #2 DID shed his skin as well. I am thinking they are on their 3rd or 4th instar. I looked it up and that was the closest from what I could see. I have never seen one this big out on the vine so I don't know what happens to them. I think something (Maybe Mr. Lizard) eats them when they are still small.

I am working on making a "gem" encrusted bowling ball for my yard, but the trick seems to be finding the right glue. Everything I've tried seems to want to slide right off....grrrrr. I am using a large, clear iridescent glass and I think they will look quite mystical out in the yard.

I am also planning to start making some hypertufa stuff. I have been wanting to for YEARS, but the messiness of the project seems to always hold me off. I want to make a big half sphere planter (exercise ball big), something like this:





and also a few garden grots. I want to put the grots in dark places to add a bit of mystery.


I've decided I want to have an "enchanted garden". I know I want it to be very fairy friendly, and my trees will have faces. I want it to be very subtle so it looks natural--not cartoony. I saw some hypertufa mushrooms and I think I'd like some of them as well.



I love the natural stone look, ecpecially if it has moss growing on it. I also like a look of a forgotten garden (kind of Secret Garden like). This fall we are expanding out fence to enclose more of our property so that will give us a lot of room to really create. We want to build some kind of play equipment for the kids. Hopefully something that complements the yard as well as provides the kids with fun.

Well, now I have to get to work...I actually make glass beads, it started as a hobby, but now it is work...but I do enjoy it!

~as requested by Eileen, here is a link to my online gallery:
http://www.beadartists.org/Gal1897_Anna_Duhame_s_Gallery.asp

Have a fabulous day!!!


Last edited: Fri May 25, 2007 7:58 pm

This blog entry has been viewed 9886 times


Garden Critters

Category: Garden Wildlife | Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 1:50 pm

My husband suggested using these old bird dishes as mini bird feeders. They seem pretty popular with the "locals". It is nice way to have little feeding stations hanging on the fence.




THIS is the larval host plant for my frittilary caterpillars. I planted this with high hopes of attracting my favorite zebra longwing butterflies, but have still been lucky enough to attract the pretty frittilaries.




My inside caterpillars appear to be getting ready to molt to the next instar. They are hanging out at the top of their cage--last time they did this they shed their skins.

~UPDATE~
One caterpiller DID shed it's skin. It looked like this one before:



And now looks like this:



If you notice the head is different. This is kind of funny, but I was horrified at the time. I moved him and his head FELL OFF! I felt terrible and then I noticed he was moving along just as usual, even eating, so I looked closer and saw he had a new larger ORANGE head...whew! So basically, the caterpillar in the first picture will lose his head soon, and right behind it, below the surface of the skin you can actually see where the new eyes are developing....it is so very alien!

My family got me this lovely faux bois bird bath for mothers day. It was kind of an ordeal to get it, he special ordered it from Home Depot and they kept selling it by mistake. Finally they called another store and luckily THEY had it so we could pick it up. Somehow I think the store needs to order MORE of this style because it is obviously very popular.



I was very pleased to see blue jays getting a drink from it the other day. I do hope the squirrels will use it because it really worries me to see them drinking out of the pool. I dread finding one that has drowned.

I feed a stray cat that I think belonged to the people who lived here before we bought the house. I am hoping that if I feed her enough she will leave the birds alone. She hasn't been hunting them, but she and the squirrels have some kind of crazy game....they chase eachother. I used to worry that she was terrorizing the squirrel, but now I can see that HE likes it too. The blue jays and woodpeckers LOVE it when I feed the cat, they impatiently wait for her to finish and then descend upon the bowl like a bunch of vultures. They are quite bold and I think it is a little unsettling for the cat.



When we moved we trapped her, got her spayed and vaccinated. She was totally wild, but now lets me pet her. Other cats come to visit, but she seems to be here 80% of the time.

Last edited: Thu May 24, 2007 6:44 pm

This blog entry has been viewed 857 times


New Beginnings, Caterpillars and Such

Category: Garden Projects | Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 5:31 pm



This is the little fella that I am raising inside so we can watch his growth. He loves to eat Passionflower vine leaves! For some reason I never see the caterpillars outside make it to a large size so I wanted to give this guy personal protection. I do this with the monarchs and queen butterflies too.



Here is the FIRST bud on my echinacea. I am anxiously awaiting the appearance of this flower! There are 2 other buds coming too....so excited!



I've just planted these Giant Moonflower seedlings along my back fence. I've never grown these before but from the pictures I've seen, I can't wait to have them all over my fence. They are impressively large seedlings too! I've got plans for a few other vines to cover this fence. Cobaea (cup and saucer vine) and also Coral Vine. It is a big fence so there should be room for them to twine in harmony.

I've got my newest garden bed all cleared. It is most definitely an ugly site right now:



We are going to even the stumps a bit....both will hold planters...and after seeing Eileen's picture of the tree stump person I think I will need to make it a face and let the planter be a hat...maybe full of jewel box nasturtiums. This is going to be my dramatic violet and orange garden. A bicolor butterfly bush is going to go right at the back--it has shades of raspberry and orange...it was the main inspiration for the color choice.

This blog entry has been viewed 872 times


Creative Chaos in the Garden

Category: Garden Projects | Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 4:39 am

I've been working on my Garden for a few months now and it has been great watching the tiny seedlings grow into something bigger. I started with an area in the front flower bed and started working to create a butterfly garden. I've planted 2 shrimp plants (red and a gold), mystic spires sage, butterfly weed, zinnias, cosmos, marigolds, evolvulus, convolvulus, snapdragons, parsley, dahlias, dwarf sunflowes, morning glories, lavender, and moved 2 echinaceas from my herb bed. I am so thrilled that one of the echinaceas is getting ready to bloom! I've had it for almost 1 year. The other one was kind of crowded by the bigger one but I've separated them and now it is beginning to wake up and grow.





Now, the other half of the bed will be roses! I got five of the J & P Cherries n' Cream roses....already they are leafing out nicely. I put some alyssum seed around them, but I think I am also going to put in creeping thyme plants....I have some planted around some rocks and I like what it is doing.



I just put a butterfly bush, Empire Blue behind, near the rear of the bed. It is also very small but I can't wait to see what it does!

Last edited: Wed May 23, 2007 5:34 pm

This blog entry has been viewed 799 times




You're reading one of many blogs on GardenStew.com.
Register for free and start your own blog today.



Blog Subscribers
Frank
bethie

View all subscribers


Archives All Entries
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007