This afternoon, I snacked on some Mexican Sour Gherkins that reseeded all over the front garden from last year. They are adorable and perfect to snack on or smash into a cocktail. Don't they look like tiny watermelons? I'm sure that they're a big hit with our garden party gnomes and neighborhood miscreants.
Don't forget to stop by Anna at Flutter and Hum to check out all the Wednesday Vignettes!
You don't want to miss the HPSO and Garden Conservancy tour this Saturday, August 29th! I tagged along with a small group of local garden bloggers to take a sneak peek of three of the five gardens that will be on the tour. Half of the proceeds will go to the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon's grants and scholarships funds; a great cause. The garden that I co-organize, The Hazel Dell School and Community Garden, received a much needed $1,000 grant from the HPSO to update our greenhouse and outdoor classroom this year.
Our first stop was Nancy and Gordon Prewitt's thirty-five year old garden. I fell hard for their vibrant vegetable garden. Just look at it!
My friend Linda, who blogs at WhatsitGarden, smiled at all the happy peppers and tomatoes.
Gordon showed us his well tended mason bee homes. His garden produces food year round and he donates his excess to local charities.
The Prewitt Garden was also filled with beautiful ornamental vignettes like this. There was so much to see and explore.
Next up, was Christine and James Mitchell's garden. Pulling up to the curb, I was struck by Christine's plant combinations.
Her use of conifers and bold plant combinations made her garden a treat to explore.
Christine carefully selects plant combinations and James builds all the hardscaping. They make a great team. They've built an oasis of raised beds and paths under Douglas Fir trees.
This is a pairing that I've been considering, and now I simply must add it to my garden.
Game of horse shoes anyone? A great touch for their grandkids.
Our last stop at Zachary Baker and Leon Livengood's garden named Winchester Place Garden captured my imagination. I felt like Alice in Wonderland exploring the classically restrained garden filled with bright joyful blasts of colorful annuals.
Here's a view from one sitting area towards the fountain. I loved the thoughtful layout and playful contrast in this garden.
Photo taken by My Pirate
If you live in the Portland area, I highly recommend checking this tour out. Thank you so much to the garden owners for allowing our small merry tribe of garden bloggers in to explore their beautiful gardens. The HPSO and Garden Conservancy Tour ticket information is here.
Can you imagine what sleeping in a cardoon blossom is like? It looks mighty comfy to me. The bees and pollinators look cozy before dawn and only grudgingly begin to move around as the sunlight pours through the garden.
Don't forget to visit my friend, Anna at Flutter & Hum, to see all the Wednesday Vignettes!
Morning light transforms spider webs into high art. Quiet mornings in my garden, fill my soul for the day ahead. Now, I'm off to help teach a garden class to the Boys and Girls Club in our school garden.
Don't forget to visit our hostess, Anna at Flutter and Hum, to see more Wednesday Vignettes.
In late April, while I was testing out our hammock, I looked up and discovered a nearly hidden bushtit nest hanging up in our fir tree. The birds carefully tucked the nest between two hanging branches right above our covered pergola. Only the evening breeze made the nest visible from the hammock.
Bushtits are a tiny gray birds that fly through my gardens in large groups of 10 to 20 birds. I've always found them charming company in the garden. During mating season, the birds pair off and build an intricate nest made out of spider webs, moss, grass, lichen, leaves and twigs. Up to seven eggs are laid inside and are incubated for approximately 12 days.
Both of the parents flit around the yard gathering insects like aphids and leafhoppers to feed their nestlings. The nest vibrated as the nestlings sang out when their parent arrived with food. The young leave the nest 14 days after hatching. And I had empty nest syndrome after the first batch of nestlings left.
But, The Backyard Bird Shop warned me that the bushtits would re-use the nest. And they did! I counted three batches of nestlings this spring and early summer. I never did manage to capture the bushtits flying into their nest, only some tail feather shots.
On Tuesday night, Barnaby started prancing around the yard with something in his mouth. It looked like a wool sock. But, then I realized that he had the bushtit nest. The evening breeze had knocked it out of the tree. I retrieved it from Barnaby and carefully felt the nest and was relieved to find it empty.
It's just shy of a foot long. And look at the intricate design.
Isn't it gorgeous? It's in pretty good shape except for some dog slobber.
I hung the nest up to take this shot. I'm debating about tying it up into a nearby tree to see if a pair of bushtits want to make some repairs and use it. Thoughts?
So, what birds have been nesting in your garden this year? I'd love to hear about them!
