September 25, 2014
A neighborhood unites for wildlife
Well, wasn’t that rain just lovely? Honestly, I thought I’d missed out on spider lily (Lycoris radiata) this year. In just 24 hours, it zoomed up.
And I’ve got at least three kinds of mushrooms benefiting my soil and plants with mycoorhizal fungi. They’re the best thing that can happen to your garden, so don’ t scruff them out.
My two-year-old passalong Mexican beautyberry (Callicarpa acuminata) couldn’t wait to show off its deep burgundy berries.
On a stroll around the neighborhood, I’m pleased to see gardeners venturing into wildlife habitat, like front yard Hamelia patens for hummingbirds.
A few streets over, these gardeners dumped lawn to attract anyone that wings by.
Really, this is the best thing to happen to my neighborhood. Sure, each of us makes a difference. United, we make a whopping impact!
Too bad I don’t have enough sun for these cheerful cosmos. They’re such easy summer annuals for bees and butterflies.
Nearby, a no-lawn garden favors wildlife with blackfoot daisy and lantana. Mexican feather grass, Yucca rostrata (spring flowers beneficial) and a young agave excite the dimension. The new sidewalk adds warmth, too, far more pleasing than the former concrete.
I call this one “the white garden.” Silver ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea) and blackfoot daisy mound underneath shrubby almond verbena. Its aromatic white flowers smell like cookies. Hummingbirds, bees and butterflies find their own “cookies.”
Now, here’s a clever idea for a big tree stump! That ice plant (Aptenia) will soon rock those rocks.
In my garden, when an elderly Bradford pear died, the guy who cut it down left a stump “in case” I wanted to put a pot on it. Actually, I did not. Instead, I topped it with a limestone slab. In seconds, elderly Spencer claimed it for his meditation cat perch.
Eventually, the wood rotted away. Rather than hunt up another discarded tree stump, I decided to fancy it up with an inverted pot for Sam Jr.
In my slap dash garden, I was really proud of myself for this little brainstorm. I adore it, though now there are no cats to perch on it.
A few years ago, neighbors exchanged lawn for depth with this raised bed.
On my walks, I always stop to admire this nicho. I don’t know these folks but I like them very much.
These bougainvilleas encourage me to try one in the ground next year. Butterflies love them.
Finally, let’s give a drum roll to Butthole Surfer drummer Jeffrey (King) Coffey, who gets applause as the neighborhood Yard of the Month!
The best thing? Everyone stamps their unique style onto their pursuits. Wildlife don’t care about our “tastes,” as long as it tastes good.
Thanks for stopping by! Linda
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