Hummingbirds and Albizia

While on my lunch break today, I was pleased to see the hummingbirds (there are usually 2, chasing each other) in the lower yard, checking out many of the flowers, including the Albizia tree next door.

Our upper neighbours planted an Albizia julibrissia tree (Silk tree, Mimosa tree) near our fence, so I am able to admire it from my kitchen (as always, click for a slightly larger view):

I read that it was brought to North America from Asia in 1745, and that in the Southeast parts of the U.S., it is an invasive species. However, here in the Northwest (Vancouver, BC), it seems to be quite uncommon, and I love its exotic, tropical look. The foliage reminds me of the Mimosa pudica (Sensitive plant), which is a special childhood experience which is not to be missed. The airy pink flowers are strikingly beautiful, appearing to float gently on top of the greenery.

It is a double delight then, when the hummingbirds visit the Albizia. I managed to capture a couple of photos, from my deck:

More Hummingbird Photos

Last night I filled the wheelbarrow full twice with weeds and cuttings, taking frequent breaks to sit on the porch of our shed in the shade, since it was still unbearably hot even in the late evening.

I took my camera with me, and took a couple of breaks to photograph the hummingbirds again. I am pleased with the results, below (click on any image for a slightly larger view).

The Buddleia (Butterfly bush) is blooming now, and provides a sweet treat:

This one looks like a little airplane, next to the red Monarda (Bee balm):

I like how this photo shows the hummer's little feet:

Garden Glimpses : Mid-July 2009

A couple of blogs I've visited recently are celebrating anniversaries... Which got me to looking back to when I started, which was 19 Jan 2006. So yesterday was half way to my 5 year anniversary. I guess that's some sort of half-anniversary...

When I first started this blog, I had all sorts of ambitions of providing plant information, tips, maybe even plant advice.... But it seems that visitors have appreciated my garden photos more than any witty or intelligent information which I had hoped to provide.

One of my favourite "series" has become my Garden Glimpses, where I post photos of my garden at specific times in the year. It is fun to go back and compare year over year, so I had created (mostly for myself, but feel free to check it out in the left margin of my blog) a keyword "garden glimpses".

So here goes for another (as always, click the photo for a slightly larger view)...

I love this handsome daylily Kwanzo / Kwanso I received from my father-in-law. It has a large triple bloom, and spreads somewhat aggressively (sending out fans some 6" or 12" from the mother plant), so is great for filling an area and for sharing:

Here it is again, in front of shaggy red Monarda:

I don't know if I have the name of this maroon daylily, but I like the colour:

I was surprised to see this Campanula glomerata "alba" finally blooming this year, but long after its purple counterparts had faded away. I had bought and planted it last year, and thought I lost it over the winter, and the Euonymus alatus (Burning bush) had grown over it (wow, that is a fast-growing shrub!!), so that the bloom ended up poking out from under the bush upside-down:

This borage plant sprouted up between the crocosmia I dug & replanted earlier this year, perhaps delivered by birds, or the seed was in the soil (although I haven't grown it for some while). The star-shaped flower is edible (just pull off the hard dark bit), and pretty as a garnish for potato salads or fruit salads or even cakes... So I left it there, just in case (wishful thinking on my part). I was trying to catch the bee in flight, which I did:

I planted this young Buddleia davidii (Butterfly bush) to block some of the view of my lower neighbour's house. I was amazed at how strong and vigourous it grew this year. These are the green flower spikes, before they bloom purple. A dragonfly landing on the bush had prompted me to pull out the camera, but sadly he didn't wait for the photo:

Black Velvet Apricots - Not Worth the Money

I just finished the last of my 1 lb box of "Black Velvet Apricots", which prompts me to share my unsolicited opinion : they're not worth the money!

I'm a sucker for trying new things, especially when it comes to food. So when I saw a box of deep purple and slighly fuzzy Black Velvet Apricots from Kingsburg Orchards in Kingsburg, CA, I had to try it, even at $4.99/lb. But I was quite disappointed. The texture and taste is very much that of a plum, and not a very exciting one, at that. Although the flesh was sweet, it was quite soft (and quickly went mushy, after sitting on the counter a few days), but the skin was comparitively tough, and much too tangy. The pit was not freestone (which I love about apricots), but very much clingstone, so that a good portion of the fruit is lost with the pit.

I decided to search online, what anyone else had to say. There is a good post at "the kitchn", except that most comments on it seem much too favourable.

The marketing, I have to admit, was very effective (just like the beautiful image I borrowed from a marketing site). The "Black Velvet Apricot" name stirs up a wonderful image, much more exciting that "plumcot" or "pluot" or another term for a cross between a plum and an apricot, which would have only fetched $2 to at most $3 per lb. But I give them two disappointed thumbs down.

First Hummingbird Photos of the Season

In my upper yard, I have a hummingbird area which is frequented regularly by hummingbirds, attracted by the shaggy red monarda and a towering butterfly bush, and the safety of a large alder tree behind (outside my property line, on the edge of the ravine).

Tonight after dinner, I decided to try for some hummingbird photos. Since it was the first time this year, it seemed they were a little shy, and kept mostly to the back of the butterfly bush (where I couldn't photograph at all), and within the monarda (where I was moderately successful). Here is a collection of shots from today.



Of all the places to sit, she chose to return to this dead branch of my Ribes odoratum (Missouri currant) a number of times.

Ah, that's better:

I believe it is the Rufous Hummingbird which I usually see, or at least I read that it is a common visitor to this area (Vancouver, BC). I seem to get the females. I don't know if I've ever seen the male, with the red throat. Perhaps an immature one, with some red showing, one year.


Not bad for the first day. I'm encouraged to try for some more another day.

More Flowers on my Little Carnivores

I posted earlier about the little carnivorous plants which my kids picked at the Van Dusen Plant Sale in Spring of 2008. They lived happily in the garden over the summer, catching quite a number of spiders and flies, and then kept me company on my kitchen windowsill over the Winter.

I meant to place them back outside this summer, but somehow I have bonded with these little guys, and don't feel as motivated to put them back outside. It didn't help that first the Venus Flytrap surprised me by sending up its beautiful white flower.

Then the Sundew decided to beat that by sending up a stalk which has been showing off a succession of pink flowers, about 30 in total, over the last couple of months.

I wish I had paid more attention to the timing of it, but it is something like this: A single flower opens every second day. Each flower lasts only one day. The bud closest to the plant opens first, and then the next, until the one at the very tip. But as each flower emerges, the flower stalk bends at that point, so the flower is at the top, and the buds curl down below it. Here it is in June, half way through the blooms:

Now, just as it has about 4 more buds to go, a second flower stalk has started. How delightful.

Both the Sundew and the Venus Flytrap have produced offshoots, which I should be able to pot up if I want to share these little wonders with a friend. They are bog plants which like full sun, so they enjoy the window, but are easy to care for, I just top up the water (pretty much daily in the summer) in the outer cup whenever the water level drops too low.

The tags on the plants read:

Red Cape Sundew
Drosera capensis "Red"

and

Venus Flytrap
Dionaea muscipula "Regular"

Both are from Hawaiian Botanicals and Water Gardens, 604-270-7712, http://www.hawaiianbotanicals.com/

Currently, they only ship within Canada. They direct US visitors to search by Google, or visit http://www.cobraplant.com/.

Chess and Incessant Chirping and Birdhouses

It turned to overcast / wet on Monday, but last weekend was wonderful, sunny and hot. Perfect for our company BBQ on Saturday, which we hosted in our back yard. We had somewhere close to 60 people. My husband pulled out his chess set again. So far, this has been an annual tradition, each time we host the annual BBQ. Otherwise, he is just too busy, and when he plays with my son, it is on a smaller, indoor board. (Click any photo for a slightly larger view.)


The morning of the BBQ, our carbon monoxide detector downstairs started making a shrill chirp every 5 minutes. We managed to find the instruction sheet for it, and it had some confusing instructions on how to silence it for 36 hours by pushing the Test button in some sequence. We managed to set off our house alarm before turning it off. Then within the hour, the second CO detector started the same thing, and sure enough we set off the alarm again, trying to disable the annoying beeping. Happily for us, the alarm monitoring company offered to ignore our CO detectors until they could come and replace the units on Monday.

But then when I spoke to them Monday, they needed to order in the units, which wouldn't arrive until Wednesday, so they are coming tomorrow (Thursday) to replace them! In the meantime, I have been going crazy listening to these chirps starting up at wee hours of the morning, and stumbling through the house to try to disable them. I am sure they are not silencing for 36 hours, but something more like 12 hours.

The crazy thing is how they both started chirping to be replaced at the same time, and it is 5 years this month since we finished building our house. So the coincidence was just too compelling. Then I find in the product sheet the "Replacement Information" as follows: "This product is designed to work reliably for 5 years after the installation date. The End of Sensor Life will activate after approximately 5 years to signal that it is time to replace the alarm." Wow, talk about guaranteeing a repeat sale! At nearly $100 each, that amounts to $40/yr for the 2 units. I'd be real curious if there is a way to reset this device for another 5 years of operation (which I am very sure it is capable of), but when I spoke with the alarm company, it was not a technician but a call taker, who wouldn't know how to do such a thing - nor would she recommend it, of course. I guess I'll just be happy to get rid of that annoying chirping finally - at least for another 5 years!

Tonight I went with the kids to Michaels Arts & Crafts store, and picked up another paintable birdhouse. I love those, and couldn't resist, since it was half price. But then I already had a number of unpainted ones on my counter... So prompted by yet another one, and the thought that my whole family will be over for a BBQ tomorrow night (and would be sure to tease me about my set of unpainted houses), I encouraged my daughter to paint them with me. My son preferred to play with his new Bakugan.

I think they turned out pretty nice. Here they are, all lined up in front of our wacky colourful kitchen aquarium:

We painted all 6 on the left. The tiki room bird feeder was finished a while ago, it is just waiting to be hung outside. I was very impressed with my daughter's enthusiasm, and that she kept at it until they were all done.

Now I'll have work on getting them displayed outdoors. My dad came last summer to put up our first birdhouse (my son picked the beautiful rainbow colours, and I painted under his artistic direction), after it sat on my counter for quite some time. Good thing for lots of counter space, I guess. The photo is from Aug 2008:

Berry Season

Every year the strawberries send out new runners, and last year I relocated many of the offshoots to the edges of my garden, where we can find and pick the berries. So this year, we were blessed with lots of strawberries for the month of June. I think they're pretty much done, now, but for a while I was picking a big bowl about every 2nd day.

Now the raspberries are in full swing. My golden raspberries are especially sweet and delicious, not quite as tart as the red ones.

Since we hosted a BBQ yesterday, I didn't pick the raspberries for a few days, so there would be lots for the visiting kids to pick. But even though I saw some kids picking, there were still lots for me to find today:

My Morello sour cherry had an impressive display of fruit this year, considering we only bought him last year:

The birds don't seem to touch the sour cherries. And surprisingly, I was able to pick three ripe Rainier cherries this year (I ate one before thinking to take the photo below). The Lapin cherry at the back of the yard was stripped clean by birds, or possibly even a raccoon again (although thankfully, no broken branches this year).

We also have grapes for the first time this year. It has taken a few years for the vines (which started from a cutting) to establish. I hope that the grapes will be good for eating, but the garden trading friend who gave them to me wasn't sure what variety they were. So we'll see.

Gardening is always full of surprises. I had a single raspberry plant appear (unintentionally) in the wild area of my upper garden (stay tuned for my garden renovation project which hopefully will take place this summer...). I guess it showed up last year. Of course, I planned to relocate it with the other raspberries, or give it away, but still haven't gotten around to it yet. So I was very pleasantly surprised by the huge and sweet berries it is bearing this year. See photo below, where the huge berries are on the right, and my other red raspberries on the left, for comparison. It would seem that this raspberry which sprung up, is of a commercial variety. The berries are also more firm.

I hope to renovate my raspberry area later this year also, now that I see how much fruit it is bearing. The way it is overgrown now with other plants (such as my chocolate mint), it is hard to get in to pick the berries, and many of the smaller canes have fallen forward onto the lawn. There is certainly never a shortage of projects to do in the garden, but that's quite fine by me.

My Little Star

I am so proud of my girl, she did a wonderful job a her recital tonight!

What do you think?:



P.S. Singing starts at 0:22, this is my first YouTube upload, so I couldn't figure out how to edit out the first 22 seconds.

Another Baby Stick Bug

Today I found a fifth baby stick bug on the side of the cage (the other 4 already being on the blackberry branch). What surprises me is the relatively large size when they are first born. Here he is on my pinky finger:

Sure, he looks small, but in comparison to the size of the egg , the stick bug's body is much more than twice the length of the egg, not to mention its long legs! See photo below, where the brown egg is on the leaf, the newborn stick bug is on the edge of the leaf, and a 3+ wk old baby is to the left of it:

How does he fit inside the egg before he hatches out? I would be really curious to see one hatching, to find out how it manages to unfold or lengthen itself as or after it comes out.

By the way, the upward curl in the stick bug's tail indicates that the stick bug is agitated. In this case, I had just moved it to the leaf for the photo. Once it settles, it straightens its tail.

Stick Bug Surprise

I had a funny incident with my stick bugs this morning. On the way back from walking the kids to school, I clipped a fresh blackberry branch to replace the dying branch in my stick bug cage. The adult male was on the ceiling of the cage, so I pulled out and held the old branch (with the 4 babies) over the sink while I replaced the water in the container and stuck the new branch into the cage.

Then I carefully transferred the baby sticks one by one to the new branch. But to my dismay, I could only find 3 stick bugs, not 4 (and I had even hoped for more!). I searched for some time, leaving the old branch on the bottom of the cage, just in case I had missed the 4th baby stick but it was still there.

Then since I was getting ready for an appointment, I brushed my teeth, changed my shirt (including cutting off the tags since it was the first time I wore it), checked my phone messages (replaying one of them a few times, to get the phone number), wrote an email, and then stopped at the washroom before I headed out the door.

While on the potty, I felt something tickling my shoulder. Good thing I have a pretty strict look-before-you-slap policy, because, to my astonishment, it was the baby stick bug. He must have climbed up my arm while I held that old branch over the sink. But how he managed to cling onto me while changing my shirt and all the other activities (which was probably 20 minutes' worth) is a mystery to me. But I was very pleased to be able to return him to his cage before going to my appointment. Much better than if I had discovered him while at the appointment!

Fairy House and Hot Tub - Why Not?

I am still having fun expanding on our fairy garden, and recently installed a "pool" and "hot tub". I found some blue acrylic dishes which serve the purpose, and filled them with water. What do you think?

To see more photos of the fairy house, including its construction, click the "fairy house" link on the left margin on the blog or click here.

Lately, whenever I have a chance, even if its late in the evening or on Saturday mornings, I find myself in the garden pulling weeds. But please don't feel sorry for me, I love pulling weeds, and find it very therapeutic. I wish I remembered to take a few more "before" photos, because I love to see my progress. Recently, it was clearing under the fruit trees again, here is a "before" of the base of my apple tree:

...and an "after" photo:

The trick with weeding is not to try to do it all in one day. For me, I just tackle one spot at a time, and do what I can, enjoying the hard work, and the satisfaction of seeing the improvement. I'm not worried that I will never "keep up". There will always be lots to do, which is not a problem for me.

Of course, there are other rewards of gardening along the way. The strawberries are just starting to get ripe, and I have lots of strawberry plants this year:

I started last week to sample the occasional one while gardening. But tonight when I went out to put on a sprinkler, I found enough to bring in a handful for the kids:

The raspberries will also not be long now, I can see the green berries forming. Sweet!

To Everything There is a Season

As the writer of Ecclesiastes wrote: "To everything there is a season" (Eccl 3:1). That is certainly evident within the garden. There is a season to plant, to harvest, to prune, to deadhead, to divide. And in each season, a new wonder is revealed. The bright tender shoots of Spring. The glorious blooms of Summer. The brilliant colours of Fall. The interesting textures of Winter.

I didn't always appreciate this. It used to be that in my ideal world, all plants would come to bloom (or foliage, depending on what I preferred), and just remain in their full glory year round. Like in my garden painting (which I still plan to complete one day, but in the meantime decorates our loft area), where all plants are blooming at the same time (which any gardener knows doesn't happen like this).

But the garden has been teaching me to appreciate the seasons and the successive revelations of foliage and flowers. One glorious display wanes and then gives way to a different one. Always different. Always new.

About a week ago, I noticed that the Solomon's seal was coming to the end of its flowering stage. The fuzzy bumblebees had stopped showing interest in the flowers, which dropped when the branch was touched:

It was time to remove the branches, and reveal the iris, still unopened, hiding in between:

Now a week later, the irises are providing their own wonderful display of colour:

Over time and in its quiet way, the garden has been teaching me to accept and embrace seasons and change, and even, in some way, my own mortality. In the same way, motherhood has also been working on me to understand and accept this circle of life. Where once I was only focussed on my personal ambitions and accomplishments, now I instead rejoice and share in the accomplishments of my children.

My daughter came home on Friday with the news that she was the top in her class in the Grade 4 Abel Math contest. I remember not so long ago being top in my class, and by Grade 10, place within the top 10 in the province, in the math contests. But now it is her turn (although I am careful to let her know that I don't expect any particular results from her, that I am already proud of her for just joining the Math club, and for trying). I am happy to rejoice that it is her "season" to excel. As it will soon by my son's. And I look forward to the day that their own unique display of abilities and accomplishments will succeed and outshine mine.

Baby Stick Bugs

Four days after our cruise, we took the kids to Disneyland, to take advantage of the Victoria Day (May 18) holiday in Canada. When we returned home, I got a very nice surprise.

Do you remember the stick bugs my sister Rose bought me for my birthday back in October? Here they are again:

In mid-March, the female (the bigger one) started dropping eggs. I think there are now about 25 on paper towel on the bottom of the cage, which I am keeping moist by pouring water on it a couple of times per week. At first I was quite anxious, watching the eggs every day, until I read at the library that stick bug eggs can take anywhere from 6 months to 18 months to hatch, depending on the species.

Well, when we returned from Disneyland, there were 3 small babies in the cage. They grow fast, here is one of them at what is probably 1 week old:

According to my records, it was only 9 1/2 weeks for the hatching. So now I'm back to watching the cage anxiously again.

Garden Glimpses : Late May 2009

One of the great things about gardening is that every day, there is something new to discover. Lately I have been too busy during the week, so doing major gardening (mostly weeding) sessions on Saturdays. But I try to get outside every couple of days to at least walk about and see what is new. This evening did not disappoint.

A number of plants have seeded themselves among our stone-faced steps and gravel pathway which connects the lower yard to the upper yard. I pull the ones which look out of place or are too weedy, but have left some where they fit in nicely. This one found a very cozy and natural-looking spot:

I plan to relocate these weedy daisies when they are finished flowering, but even these "common" flowers add some charm to the pathway:

This tricolour honeysuckle is filling in nicely against our cedar fence, and it loaded with blooms this year:

I discovered that the rhodo which is tucked in the corner against the shed, now almost hidden behind the Italian Plum tree, is just coming into bloom:

I found the first bloom of the year on my white iris, a treasured gift from my friend Irene:

The first flower has appeared on my tomato plants. I have 2 "sweet 100" and 2 "sweet 1000" tomatoes this year. So if all goes well, I guess I can expect approx 2,200 fruits:

My climbing hydrangea, which started as a tiny shoot less than 5 years ago, and now completely covers its concrete retaining wall, has finally shown 2 flower heads (umbels, I guess?) this year. Not that I was anxious about flowers, since the twisty vines in winter and the lush foliage in summer is more than enough to earn its spot in the garden:

I don't have the name of this orange flower handy, but its yellow relative grows as a native weed in this area, some of it just beyond my fence on the ravine side. I sure do like this cheery orange version, though:

The smoke tree is getting ready to smoke:

There were lots of fruits to discover also, such as these Bartlett pears. I am amused by how they grow "upside down" until they get heavy enough for the fruit to drop to the orientation I'm used to seeing pears in:

The espalier trees always perform well with fruiting, mainly due to all other growth being so restricted, the tree has nowhere else to expend its energies other than into producing fruit. This is one of our espaliered apples:

...and espaliered asian pears:

I try to thin the espalier fruits to only 1 per clump, and even then that may be too dense, I should probably thin more aggressively, and try for one fruit every 4 inches.

I started grapes against the shed a couple of years ago, and they are really filling in nicely this year:

And for the first time ever, I see lots of tiny grapes forming:

The Italian plum tree, which bore 5 fruits last year, seems to have dozens of tiny fruits, hiding among the leaves (and hard to photograph well):

But the biggest and most exciting surprise tonight, which prompted me to call my husband and kids out to see for themselves, was our peach tree. Do you remember how we just got the peach tree last year, and it played dead for a long while after it was planted? Then this year, it showed that single flower? Well, that single flower has produced a tiny, fuzzy peach! It is so small, you still need to use your imagination on this one, but it is for sure a little peach!!: