Birds & Blooms in my Summer Garden

The Summer weather has finally arrived much to our delight here in the Pacific Northwest. A visiting chickadee considers a bath, since the water is just about perfect. This is my first time growing Cerinthe, and I am happy that the hummingbirds like feeding from it.   The Monarda looks like a flower one might find on an alien planet. Last of all is the one Jay who figured out how to get the peanuts, from the bird IQ test (feeder) I made recently.  What birds & blooms have been gracing your space lately?

Chickadee considering a bath

After his first dip

Cerinthe

Monarda or Bee Balm

Perennial Dianthus

Balloon Flower Bud

Shirley Poppy

Dahlia

Stellar's Jay

May Blooms & Friendly Birds

 Spring in my garden has been later than usual with the cool weather, but blooms are happily starting to open, and some are just on the verge of blooming. It is interesting to see the way a tulip looks so different after a few days, and in different light.

I found a friendly little pine siskin that let me get quite close to take a picture. Most of my bird pictures are taken through my kitchen window, but this little bird let me come right outside on my patio to take his photo, before he flew off. I also captured a slate-colored Junco visiting my patio, most of my Junco visitors are of the Oregon variety.

Tulip Upstar

Chives just opening up

Lilac starting to Bloom

Little Flowers of Oregon Grape

Slate Colored Junco

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Pine Siskin

Pine Siskin

Pacific NorthWest and the Zone Challenge

The  Pacific Northwest is an area of North America roughly covering Southwest B.C., Washington, and Oregon, west of the mountains. In the gardening world, our climate is unique, and considered a modified Mediterranean climate with wet Winters and dry Summers. In fact, 80% of our precipitation falls between October and April.Our Winters are mild with occasional cold snaps, and our Springs are long, cool and moist. Our Summers are warm and dry, with cool evenings and our Autumns are warm and dry until late October, when the rainy season starts.

So what does all this mean to the gardener? Mild Winters mean insects overwinter readily and the rain encourages fungal diseases, moss and algae. Cooler Summers mean late-ripening of tomatoes and limited success of other heat loving plants. Plants that would normally be considered hardy in our zones (6-9) don't always succeed. Our lack of hot summers to ripen new growth on shrubs can result in Winter die-back, and our mild Winters trick plants into thinking Spring is here, when indeed it is not.  Zone 7 in the Pacific Northwest is nothing like zone 7 in the Eastern United States, and our zone 9 nothing like Texas or Florida. Zones indicate nothing about humidity, summertime heat, or even how long the growing season is.

Plants described as "difficult" are sometimes the very ones that do best in our area, while "easy" ones do poorly. I have experienced this myself with many annuals.   The best advice I can give when it comes to choosing new plants for your garden is to buy from local nurseries, which tend to offer plants that do well in the area you live. I have found my local library to have a good selection of gardening books, many focused on the Pacific Northwest. Comments always welcome and appreciated. Happy Gardening!

Tulip Purple Flag

Interesting new growth on Platycodon (Balloon Flower)

Signs of Spring

Crocus

Crocus

Crocus

Pink Dawn Viburnum

Skimmia Buds

Fresh New Growth on Chives

Spring Dreaming

Spring is just around the corner here in the Pacific Northwest! I can hardly wait to get planting, though it is a little early yet. After much, much catalog browsing, debating, and researching, my seed orders have finally been sent off! I  ordered seeds for the following Flowers & Veggies: Cerinthe purple bells, Cathedral bells, Sweet peas (old heirloom variety), Poppies, Sunflowers, cleome,  Ground Cherry, Corn, Cucumbers, & Dill. I still have lettuce seed left from last year and I purchased Tomato seeds at my local garden store. I also ordered some beautiful purple gladiolas. Some of these are brand new to me, so it will be a fun adventure to grow them.  Now, I just hope I can manage to squeeze them all in!

I brought home some tulips that someone had thrown out at work, and  took some pictures to share. More backyard bird photos as well.

Tulips

Tulip

Tomato Choice for 2011

Cheery Chickadee

Visiting Song Sparrow

Willband Creek Park

 I ventured out to Willband Creek Park in Abbotsford a couple of times this Winter.  While some may find this park lacking in trees, I find the mountains & wildlife make up for any lack in trees. I was hoping to capture some more bird photos, but it was cold and the birds were uncooperative.

Many Gulls

View across the Road

Merry Christmas!

Meowy Christmas

I hate posing for pictures!

Our Gerbil Dash

Hello

Giant Rodent Visit Baby Jesus

Blooms & Fall Color

Dahlia

Viburnum 'Pink Dawn'

Persicaria affinis 'Dimity'

Brilliant Blueberry leaves

Balloon Flower & Alyssum

"Dead" Hydrangea Blooms

What's Blooming Now

Some Late Summer Blooms in my Garden

               First Sunflower to Finally Grow & Bloom       

   

Monarda

Lavatera

 

Buddleia

I bought my very first Buddleia this past Spring, called Petite Plum Dwarf Butterfly Bush. My plan was to plant it in a container and leave it on my patio, year round. It didn't take long for me to start wondering if this plant would get too big for the 14" pot I planted it in. Here it is only a few months after I bought it.

It started to bloom in July and I have been thoroughly enjoying it's lovely fragrance. A little hummingbird has also been checking out the blooms, but I have yet to see a butterfly. 

I don't know what to do with it this fall, whether to leave it in this pot on our patio as planned, or to plant it in a less than suitable (shady) place in my yard. Any suggestions would be very welcome!