Early Summer, Delaware-Style

Posted on July 5, 2015 by ruthnativeflowers

The 4th of July has come and gone, and my summer flowers are starting to ramp it up. The early-bloomers are humming with bees, and the late-bloomers are finally having a growth spurt after hanging back and letting the other ones go first. My wrens fledged a few weeks ago, causing quite a ruckus in the backyard for about two weeks, then Mr. and Mrs. Wren decided to get in the “family way” again, so now she is sitting on eggs and he is still proclaiming his territory and keeping a close eye on the box. After a brief hiatus in hummingbird activity while they were nesting, the hummers are back again in full force, and I am having a hard time keeping up with them so the feeder doesn’t run dry! So here are some pictures showing what is going on:

My Indian Pink was especially beautiful this year

I finally got a blossom on my common milkweed and the bumblebees found it right away!

The butterfly weed in my hot front garden is pretty happy, and I actually saw a hummingbird visiting it last week!

Butterfly weed

The bee balm bloomed extravagantly and the bumblebees and hummingbirds have loved it!

Close-up of a bee balm flower

My liatris is blooming very nicely after all the rain we’ve had this summer

I planted this little beautyberry bush last fall, expecting it to die over the winter, but it has done really well, even putting out a few blossoms, which a VERY tiny bee has found! Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Tiny bee, about 1/8″ long, in the center

My common sneezeweed, inappropriately named, finally decided it could survive in my hot garden!

Native honeysuckle. This is its second time blooming since spring.

Surprise visitors to my backyard! I have been hearing red-shouldered hawks screaming all spring and summer in my neighborhood, so I figured there was a nest nearby. This sight greeted me when I came down for breakfast last weekend–a young hawk sitting above my wren box, an adult on the fence, and a mockingbird harassing the adult!

And finally, my pokeweed is flourishing this year, practically looking like a tree! I harvested the berries last year (the ones the birds didn’t get first!) and took them in to TriState Bird Rescue for the birds to eat over the winter.

A Work in Progress

Posted on May 8, 2015 by grammydebp

It was a long time in coming, but spring in Delaware is finally here and may change to summer very quickly. The trees are in full bloom as evidenced by the yellow-green “dust” that is covering every surface these days. I find myself prowling around the yard at least twice a day to see what has developed since the last time I looked–my neighbors probably think I’m pretty eccentric.

Unfortunately, my Little Joe-Pye up and died last August for some unknown reason, so I have replaced them with a couple new Sweet-scented Joe-Pye and some New York Ironweed. I am looking forward to seeing how they turn out. The hyssop I bought last fall is doing great so far, and the native honey suckle is about to bloom. This is the plant I used to replace the horribly invasive native trumpet vine, which by the way, is still trying to put out a shoot here and there.

So here are some pictures I took recently to show the progression of my flowers. The spring ephemerals are busily blooming right now, and I will miss them when they are done!

Woodland phlox

Foam flower tucked among the ferns

Wild geranium and Greek valerian

Jack-in-the-Pulpit–now I have two instead of one!

My shade garden with Virginia waterleaf, ferns, false Solomon Seal, and Green-and-Gold

Early spring in Delaware

Posted on April 11, 2015 by ruthnativeflowers

As with a good part of the east coast, spring has been very slow to come this year. I have been anxiously watching my yard for signs of survival after our harsh winter, and now I’m beginning to see some progress. Here are some pictures I took on April 9, 2015.