A Sycamore Year

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Tina

It’s a year since I began the monthly profile of my American sycamore, Platanus occidentalis. A year ago, blue sky prevailed in the first photos of the sycamore and the sycamore sparkled in sunshine. Today, like much of this past week, is gray, with the addition of wet.

The sycamore drips.

This year was a (relatively) wet one here in Central Texas and also more moderate in temperatures than the previous year or so. As a result, most of the leaves remain on my sycamore, (in contrast to many seasons, by no means all), where the tree loses upwards to one-third of its leaves due to summer’s heat and seasonal drought.

Sycamore leaves have fallen to the ground,

…but blanketing of the garden,

…of pathways,

…and of work spaces,

…has barely begun. For now, the smattering of discarded foliage is a mere suggestion of the colossal coverage that is in the gardens’, and therefore, the gardener’s, near future. Multitudes of the sturdy, and if I might suggest, awkward, leaves will drop in the next two months.That means plenty of raking in December and early January.

My back aches just thinking about it.

I’ll add some leaves directly my compost bin and shred some others for the garden and compost bin, but most will end up in my yard-waste bins, picked up weekly by the diligent sanitation workers of the City of Austin.

Will the rejected leaves end up in the municipal landfill? No, they won’t–and that’s a good thing. The leaves, along with tons of other “yard waste” will be composted with biosolids from city sewage treatment, cooked and cured into an excellent garden amendment called Dillo Dirt. Since I compost, I haven’t purchased Dillo Dirt as a soil amendment in many years, but it’s great for gardeners to use for enriching poor soil and it’s safe for all gardens, including vegetable gardens.

Currently, sycamore leaf color varies–green, yellow, brown.

Once massive foliage color transformation occurs, the tree will change its leafy coverage from growing-season green, to sleepy-time yellow, with some warm toast thrown in for good measure.

I like my American sycamore.

I didn’t for a long time, simply viewing it as a high-maintenance mess, with its thick leaves and a cast of deep shade. In recent years and especially in this last year of following the monthly evolution of my American sycamore, observing arboreal nuance in ways that I hadn’t previously, I’ve grown to appreciate the handsome bark,

…and the valuable cover this large tree provides for wildlife–and for me–in the long, hot Texas summers. Rather than a tree that I think of as simply a producer of leaf-clutter, I now regard my American sycamore as an important partner in the wildlife habitat that I choose to nurture.

Thanks to Pat for hosting Tree Following, the meme for trees. Check out The Squirrelbasket to learn about trees from all over the world.

Pollinators Galore: Wildlife Wednesday, November 2016

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Tina

Having traveled for half of October and with a general lack of time for critter photo-ops when I was home, there isn’t a portfolio of day-to-day proof of the masses of buzzers and flutterers who’ve been in my gardens this past month. You’ll just have to take my word for it–this past month was epic on the pollinator front in the garden! Not only in sheer numbers, but the variety of butterflies and native bees has been a delight. Today is Wildlife Wednesday and I hope you’re set to celebrate the wild things in our gardens. Whether winged, scaled, feathered, or furred, wildlife is what makes a garden a truly living space–wildlife is what makes a garden.

It’s been quite a few years since my garden has enjoyed and benefited from the numbers of butterflies who visited in these past couple of months. The wet year, coupled with relatively mild summer temperatures, allowed for the right breeding conditions to occur and for blooming plants to thrive. Plenty of host and nectar plants are available for feeding this year and pollinators are taking advantage of the bounty. There are always more butterflies in late summer and fall, but this year I notice some that I’d never seen before.

I saw many of these pretties,

…mostly hanging out around the Blue mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum. I knew that I’d seen a photo of this kind of butterfly–somewhere–but couldn’t recall where. After some sleuthing, I identified this species as a Common mestra, Mestra amymone. Eventually, I remembered that I’d seen photos of the mestra on the FB page of The National Butterfly Center, which is located in Mission, Texas. Primarily a butterfly of South Texas, Mexico and South America, they will stray northward–and so they did, right into my little garden! They favored the Blue mistflower, but I also saw them nectaring at the Plateau goldeneye and Turk’s cap, too.

White-Striped Longtail butterflies, Chioides albofasciatus, are a new butterfly in my garden.

They proved difficult to get clear photos of because they nectared at Yellow bell blooms which are located high on the tall shrubs and subject to every puff or blast of breeze–not conducive to great photography, Also, this critter doesn’t sit still for long.

Lucky for this gardener though, one spent casual time at a lower-to-the ground West Texas native, the Shrubby blue sage, Salvia ballotiflora and I opportunistically snagged some shots.

Yet another butterfly more common in South Texas and regions further a-field, it’s interesting that there were “tropical” butterflies in my Central Texas garden this past month.

Along with the southern visitors, the usual garden suspects were active. For example, Fiery Skippers, Hylephila phyleus, decked out in autumn colors, have been all over the Gregg’s mistflower, Conoclinium greggii, sharing nicely that pollinator favorite with many other winged things. .

A tiny native minor bee is blurry just above the Fiery Skipper.

Other fans of the Gregg’s mistflower are the many Clouded Skipper, Lerema accius butterflies which regularly tour the garden. These skippers have been active throughout the warm season this year.

Monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus, continued their march through Texas.

Male Monarch demonstrates his scent glands (the two black dots on the hind wings).

It was a pleasure hosting them this autumn–I hope they safely arrive in Mexico and winter well there.

Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes, butterflies visited daily.

Black Swallowtail on Turk’s cap.

Honeybees (from my three hives) busily worked at the bloom-heavy Plateau goldeneye, Viguiera dentata, as well as everything else, preparing their honey stores for winter.

There are still scads of the charming S outhern Pink Moth s, Pyrausta inornatalis, like this one resting on a White tropical sage. The Pinks are another species in abundance this year.

Native bees of all kinds are still working in the garden. This leaf-cutter, Megachile, was not the only native bee around, but fun to watch as she worked Plateau goldeneye blooms.

Additionally, this past month saw a boon in the Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, population.

The foliage decimation wrought on my Passion vine by caterpillars eating and eating and eating,

…and then pupating into their adult form wherever they could,

…is all the proof I need to suggest that they’re quite at home in the garden.

I don’t fret about butterfly and moth caterpillars munching on host plants because they generally don’t kill the host, munching away only to some level of plant un-attractiveness. Usually, the plants–like the Passion vine–spring back to full-leafed health quickly and in preparation for the next generation of caterpillars. Biology dictates that for the most part, the symbiotic relationship between a host plant and its insect is a healthy one, and a plant is rarely, if ever, eaten to death. From an evolutionary standpoint, it wouldn’t make sense for a host plant to die every time its insect requires reproduction.

Ain’t nature grand?!

Texan Crescents, Anthanassa texana,

….are eating their native host plants–the Branched foldwing, Dicliptera brachiata,

…as can be seen by the green sticks left from the last crop of caterpillars. No worries about the recover of the plant though, the munched Branched foldwing is already leafing out. For the remainder of autumn, more of the butterflies will nectar in the garden in clouds of fluttering brown and gold. I missed the opportunity to catch a photo of the nondescript caterpillars, though I’m always happy to get photos of a pretty face–and lovely set of wings.

Not only did butterflies and moths grace my garden, but plenty of Syrphid, or Flower flies, appeared too. For the most part, Syrphid flies haven’t been as numerous in the garden this year. But recently I’ve seen many of this particular kind, the Distinctive Syrphid, Ocyptamus fascipennis.

Syrphid on the bloom clusters of the Barbados Cherry (Malpighia glabra)

As for what attracts all of these garden gifts, If there was an award for Pollinator Plant of the Month, it would have to go to Frostweed, Verbesina virginica.

There are four individual pollinators on this particular flower cluster–and it’s not unusual to see that many pollinators simultaneously feeding on Frostweed bloom clusters. Where Frostweed grow, insect–especially pollinator–activity is abundant. Both small and large butterflies, honey and native bees, and eventually, after the blooms are spent, little finches and warblers choose this plant as a favorite food source. It, along with the Plateau goldeneye, are amazing plants for attracting and feeding wildlife. Both plants are easy to grow (Texas natives!) and attractive; both fit especially well in a woodland garden or at the back of a perennial bed.

These beetles enjoyed one particular group of Frostweed. I never quite figured out what kind of beetle they are, but I’m leaning toward an identification as some kind of blister beetle.

The adults were definitely nectaring on the flowers,

…though the nymphs congregated along fruit or foliage, just hanging out it seemed. Typical teenagers, I guess.

At any rate, the beetles didn’t appear to damage the plants, so I left them alone.

A few beetles visited the Mexican honeysuckle, Justicia spicigera.

Like the beetles on the Frostweed, these didn’t appear to harm the honeysuckle foliage or flowers.

This month wasn’t all about pollinators though–this predator Crab spider was clearly waiting to snatch something smaller than herself for a meal.

And this Hydrophilidae, a Water scavenger beetle, was loitering on a spent Garlic chives bloom.

Not quite sure what this one was up to, but I think he’s a little menacing looking. He neither spit nor lunged at me, so I suppose he’s okay and we can be friends, or at the very least, co-workers in the garden.

Did wildlife visit your garden this past month? Please post for November Wildlife Wednesday. Share the rare or mundane, funny or fascinating, beneficial or harmful critters you encounter. When you comment on my post, please remember to leave a link to your Wildlife Wednesday post so readers can enjoy a variety of garden wildlife observations.

Soft-n-Spiky

Posted on October 22, 2016 by Tina

Promoting Texas Native Plants Week, I’d like to put in a good word for Texas plants known for lovely or interesting foliage. Foliage is often overlooked when planning a garden and it shouldn’t be; foliage is the bedrock of most winter gardens and sets the tone and backdrop for all blooms. In my gardens, it seems like plants fall into three foliage categories: scratchy, spiky, or soft. I won’t give scratchy plants attention for now (looking at YOU, Lantana and Barbados cherry!), but I will profile a few foliage beauties from the other two categories.

The soil in my gardens is clayey, so I haven’t had much luck with the soft-as-a-baby’s-bottom leaves of the Wooly stemodia, Stemodia lanata. This plant requires excellent drainage and a good amount of sun. I am successful with a couple of individuals planted in containers and they’re thriving.

This Wooly stemodia gracefully cascades over the cherry-red pot, while its partner, an American century plant, Agave americana sits firmly in the pot and the spiky category. Both plants share a beautiful gray-green coloring, which is a characteristic of foliage of many Texas native plants.

In this photo, spiky dominates the scene with a second and larger American century plant, this time complemented by a deep blue pot that is its home.

A spiky garden buddy, Pale-leaf yucca, Yucca pallida, echos the gray of the agave, though I think the color suggests more blue than the gray-green agave. The yucca also doesn’t have “teeth” like the agave, though the ends pointedly exhibit their own danger, especially when the gardener is careless and/or forgets about the needling yucca while pruning or weeding. Ouch! Truthfully, I’m not a member of the spiky-plant club that so many Austin gardeners belong to. However, native yuccas and agaves provide low-maintenance beauty and structure and every Texas garden should showcase at least one.

The softer plants in the photo–Turk’s cap, Malvaviscus arboreus, Plateau goldeneye, Viguiera dentata, and Frostweed, Verbesina virginica, all exhibit larger, “tropical” leaves, and are typically considered shade-dwellers, although all three thrive in full-to-part sun. The Zexmenia, Wedelia texana, has small, hairy leaves, which are an adaptation with allows the leaves to absorb atmospheric moisture. The Zexmenia is an extremely drought-tolerant perennial.

Another spiky native is this Twistleaf yucca, Yucca rupicola, here haloed by blooming Zexmenia.

A true green, the Twistleaf yucca, like its cousin, the Pale-leaf yucca, bloom in the spring and sometimes, later in autumn. Four foot blooms stalks topped with clusters of fragrant, creamy flowers, provide for many interested pollinators. For the most of the year, handsome foliage dominates.

More gray-green in the landscape comes from Big muhly , Muhlenbergia lindheimeri.

A yearling Big muhly fronts a crown of blooming White tropical sage (Salvia coccinea)

I’ve struggled to find a good spot for the three specimens in my garden as they love full, blasting Texas sun and my garden is hampered by shade.

Really, I’m complaining about shade? In Texas?

Big muhly is an elegant native grass. I’ve contented myself with appreciating those that grow in other gardens (or in open spaces). I’m crossing-fingers that the few in my garden will prosper–I believe I finally have good spots for each.

I am successful with this far West Texas native, Mexican feathergrass, Nassella tenuissima.

These grasses are gorgeous in containers and planted in the ground, as well as happy in sun or shade–a win for the garden! Stunning in the spring with frothy, silvery-green foliage, they evolve into a toastier autumn presence as the growing season advances.

Texas beargrass, Nolina texana, is one more “grass” that is beautiful in a pot or directly in the garden.

This slow-grower is in the Liliaceae family and works well as an ornamental grass. Evergreen with a draping habit, it makes a statement, especially when planted in groups of two or three. This is another plant which flourishes when planted in containers.

Native Texas Plant Week is winding down, but the use of native plants in commercial and home gardens is on the upswing, not only in Texas but in many other places. Now is a good time here in Texas to plant trees and perennials and to plan for next year. Whether you live in Texas, or not–go native! Native plants are easy and special because they belong in and to the unique place you call home.

Whatever foliage you grow, please check out Christina’s lovely Creating my own garden of the Hesperides Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Day. See interesting foliage from many gardens and from many places, and then share your own leafy loveliness.