My Garden – Mon Jardin – Mi Jardin – Mein Garten – Daily Adventures & Thoughts

No matter the language, my garden is my paradise. To watch the lovely birds that nest in the trees and bushes. The bees, butterflies are such a joy to see.


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Fall has arrived but I still think it is summer in the garden …

Lucky us with lots of sun happening .. JaneE Kat doing her due diligence by the wash tub water fountain.  She just loves having her showers here …and patrols this area quite often. And then she sits in the sun to dry off.th07

Here is me and my shadow …taking a photo of me!  Another me in another dimension coincidentally occurring in the same timeline?th01And I had planted my potatoes late also .. these are supposed to be purple potatoes.  I’d planted them in a huge oversize container in the back of the yard and they didn’t get much sun at all.  Still, a respectable amount of potatoes despite all that.  And that green thing that looks like a lime is totally strange.  It grew along with the potatoes and is a strange vegetable .. one which I will not eat!th02This is the rose that I’d planted many years ago.  It survives on nothing, I swear.  I don’t water it or feed it and it keeps growing on.  The root system must be very deep.   Anyway, I’d given it a very hard pruning months ago and was surprised to see the new growth.  That’s my kind of plant.  Tough and independent and at the same time, so very beautiful.th03I know that there are many ladybugs in the yard but I really hadn’t seen many until I saw this shiny new one, resting on a bucket lid.  Did it prefer the red colouring?  Seems so.th04The pigmentation is starting to change in the bean plants ..quite pretty, I think.th06Despite this .. all of the pole beans are growing like mad and there are so many flowers and beans growing!th05A morning photo .. dew on the bean leaves .. I like the effect.th10Sweet little Gold Crowned Sparrow .. doing the shuffle shuffle dance, looking for food amongst the fallen leaves of the wild and crazy tree (pear stock).th11

One morning, I saw the White Crowned Sparrow, perched high atop a telephone wire, quite the handsome bird.  http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/white-crowned_sparrowth12

In the backyard, a diminutive Anna perched on a branch of the wild and crazy tree …there are quite a few around the front, sides and back yard ..adding a speedy sparkle to the atmosphere.th14

Oh, la la .. the French Marigold has blossomed, adding a spice of red and gold to the garden.   I’d sowed the seeds after I planted the beans and was surprise to see them (but happy at the same time!)th13-2And the tiny tomatoes keep on growing ..there are quite a few.   I don’t give them any special care and they just flourish.  See the tiny one growing on the left?  Is it a tomato or is it a tiny garden sprite, camouflaging itself so that I wouldn’t notice?  The top part does really look like the kind of headgear that a little sprite would wear during the summer, to blend in and no one could notice. th13There are sunflowers in all stages of growth near the bird feeder.   This one is at the seed forming stage …th08

And this one is at the smorgasbord stage …the birds are feasting on the seeds which are still growing .th09

I know that summer is over and fall has begun.  But when the sun shines so warmly as it has done for the past while .. it’s easy for me to pretend that it is still summer.    With a mug of strong Yorkshire tea in hand, I walk around my bean forest and bask in the joy that a garden brings.  Reliving the steps that I took to prepare the soil, plant the seed, build up the structures for the beans to grow along.

Planning what to do for next year.  Soon enough it will be time to undo all that I have done and stow equipment away for the winter.  Still have another month for that, though.  So I will just continue to wander around and enjoy what is there.

Watching the dancing blue skies above … with the achingly beautiful cloud designs that are constantly changing and adding so much design and texture.

Loving the sight and sounds of the birds as they perch in the trees, fly about the yard and surprise me with their sudden chirps.  The Chickadees, in particular, love to settle on a branch by any one of the bird feeders and demand more food.

JaneE, with her wash tub showers and imperious demands for treats makes me laugh.

The pyracantha berries are nearly all dry .. I spread the orange berries outside in the sun to dry and take them inside for the night.  I hope that the birds will enjoy them during the winter months.

The garden is a busy, happy and magical place to be!

There is much to be learned and there is a lot of wisdom there if one looks closely enough.

🙂


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What I have seen in the garden during the past few days!!

The birds are used to the new feeders!  Actually this was sold in a gardening center for placing air ferns inside.  I immediately saw “birdfeeder” and bought about 5 or 6!   One of my many dreams coming true .. seeing the little Chickadee perched there.  Dreams can be about absolutely anything .. I love dreaming and have joy in seeing them come true!

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And then I saw this darling little Anna … busily chatting away to another Anna in a nearby tree.

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 Another opportunity to play with my new Camera .. learning as I go, what the best settings are.  I’ll study the “how to” manual on a rainy day. For now I will just take lots of photos …

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These tiny birds are so lovely to watch .. but they are tough little birds.  My cat once caught one, many years ago.  I’d heard an unusual sound from the yard and on investigation, found a tiny Anna that she had somehow brought to the ground.  Carefully I picked up the stunned little bird, surprised at the solid little weight it made in my hand – They are so small I visualized them as being as light as a feather.  It was an adventure that ended well for her.  I carefully put her in a room, opened the window, shut the door and shortly after that I saw the little bird Anna quietly on the branch of a nearby tree.

I think this Anna is the baby, still learning from the parents …

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ok .. just one more photo .. I love them!

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Strawberries are still flowering, bearing fruit even though it is mid-October.  This is a wild strawberry, the tiny yellow type which will easily invade your yard if planted.  I discovered that this summer.  Thought it would be nice to have a few varieties of wild strawberries planted among the veggies.  I soon found out that they will send out runners “till the cows come home” and ended up putting some in pots and the rest in the compost.  Hmmmmm … I realize that I will be getting a few hundred of these plants next spring from the compost!    Well, I can always share them.

At last, what a treat .. I was able to see the baby Bewick Wren!!!!!  They must be nesting somewhere in the yard …We planted many trees over the years and they have become home to Bush-tits, Chickadees, Juncos, Downy Woodpeckers, Sparrows (House, Gold Crowned, White Crowned) Flickers, Nuthatches .. on and on ..

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This was a rare treat to see this baby and I was ecstatic!   I had heard the parents “talking” to the baby over the summer and didn’t dare hope to ever see it.  Yet another one of the million delights in a backyard garden.   Right now, he is looking at the suet block below.  I must have made a little noise because after this photo, he abruptly flew away.

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There are still a few tiny little squash growing along.  I haven’t the heart to dig them up and will just leave them for awhile longer.  They are cheerful looking and brighten up the garden.

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Speaking of beauty it is all around us .. the ever changing skies overhead.

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Another treat from the compost, a surprise squash.  It is only tiny and might just grow a little bit more.

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I so love this plant, everything about it . .. even the name is cheerful “Peppermint Stick”.  I’d acquired it a few years ago and planted in the shade.  This year I moved it into the sun and like magic .. it showed me how happy it was in the new location by growing and growing and growing!   I was admiring the appearance of the raindrops and sunshine scattered along one of the broad leaves.  And here is a most interesting link that I found when looking for the proper name of this grass, I guarantee that you will find this blog most interesting  :http://www.louistheplantgeek.com/a-gardening-journal/491-arundo-donax-peppermint-stick

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Although I’ve harvested and composted the majority of tomatoes in the yard .. this is one of the few remaining and you can see why I’ve left them in place.  They look like cascading jewels, adding yet more beauty to the yard.

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The same reasoning works for these squash plants.  I’ll deal with them after the frost visits the yard .. there are still a number of weeks before that happens.

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And another sky photo …

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It’s been a busy few weeks .. having lots of fun in the yard, getting it ready for winter.   Harvesting the Scarlet Runner Beans, the Cherokee Trail of Tears, the tri-colour bush beans.   Surprises every day.

Gardening is so magical, ever changing and satisfying.

🙂