Honeybees

A few days ago I noticed a few honeybees flying around the hummingbird feeder. Within a couple of days there were so many I had to remove the feeder. As you can see in the photo, the bee guard does work. All the bees chose the spot without the bee guard. I wasupset that I had to remove it since this is the time the hummingbirds are feeding heavily to prepare for their long journey south. My consolation is there are lots of flowers in the yard for them to feast on. I am glad to see that the honeybees seem to be making a comeback. I wish I could find the honey.

Johnny Jumpups

These johnny jumpups must have come up from seed from the spring crop. I love these plants because they bloom very early spring when nothing else is blooming and they drop seeds and come up again the next year, or as you can see from this photo, in the fall with beautiful blooms.

Fall is coming

Fall is on its way. This black gum tree is the first tree to show color in the fall. Only a few leaves have started to show the beautiful red color. It will soon be full of bright red leaves.

Deer

These are the deer that were grazing in my daughter's front yard this morning. In the front center is a doe with twin fawns. When they finish eating the grass may not need to be cut!

Cardinals

Five cardinals ... male, female and 3 young... have been coming to the feeder everyday for about a week. These pictures are the female feeding the young. I wonder why she has to feed them when they are big enough to do it themselves?? I couldn't get close enough to get a good picture.

Full Moon and Jupiter

I didn't realize when I took this photo (Wed. Sept. 2) that it was a special event. I was just enchanted with the beauty of the full moon. Guess I need to do some research to find out what was so special about this.

Canna Lilies

I was surprised but happy to see the Canna Lilies blooming again.

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"Autumn Joy" Sedum

"Autumn Joy" sedum is getting its fall color of various shades of pink. The bees love the blooms. Looking down on the blooms, I did not see the bees underneath. I'm sure glad I didn't decide to pick some of these blooms for a vase. They are good cut flowers and will dry if left in the vase without water.

"Sweet Autumn" Clematis

I know fall is on its way when the "Sweet Autumn" Clematis blooms. I enjoy the sweet fragrance it emits throughout the yard.

Bumblebee on salvia

When I uploaded this photo of a bee on a salvia plant, I couldn't help but laugh. The bee was sitting on a bloom that protruded from the back creating an interesting photo. (Click on the picture for a larger view.)

Artemisia "Silver Queen"

Artemisia "Silver Queen" is an excellent plant when you need a silver color background for darker plants. They usually are more upright but these are in front of Leland Cypress trees so they don't get as much sun as they should. The contrast here is so pretty.

Voles/Moles

I have a lot of problems with voles/moles. The voles are the most problem since they eat the roots of plants and bulbs. Below is some of the damage. The first picture shows the holes that are all over the garden. The second picture shows the damage to the roots a sedum.

Sunflowers

The Maximillian sunflowers are finally beginning to bloom. The plants are 8-9' tall and due to the wet ground from the spring rain as they were growing, they are leaning over on other flowers. There are about 7-8 plants in one clump. I wish I could figure out how to stake them.

Photo enhancing

I have seen some beautiful photos with faded backgrounds and haven't learned to get that effect with my camera, so I have been experimenting with Digital Image Suite. Below is a "before" and "after" of one of my photos.

Garden Phlox

The garden phlox are still pretty. I love the sweet fragrance of these flowers. My wish list includes a white and a red one ... maybe next year.

Rose

I am enjoying the last flush of the roses for the summer. This rose bush was purchased from the local Old City Cemetery (http://www.gravegarden.org/) on Rose Festival. This cemetery has preserved hundreds of very old roses and sell cuttings once a year. I don't know the name of this rose.

My Entry for Gardening Gone Wild’s August Photo Contest

The challenge presented by David Perry for this month's Gardening Gone Wild photo contest is to take a photo from knee high or lower. Here's my photo submission of a butterfly inside a hosta bloom.

Garden Arrangement

Yes, it's the "dog days of summer" but the flowers don't know that. These are some of the flowers that are still blooming.

Moonflower

The moonflower is finally blooming. This morning it had 10 blooms, but there are lots of buds. The blooms only last one day but new ones open daily. They open about dusk and close mid-morning. The fragrance permeates the morning air.

"Good Morning" view

This is the view from my kitchen window. What a welcome when I am getting my coffee and heading to the deck to enjoy the fresh air, birds, flowers, etc. The crepe myrtle is fading away, but the angel's trumpet is putting on a show. This morning it had 18 blooms. The vase attached to the window is great for small arrangements. The hydrangia and false sunflowers have been in it for 2 weeks and have dried. In the winter I put pansies in it. Thank you God for a beautiful creation!

Pond Cleaning

What in the world happened to the pond!!! What an algae bloom ... and why this time of the year. One of the reason is too many fish. I have about 75 ... way too many for this size pond. So, I called the "pond doctor" and he showed up this morning at 7:00 a.m. After 5 hours of work and removing all except two large koi and 9 goldfish, I have a clean pond. MUCH BETTER! Before and after ....

Take time to smell the flowers ...

This squirrel was getting sunflower seeds that fell into the cardinal climber from the feeder but it looks like he is smelling the flowers.

Hosta

This is my favorite hosta and the only one that I don't remove the blooms. The blooms have a fragrance similar to honeysuckle. I think it is a "Royal Standard".

Hummingbirds

These photos were taken at my daughter's home. Her hummingbirds are larger than the ones at my feeder and their "hum" is louder. I believe my birds are young ones.

Flowers Blooming Aug. 15, 2009

Flowers Blooming on August 15, 2009 Alliums, Angels Trumpet, Annual Asters, Black Eyed Susans, Blanket Flowers, Bunnytail Grass, Butterbly Bush (white and purple), Cardinal Climber, Celosia, Diamont Frost, Purple Coneflowers, Cosmos, Crepe Myrtle (pink and purple), Forget-me-nots, Four O'Clocks, Gaura (pink and white), Geranium, Gooseneck Loosestrife, Hens and Chicks, Honeysuckle "Goldflame", Hostas, Lantana, Marigolds, Moonflower, Mums, Obedient Plant, Petunias, Phlox, Pink Oxalis, Perennial Plumbago, Ponytail Grass, Portulaca, Purple Foundain Grass, Rose "Flower Carpet", Rose "Knockout", Rudbeckia (False Sunflowers), Sage “Blue Hill”, Salvia "Maraschino", Salvia "Victoria Blue", Salvia (purple), Strawflowers, Sunflowers, Sweetshrub, Verbena, Zinnias

Saving the hummingbird

While browsing through the local Lowes Garden Center today, I noticed the sales clerk was watching this little hummingbird on the floor. The bird could only fly about 5'. I don't know if she was hurt or had just fledged and hadn't mastered flying. We kept putting her in a safe place but she kept flying into harms way. Eventually we got her to stay in a safe place, but not before asking another customer to take her picture in my hands. What an experience seeing a hummingbird up close for the second time this summer.