As the bloom season continues, the roses dominate, along with the Rhododendrons. Today I am linking with-
I Heart Macro hosted by Laura
Mandarin Orange Monday hosted by Lorik
Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma Wiseman
Monday Mellow Yellows hosted by Gemma Wishman
Blue Monday hosted by Smiling Sally
There seemed to be an abundance of critters in the garden this week. I find that by giving snakes cover with cardboard or newspaper borders in the vegetable garden (to supress weed grasses), I encourage their numbers. I have garter snakes, and when I see one I call them a fruit name based on the color of their main stripe, so I present Mandarin Orange the snake, perhaps the first orange snake I have found, most are yellow or red-
I am a biologist and enjoy non-poisonous snakes, lizards, frogs, toads (which don't live up here), salamanders (which do). They are great carnivores and help keep the destructive rodents and insects in check. I once saw a garter snake swallowing a slug, that put a smile on my face.
Then I pulled up more cardboard and discovered a "centipede"-CORRECTION- Evan Bean suggested this was really a millipede, so I looked at Bug Net and it resembles some Flat-backed Millipedes, which eat decaying vegetable and speed its return to soil; this one was only a little over an inch, 2-3cm, and harmless to humans-
I felt it could use a little enhancement, so I took it perhaps to an extreme, with Color/Hue adjustments and Cartoon filter, then I noticed it brought out the little hearts on the bottom left side of its body-
Blooming now from a trade last year, is the wild and fantastic Monarda punctata, Spotted Bee Balm, looking like it is decked out for Mardi Gras-
World Premier iris, also shown here, from a different view-
An original NOID iris, meaning an unidentified iris that was here when I moved in-
More Rhododendrons are blooming-
Putting on a grand show for a short while in spring are the once-blooming Old Garden Roses, OGR's, here Gallica Belle de Crecy, she also smells divine-
A real trouper I discovered in the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, Excellenz von Schubert, and was able to purchase, is a Polyantha, so has small blooms and blooms a lot and frequently, and smells wonderful-
Full size-
I cut one to put in a cut glass vase, here on my windowsill tiles I glazed myself with several glazes. As a gardener and also a dabbler in ceramics, I prefer that windowsills are impervious to water since they are great places for houseplants-
Since we are indoors, how about a few more houseplants. I tend to forget to put my Amaryllis away in the dark to form blooms, so it was late, then I got it out late, so it is just now blooming, 4 blooms total-
I recently found a houseplant I had been looking for a long time, a Streptocarpus that stays small, Texas Hot Chili, it surprised me with a bloom and some buds coming on-
Thanks for visiting, I hope spring is fulfilling your wildest floral dreams. Hannah
or cameras are macro
I Heart Macro hosted by Laura
Mandarin Orange Monday hosted by Lorik
Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma Wiseman
Monday Mellow Yellows hosted by Gemma Wishman
Blue Monday hosted by Smiling Sally
There seemed to be an abundance of critters in the garden this week. I find that by giving snakes cover with cardboard or newspaper borders in the vegetable garden (to supress weed grasses), I encourage their numbers. I have garter snakes, and when I see one I call them a fruit name based on the color of their main stripe, so I present Mandarin Orange the snake, perhaps the first orange snake I have found, most are yellow or red-
Then I pulled up more cardboard and discovered a "centipede"-
A small volunteer pansy, Hue adjusted for Happy Blue Monday later-
World Premier iris, also shown here, from a different view-
An original NOID iris, meaning an unidentified iris that was here when I moved in-
More Rhododendrons are blooming-
Putting on a grand show for a short while in spring are the once-blooming Old Garden Roses, OGR's, here Gallica Belle de Crecy, she also smells divine-
A real trouper I discovered in the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, Excellenz von Schubert, and was able to purchase, is a Polyantha, so has small blooms and blooms a lot and frequently, and smells wonderful-
I cut one to put in a cut glass vase, here on my windowsill tiles I glazed myself with several glazes. As a gardener and also a dabbler in ceramics, I prefer that windowsills are impervious to water since they are great places for houseplants-
Since we are indoors, how about a few more houseplants. I tend to forget to put my Amaryllis away in the dark to form blooms, so it was late, then I got it out late, so it is just now blooming, 4 blooms total-
I recently found a houseplant I had been looking for a long time, a Streptocarpus that stays small, Texas Hot Chili, it surprised me with a bloom and some buds coming on-
Thanks for visiting, I hope spring is fulfilling your wildest floral dreams. Hannah
or cameras are macro
I love them all Hannah, but you know I`m thrilled your Monarda did well ! It`s a banner spring here for all three types I have here.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Randy, I'm excited to see it bloom as well. I hope it will turn out to be a plant that will repeat and spread. The spotted flowers are so cute, and I like the colored bracts, that look painted. I'm still waiting to see what happens with the other one.
DeleteThe Punctata is perennial and the Citriodora is annual but a very prolific reseeder. I will save you some seed from the Wild Bergamot whose seeds will mature sometime in late July or early August.
DeleteNice pictures, I like the snake and the beautiful flowers!
ReplyDeleteThanks Leovi, the snake has such interesting small colored scales along its sides as well as the stripe. I saw a baby one and a greyish one as well, I can't think of a grey fruit. I enjoyed your reflective glass.
DeleteAmazing shots! I am so in love with your red rhododendrons! #IHeartMacro
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pixiedust. All the Rhododendrons were here when we moved in, the red was planted too close under a large red cedar so doesn't get enough light and is always small and stunted. But it is my favorite color.
DeleteWonderful flowers and I think that your snake is quite cute. I like snakes as long as they're not poisonous.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gunilla, I think he's cute too. The garter snakes are not very friendly though, constrictor snakes like king snakes are more fun to handle, though there aren't any up here. I'm enjoying having more roses blooming, I like to sniff them when I'm outside.
DeleteI'm always glad to find a gardener who loves and encourages non-poisonous snakes. The one with the orange stripe is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alison, I have to think that people are scared by adults as children to hate snakes, I guess it's the fear of poisonous snakes plus lack of knowledge of snake identification. I have to admit it's great living somewhere without poisonous snakes, I can reach into weed piles without fear. In San Diego living on a canyon I had numerous encounters with rattlesnakes and no non-poisonous snakes in my own yard, but I did save one from being killed down the street.
ReplyDeleteYou have a beautiful garden! Thanks for sharing the love up-close with I Heart Macro:-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, I've been here for 20 years now. But you should see the weeds....
Deletesuch beautiful flowers! i also like the snake. it looks cute.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christine, it was hard to photograph because it was constantly in motion but I like the shiny scales, perfect.
DeleteBeautiful post of unique critters, gorgeous flowers and photo editing ~ Living in the country provides great place to photograph ~ Happy Week to you ~ xoxo
ReplyDeleteartmusedog and carol ( A Creative Harbor)
Thanks Carol, I get to see some sea scapes with your blog, at least.
DeleteReally great pics!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Follygirl. I took some more in the rain today that ended my vegetable bed preparation.
ReplyDeleteLovely closeup photos of flowers. I even loved the insect photo ---although I could have done without the snake ---my only phobia. I lived in a remote part of Brazil for a while where deadly snakes sometimes got into houses ---so you can imagine that I lived in constant fear of them. Now I can't even look at a photo of one. I often had mice, roaches, tarantulas, toads, bats, scorpions and lots of other things in my home, but the only thing that scared me were the snakes.
ReplyDeleteI love the title of your blog. Unfortunately, all I seem to do is pull weeds. Haven't been too successful at replacing them with plants I want. I wish I could find a useful way to make money with weeds---I'd be a gazillionaire ---oh, but then everyone else would have tons of weeds and the law of supply and demand would still make them worthless.
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Thanks, CJ, poisonous snakes are scary. When I grew up in Texas there were at least 4 kinds of poisonous snakes. As a child I almost picked up a baby rattler that looked like a stick covered with lichens, but it moved. There are also very scary large Centipedes, I saw one once, big and very aggressive. But I appreciate the creatures that are carnivores and eat pests.
DeleteWeeds are in my title because I fight so many on my 2 acres. A lot of them are probably my fault either through being occupied or absent so they went to seed or in a couple of cases bringing invasive plants into my garden, it's good to avoid those. But I appreciate that I have a few beds now that don't need weeding. And many that are severe weed problems, but I'm working on converting many of those to grass since mowing is the best way to keep down the invasive blackberries without using poisons. Some of my weeds are useful for tea, I try to dry them and use them.
Yes, wonderful photos, I really like, I especially love An Original NOID iris!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Leovi, us gardeners use the term NOID to mean a plant with no ID, unidentified as to cultivar name. Someone that knew might be able to fill in the blanks, though some look a lot alike, and a seedling could always look different from the parents.
DeleteI like this blue iris - not so sure about the snake though
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gerald. The snakes mostly hide, I rarely see them and hope not to chop them up when clearing weeds. But they eat pests, so earn their shelters. Once BC (before cat) there were more, and I pulled up a large tarp from the ground that was killing weeds, to find 16 curled up garter snakes underneath! You should have seen them frantically trying to escape!
DeleteYour flower macros are very beautiful. But the colouring of your snake is fascinating. I have never seen one like this before.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gemma. I think the colors in the snake scales are lovely.
DeleteHi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI do love that blue pansy. Thanks for sharing today.
Your link is defective. The computer filled in an old link. I'll fix it as soon as I leave this comment.
Happy Blue Monday!
Sorry for the trouble, thanks so much for fixing it. And thanks for hosting.
DeleteBeautiful blooms ... and even the snake, although if seen in person I wouldn't have noticed - I would have shrieked and high-tailed it in the opposite direction.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Becca, I'm enjoying the flowers. If the snake saw you he would have also high-tailed it in the other direction, but more of a slither. He didn't like being handled.
DeleteYour snake startled me! The world premier iris is spectacular.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ruth, I like bicolored irises. The snake startles easily too!
DeleteWhat a beautiful series of photo's the flowers are all gorgeous
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Riet. It's fun to go out in the garden and see what's blooming to photograph.
DeleteI love watching wildlife in the garden. Well, except for deer, anyway. We don't have nearly as many garter snakes at our current house as we did at the first one we lived at. There were massive red-spotted garter snakes in our compost bins. Fat and happy! I can't help but point out that I'm pretty sure your centipede is actually a millipede.
ReplyDeleteI love Monarda punctata, though I have yet to try it in my own garden. Such interesting spotted flowers and big bracts. I love streptocarpus, too, but I lost patience with the ones I tried. They were small plants and didn't grow or bloom well. Maybe if I got one that was more mature to begin with I'd think better of them.
Thanks, Evan, I looked at the millipedes on Bug Net and it does look like the Flat-backed Millipedes. I never could work Entomology into my course load in college, so....
DeleteI hope that the Monarda punctata will return next year and be able to establish and self-sow. It is always great to find another plant that can adapt here. My Asclepias tuberosa and Eupatorium (Conoclinium) coelestinum didn't seem to come back after winter, so I'm disappointed in them.
So far Texas Hot Chili seems to be a really good plant, I have another larger Streptocarpus that is good at coming back from a very wilted condition, and has increased to several growing points in a container so I could divide it, but it is not very floriferous and gets quite large, while TCH seems really compact and I'm impressed that it started blooming already.
Your flowers are coming on stronger now!- Such gorgeous lush blooms! There is a black racer who most often visits our garden... my dog likes to chase him though...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jane, Florida should be way ahead of us up here. I'm afraid the cat does more than just chase, but there do seem to be more snakes so maybe she lost interest. It's actually my daughter's cat that she has no room for...
DeleteHannah, I enjoyed your post very much; beautiful photos. What a lovely garden you must have! We were on a walk the other day and came upon a snake, which didn't look poisonous. I should have noted the color.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sheila, I do have lots of nice flowers but also lots of weeds. I hope to get to most of the beds in the next few weeks, weather permitting, while at the same time trying to get my vegetables all planted.
DeleteThe snake looks beautiful ! I also love lizards, we don't have them in Belgium it's too cold but in Italy they are everywhere to me they look like mini crocodiles. Frogs and toads are a bit noisy, but nice to watch. When it comes to insects I am rather disgusted, except for lady bugs. Your flower pictures are beautiful !
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gattina, I enjoy looking at the scales. I grew up with lots of lizards but here don't see many. The Alligator lizards look a little like crocodiles and are rather fierce. Sometimes a little tree frog decides to live in a pot on my deck and makes some noise. They are so cute. I'm glad you liked my flowers.
DeleteThanks, Gattina, it's easier to appreciate the snake's appearance in a photo, he wouldn't be still, he just wanted to get away. I've seen alligator lizards, skinks, and one fence lizard here, rarely. I see salamanders sometimes when I'm weeding. They are really cute. The roses will be blooming increasingly now, for the first big flush, and the once-bloomers, which I avoided for a while but I'm glad I got them because they are so spectacular when they bloom.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful snake! Oh yes, the flowers are too, but the snake, the snake! Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anni, it's great that you like the snake, they are such good friends to the gardener.
DeleteEverything looks so healthy...even the snake. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe snakes seem to like it here, but hide well so I don't see them much. The weeds are healthy too!
DeleteBeautiful garden photos. Even the snakes. LOL. I miss my garden. Thanks for sharing yours. Thanks for coming by my blog. Come by anytime.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your garden.
Sherry
Thanks, Sherry, if I didn't have a garden I would have to find new things to do with my time, I'm glad you enjoyed looking at mine, minus the weeds.
DeleteFirst picture made my eyes open up in surprise. O_o
ReplyDeleteI love most critters; but, I would not be able to handle them unless I absolutely have to. Lovely pictures of flowers!
The poor garter snake didn't enjoy it at all, he could only think of escape. I'm glad you liked my flowers, Lee Ann, thanks for visiting.
DeleteYou lost me by the centipede :) I hate bugs; the flowers however brightened up my day.
ReplyDeleteTurns out I was wrong, it was a Millipede. I'm used to the round brown Millipedes that are very common in my garden. I'm glad you liked the flowers, Lady Lilith!
DeleteLove that snake photo! Reminds me of a lanyard bracelet I made in Bible camp when I was a kid. Snake skin feels just like that to me. And the flower photos are beautiful. Still waiting for my iris to bloom. Came here from Dian's Timpanalley. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Judy, I'm glad you liked the snake. Your homemade soap looks good enough to eat. I don't have a very high percentage of irises blooming this year, but appreciate the ones that do.
DeleteWow, what an awesome selection of beautiful garden photos! The rhododendrons caught my eye :) Simply stunning!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pernilla, the Rhododendrons are impressive while they are blooming but it is rather brief then there are massive numbers of spent blooms to deadhead, but I only do a few that are easy to reach most years.
DeleteMy first thought on looking at your snake pic was "yikes!"...but it is actually very beautiful. I like the way the snake's texture is reflected in that of the wool. Great pic! Thanks for sharing on Mandarin Orange Monday:)
ReplyDelete