Early morning garden stroll ...

12 years ago

Like just about everybody else who gardens I find that one of its simply pleasures is to stroll about the yard in early morning to enjoy what might have changed overnight.

The first thing I noticed this morning is that one of the Passion vines had a Gulf Frit caterpillar. Yea! Somehow the camera managed to reflect my smile ;-) I didn't see the mama, but the evidence that she was here is plain to see ...

One of the beauties of a blooming Scarlet pentepete is the carpet of yesterday's flowers scattered on the ground beneath the plant ...

Ah ha! The Voodoo lily seeds I planted several months ago are at last germinating. This is my first try with them ...

It's typical for Voodoo lillies to start going dormant in mid August and not to emerge again until late May. This year's weather has somehow confused them as I see some of them came back up right after going dormant! I wonder if the bulbs will survive?

The candelabra of fragrant the Kidneywood tree's blooms against Bougainvillea blooms is lovely, and the scent is of wild flowers ...

Somehow the little cactus growing in close proximity to a Boston fern is quite incongruent, but interesting. This plant received from Joey at a plant swap years ago faithfully blooms every year. This year it had seven or eight huge purple flowers ...

One of the beauties of early morning strolls are seeing back lit plants. The sweet potato vine is beautiful this year. I stopped growing years ago because of little beetles that riddled the leaves, but this year -- no bugs!

{{gwi:301891}}

As I stepped out on the front porch an interesting tint in the early morning light engulfed the scene ....

Hope you enjoyed the morning stroll with me ... :-)

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Comments (12)

carrie751
12 years ago
A wonderful stroll, Roseee, and I love your visitor in the last photo. Everything looks wonderful, despite this hottest of years in eons...........must be the TLC you give them.
Vulture61
12 years ago
Awesome, Roselee! Thank you for the ride! I really like your kidneywood tree.

Omar
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Morning has broken---a 6 a.m. stroll through the garden
Q
Comments (22)
Okay, now you've gone and done it! I'm drooling over your peonies, and the purple salvia and yellow sedum. Gave me an idea for another look for one of my flowerbeds next year. That sedum is so easy to root, you can almost stick it in water for a few days or rootone and stick it right in the ground. Give it a few weeks and you'll see new growth. Ice Plant is another nice ground cover. When did you first start your flower gardens? Do you set a goal of how much to add each year? Or do you have it so everything multiplies by reseed and division? I bet those peonies would look good in my gardens. What are their names? One looks like Sarah Bernhardt(pink)and could that burgundy one be Kansas or Karl Rosenfeld? I love the purple salvia/burgundy peony combination. Thanks for the morning walk. What kind of camera do you have? Sure takes good clear pictures. Wide angle lens attached? That viburnum bush is breathtakingly beautiful!
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I love early mornings in the gardens!
Q
Comments (11)
As the jewel painted sky slowly slides under the cloak of night my mind drifts into another world where the sounds that are muted during the light of day suddenly burst into a crescendo of music and the fragrances of the day that have been overwhelmed by all the heat and frenzy of the sun sweep across my heightened senses teasing and flirting as they tempt me to put a name to their heady aromas. I sit under the stars and watch as they slowly waken and paint the sky into the most gorgeous map of the world. A map that can direct any person regardless of their location. I watch as the lights wink from airplanes circling overhead and the occasional shooting star that blazes across the dark night palette. Slowly my body unwinds and relaxes as the sounds of night birds caress the darkness with their sweet haunting sounds as one by one the lights in the homes dim and the houses blend into the blackness that speaks such color. Scents taunt the ragged nerves of my soul and massage them into pleasing chords of bliss. Fireflies illuminate the dark as if thousands of small candles flicker their lights around the area. Occasionally the bark of a seal brings me back into reality but then as the soft warm summer breeze teases the hair surrounding my face and sweet sweet nectar fills my nose with heady fragrance I let go and drift once again into a land of mystery and delight. The clock strikes midnight and I slowly stroll around the garden for a lingering goodnight to my babies and then crawl into a freshly laundered and cool bed only to awaken around 3 am for another quiet time in the garden. I amble around the streets that are not quiet as they are alive with the nightlife that awakens as the sun disappears. It is another night spent communing with the other world of shifting senses and I greet the new day as lights once again come on one by one in the slumbering houses and the rosy fingers of dawn begin decorating the sky with jewels of light. Flowers awaken and turn their faces upward to greet the morning and once again the nightly beauty and life of each garden fades into the heat of a new day and the morning crew takes over. It is at this point that I thank God for allowing me to witness both worlds and for all the intricate work he put into the beauty of a single flower and leaf. Enjoy the new day and save some time to experience the night. Linda
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Seen on this morning's stroll ...
Q
Comments (11)
Oh my! Now that racoon knows a good thing when he finds it for sure! Thanks Jim for the warning about the pink ... oh but wait a minute. Your talking about the dwarf and all the colors do multiply about the same in my yard too, except they all finally revert to purple, but I don't mind them. You can't tell from the picture, but this is the tall Mex. Petunia. I may be taking a chance with it, but my soil isn't all that great in spite of all the compost I've put down, so 'medium invasive', if there is such a thing, works for me. Thanks again for the great photo. Linda M. is going to enjoy it. The invitation is still open to add pictures of anyone's morning strolls -- with or without critters :-) Jim, we haven't seen much of your yard for a while and I'm really missing it. How about some pictures?
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Scenes from today's early morning stroll ...
Q
Comments (14)
Marti and Juneroses thank YOU for take the time to look and comment. So sorry to mislead you about the name of the cactus which Tally passed along. Last year I posted photos in which it looked like a praying Madona so I've called it that ever since. The plumbago by the driveway gets a lot of sun from the West. It's water needs are low and it has needed even less water this year since we've had several little showers and the rain runs across the driveway to where it planted itself. One reason a lot of pots are used is that it is NOT easy to dig a hole in this hard and rocky ground. Water absorbing crystals in the potting soil for the more thirsty plants helps hold the water longer. Also large holes are drilled in the bottom of pots so the roots can go out the bottom and still make use of any water that has escaped from the pot. For me it seems that pots require less water volume wise, because it is concentrated in the pots. Recently I'm using more desert plants in the pots that need very little water. This post was edited by roselee on Thu, Oct 9, 14 at 22:02
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PKponder TX Z7B
12 years ago
Thanks for the eye candy Roselee! Everything looks amazing! I don't believe that I have seen pentepete before but that color is so striking! What kind of taro are you growing with the sweet potato vine?
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks everybody. Pam, the 'EE' is Mojito.

Omar, everyone in Texas should have a kidney wood tree!

Carrie, everything pictured may look wonderful, but I didn't take pictures of the dried around the edges plants of which there are many. For instance it seems that no amount of water would keep the hidden ginger's leaves from drying up terribly. Does anybody else grow it? Hopefully the worst is over for this year and we can look forward to a fair fall.

If anyone wants Scarlet Pentepete seeds let me know as I'll be collecting them as they form.

BTW, I am so grateful that someone sent me seeds to a pink Pentepete variety that hasn't bloomed yet. I lost track of the email of the one who sent them so if they see this I hope they reply. I think the name might have been "Rick".

Here is a link that might be useful: Pentapete post from last year w/ pictures of plant ...
rock_oak_deer
12 years ago
Just beautiful and so refreshing. I amazed at how good your yard looks even if you did "edit" out some things.

Today it really does feel like fall is on the way. Very nice out this morning.
carrie751
12 years ago
Roselee, I grow hidden ginger, but have it in a very shady area. Other than the damage to the leaves from the hail (and I did not clean them up), it looks pretty good and has bloomed twice.
Vulture61
12 years ago
I had to chop off my white butterfly gingers because they were totally scorched. I know they grow better in shade but I don't have any... :(

Omar
plantmaven
12 years ago
Is that the mulch guy's hat in the last pic.?
PKponder TX Z7B
12 years ago
My hidden ginger is also in a shady garden and it looks pitiful. There's new growth so hopefully we'll get some blooms before it freezes.
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
Original Author
12 years ago
Kathy, very perceptive of you to notice, but that's MY hat that the mulch guy grabbed for himself not realizing at the time that his picture wearing it would be smeared all over the GW ... giggle. I keep the hat, gloves, pruners, moisture meter, etc. on the front porch so I'll have them handy.

Thanks for the info how how all y'alls hidden gingers are doing. Mine will be transplanted to a very shady spot in the art gallery (former pigeon pen) when they go dormant instead of their present partial shady spot. They are so pathetic looking I don't think there's a chance of them blooming this year, but at least they are alive. None of the gingers liked this summer's weather, but aren't these cool mornings we're having right now wonderful? Love, love, love it!
pjtexgirl
12 years ago
GORGEOUS!!! I'd post my garden but it looks just like it did before. Kidneywood trees smell wonderful don't they?
lou_texas
12 years ago
Roselee, beautiful gardens. I'm not familiar with the Scarlet pentepete but I plan to look it up.

Also the juxtaposition of the sweet potato leaves and the dark canna leaves is brilliant. Really stunning.

And yes, I did enjoy the morning stroll you provided. : )

Early morning garden stroll ...

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carrie751

Vulture61

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Early morning garden stroll ...

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