Tree Following, November 2015

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Tina

It begins again.

This business of following a tree and learning about its ways, then sharing that information with interested, tree-loving readers. Additionally, we Tree Followers have a new hostess for our tree meme addiction, lately resigned by Lucy of Loose and Leafy, but bravely acquired by Pat at The Squirrelbasket.

I’m a bit late for the November 7th post, what with life happening and all. For this new tree and its debut post, it’s mostly pictorial:

This is a tree that was already established in my garden when I bought my home in 1985.

Mostly, I’ve hated it.

Except that in recent years, as I’ve grown to appreciate the shade it provides, its color, its role as a refuge for wildlife, and its stateliness in the neighborhood, I’ve come to admire and respect this tree. I believe, though I’m not positive, that this tree–this chosen followed tree for 2015-16–is an American Sycamore, Platanus occidentalis.

I suppose in the next year, I’ll find out if this tree is what I think it is.

I hope you’ll come along with me in the next 12 months to climb up the tree, to take shelter from the Texas summer sun under its canopy, to help rake its leaves, to observe the birds, mammals and insects that visit and make their homes in this American Sycamore.

Thanks to Pat for hosting Tree Following–check out The Squirrelbasket to learn about trees from all over the world.

Wildlife Wednesday, November 2015

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Tina

October in Austin ushers the end of the seemingly interminable summer and portends a transition to cooler temperatures of autumn and its promises of rain. This past month was no exception with our typical, atypical early autumn weather. October saw hot, dry, days, juxtaposed with heavy rain and flooding, augmented with the gift of appreciated and ballyhooed crisper days and nights. The variable weather also saw many winged things of feathered and scaled varieties in my garden space. Welcome to Wildlife Wednesday for November, heralding all things wild–by and for–the garden.

This little guy sports neither feathers nor scales, but instead, his green jammies as he traipses through the Drummond’s Ruellia and keeps a wary eye on anything bigger than himself, including me.

Many young Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis, lizards are eating and presumably growing in preparation for winter and the spring that will follow. Wishing them good hunting for anything smaller than themselves and some measure of safety from those who will be hunting and eating…Green Anoles.

Some of the “whatever” that might be on the hunt for lizards, though I’m guessing they’d prefer bigger and juicier prey, includes this majestic Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus, who rested for a couple of days in my neighbor’s large Elm tree.

Gorgeous. I haven’t heard any hooting from this one and without a mate to compare, I’m not sure if this beauty is male or female. But it was a treat to observe the large predator as she/he attempted some zzzzzzz before nighttime hunting.

This photo was taking on the second, but rainy day of roosting; he/she looks wet and bedraggled, but owls are tough.

I was alerted to the owl by the complaints of Blue Jays, Cyanocitta cristata, who are vociferous when anyone visits who is big and potentially dangerous. Even with their noisy calls and sometimes obnoxious behaviors, no one enjoys a bath more than a Blue Jay.

I guess they know how pretty they are and are pleased that the bathing enhances their good looks.

Fluffed feathers atop, notwithstanding.

The state bird of Texas is the Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos. There are always Mockingbirds in my gardens–singing, bathing, and eating, but I rarely catch photos of them. What a shame that is.

Handsome guy–or gal, I’m not sure which. Both male and female Mockingbirds sing beautifully and with varied, complicated songs (“polyglottos”) that mimic many other birds. Sometimes unmated males sing at night. Poor dudes. I guess singing to the full moon is their version of playing computer games on a Friday night, sans dates.

And the Lesser Goldfinch, Spinus psaltria, gang is back!!

I don’t think they ever actually leave, but they definitely prefer certain seed choices through the seasons. Currently and for the past month, the Goldeneye, Viguiera dentata, have produced scads of seeds for feeding the scads of little finches. I promised myself to catch a couple of decent photos for Wildlife Wednesday and then simply enjoy their antics. And so I have.

As for other winged wonders, there’s been no real shortage there. This interesting critter is a Blue-winged Wasp, Scolia bubia,

…and it enjoyed the blooms of the Frostweed, Verbesina virginica. Adults enjoy nectar and also beetles–beetle juice, if you will–and their larvae parasitize certain beetle species, especially of the invasive Japanese beetle. Good for them!! Lots of folks don’t like wasps, but they’re good guys-n-gals. Leave them alone to nectar, to pollinate, and to do-away with some of the bad bugs.

Skippers (Hesperiidae) are also good to have in the gardens, but I have misgivings about photographing them. Firstly, they’re hard to catch. They’re tiny, quick, and generally, don’t perch still for long periods of time. Secondly, once photographed, I then have to identify them for Wildlife Wednesday.

So here goes nuthin’!

I think this is an Ocola Skipper, Panoquina ocola, probably a male.

Or, it might be a Dun Skipper, Euphyes vestris. Honestly, I’m not sure. Skippers are common in my gardens and they nectar on a variety of blooms. In autumn, they have a special affinity for the three Mistflower species that I grow: Blue Mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum, (especially) Gregg’s Mistflower, Conoclinium greggii, and White Mistflower, Ageratina havanensis.

Their wings are held separately in levels–upwards, and to the sides–and is something that is apparently unique to certain species of skippers.

This autumn orange-colored skipper is a Fiery Skipper, Hylephila phyleus.

At least I think it is. It would be a male, because of the orange coloration (females are brown/tan) and there are kinda-sorta dots on the undersides of the wings, which male Fiery Skippers sport. I know that I’ve seen Fiery Skippers in my gardens, I’m just not positive this is one. Best guess. So there.

This Horace’s Duskywing, Erynnis horatius, is another regular in my gardens. Rather drab in comparison to some, this boy is a hard-working pollinator and thus, welcome anywhere in my gardens and at anytime.

And the last of the tiny butterflies (whoop!) is this Dusky-blue Groundstreak, Calycopis isobeon.

As a group, I think the Lycaenidae Family of butterflies are especially attractive–the Blues, Coppers, Hairstreaks, and Harvesters. Pretty, of course, doesn’t really matter, but the intricacies of their markings are remarkably artful, it’s hard not to admire their beauty.

And speaking of beautiful, there were a few Monarch Butterflies, Danaus plexippus,

..though only a few. Most of the migrating Monarchs veered west of the Austin area this year.

A Giant Swallowtail, Papilio cresphontes, nectared on favorite blooms,

…and a Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor, was a regular visitor as well.

Lastly, the honeybees are gathering for winter storage–delighting all who observe them and long for a taste of their honey…

My gardens host a variety of plants which provide seeds and fruits, nectar and pollen, cover, and larval host food. Diversity in plant choices and a focus on choosing native plants reflects how nature is intended to work–that is, as a complex food web for a multitude of predator and prey insects, birds, mammals, and reptiles. Everyone can encourage wildlife in their gardens with simple, yet profound changes: ridding your space of mono-culture turf, planting with native plants, and avoiding the use of chemicals in the garden. By making these simple changes, your garden will be healthier and more productive and by choosing to plant for wildlife, you can help heal the world.

What wild critters are in your garden? 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.

Happy wildlife gardening!

The Lily and the Crag

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Tina

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines crag as a steep, rugged rock or cliff. As for lily, well, I think this is visually self-explanatory:

Pretty, isn’t it? And hardy too, just like the first part of its name–enduring like a rock, that is.

Texas Craglily, Echeandia texensis, blooms beautifully in my gardens from September into November, sometimes well into December.

Tough-n-lovely, this excellent Texas member of the Liliaceae family is sorely underutilized by gardeners from Central Texas southward to the Valley. Here in Austin, I’ve only seen it sold at one nursery, Barton Springs Nursery (BSN). BSN labels this plant as “Copper Spiders” but as I researched this plant, I’ve never seen that term used anywhere else. A long-time BSN employee recently shared with me the story that BSN originally purchased “Copper Spiders” from Yucca Do Nursery and that’s the name the online nursery dubbed it. A quick look at the Yucca Do’s website led me to the the Echeandia texensis page and it’s confirmed that “Copper Spiders” is definitively identified as E. texensis.

No matter what the folks in the nursery trade call it, this gardener calls it fabulous!

There are two other Echeandia species in Texas, E. chandleri and E. flavescens, but I’ve been fairly sure for several years now that what I’ve purchased at BSN and have been happily enjoying in my gardens is E. texensis. All three Echeandia are commonly called “Texas Craglily” or “Craglily”; the E. flavescens is also called Torrey’s Craglily, and E. chandleri is known by the poetic Lila de los llanos.

When I first saw the Texas Craglily at BSN (four? five?) years ago on a hot July afternoon (yeah, I garden in the summer), I remember thinking that I’d seen a photo of it in the seminal Texas gardening book, Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region, by Sally and Andy Wasowski, which was my gardening guide and muse for many years. In fact, the Wasowski’s wrote about the E. chandleri, (page 177!). but the bloom and foliage are very similar to the E. texensis.

I’m no botanist, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s been some hybridization in nature and cultivation through the nursery trade. But whatever this plant is, I’m glad to make room for it in my gardens–and you should too if you live in Central and South Texas.

Dying back at the first hard freeze, it disappears until late spring–sometimes not returning in full until May or June.

During summer the foliage returns quickly and is attractive and well-behaved.

It’s always a bonus in the garden to host plants with elegant grassy structure, especially when it’s lush and easy-care. In my heavy soil, the foliage only grows to about a foot in height and width. Sometime in late August or early September, the stalks begin shooting upwards and bloom development begins, mostly toward the top of the panicles.

A glorious autumnal yellow-orange, the sweet little blooms are pollinator magnets.

Most of my Texas Craglily plants grow in part-sun, but it’s a perennial that likes lots of bright sunshine. Some of mine leeeaaan over to catch the rays.

Others are tall and stand at full floral attention. The more “balloon” look to the petals indicates early morning before they’ve stretched and opened. Or maybe they just need their morning coffee.

I have a number of Texas Craglily specimens planted alongside Henry Duelberg Sage, Salvia farinacea ‘Henry Duelberg’ and Gregg’s Mistflower, Conoclinium greggii: it’s a winning combination.

Peeking between some garden art, the graceful foliage holds its own.

I see bees and butterflies feeding at the blooms throughout Texas Craglily’s bloom period, though funnily enough, I don’t have a single photo to prove that. Additionally, none of my Craglily plants have ever produced seedlings–that could happen, but it hasn’t thus far.

So I’m off to BSN to purchase just one more because I’ve figured out another spot where one is absolutely REQUIRED and will be perfectly situated. And just in case there’s a run on these beauties, I asked a kind employee to hold two for me! Ha!

I have no information about its attractiveness to deer, but if you live in or near Austin, try this lily in your garden–in full or part sun and either thin or heavy soil. Texas Craglily is hardy enough to handle the cracks, crags, rocks and clay, yet dainty enough to decorate the Texas autumn garden.

Happy planting!!

Texas Craglily is a native plant and Gail at clay and limestone promotes natives and wildflowers for the home garden through her Wildflower Wednesday gardening meme. Thanks to Gail for hosting and teaching others about the importance and beauty of wildflowers.