Choice Morsels

 Two Garden Pics today: Nice Shot of Female Ruby Throat Hummingbird: There's a feeder hanging on this line and she's guarding it from other hummers. They're usually around until around mid-October when they migrate further South.  And Nice Shot of this Yellow Spider Lily: The end of day sunlight was hitting it.

Garden Pic today is Red Lantana. I have 3 colors of Lantana presently: this red, a pink and yellow. It likes full sun. Bees and butterflies love it. It's extremely draught hardy and doesn't need a lot of watering. Plus it roots very easily, if you want more of your favorite color, just by snipping stems and sticking them in small pots of soil, allowing them to root, then transplanting as desired.  

Today's Garden Pic is this unusual Fern: I bought a 2-root pack of Cinnamon Fern many years ago, but apparently one of the roots was not Cinnamon Fern, but...this instead. There are zillions of types of fern and this seems to have a fern-like structure. Regardless, it comes up faithfully every year and I like it. I might be Holly Fern. Some of the older leaf stems at the back look similar to photos of Holly Fern. Whatever it is, it's lovely.  

 Well, sometimes Wednesday come and go and I forget to blog a Garden photo.  Frankly, it's been overly hot and somewhat dry, though more rain appears to be on the horizon. Time to be aiming at planting that fall garden! I have my favorite French lettuce seed and just need to pick up some garden soil to enrich the planters! I'll start with that. Then, later in Sept I'll look in to Broccoli plants. Meanwhile, I have cucumbers that caught a second wind and took off with a bunch of fresh growth! Today's Garden Pic is the lovely Pampas fronds against Florida blue sky that's near my back patio.

Today's Garden Pic: Pink Pampas! It's the prettiest of the Pampas, I think.   

 Interesting Garden Pics today: A Pair of Mourning Doves Resting in the Grass Next to my Patio: I snapped the shot because I've never seen them just nestled in the grass like this before. Usually, they're prowling my patio for the bird seed I throw out on the pavement so my cat can enjoy a closer look at the birdies thru the sliding glass door.  I like the cool noise they make when startled as they fly into the air. Interesting facts about Doves: They mate for life. They are strictly seed eaters. (no bugs) And they can fly 55 miles an hour. Who knew? Another Seeker After Bird Seed... This very young Box Turtle wandered out onto my patio for some seed this morning. This youngin' lives under the Hydrangea bush that's immediately around the corner to the right. It's lush with Lady Fern & Ponytail Fern; the perfect safe place. Probably delicious bugs & earthworms under there, too. I saw him come once before on a rainy day for a bit of water, then he turned aroun...

Earlier in spring, I found a baby tomato plant sprouted near my doorway and transplanted it to a raised bed. It was only about 3 inches tall. Here it is now. It was always greener and healthier looking then the store bought tomato. After making a few red medium size tomatoes, it stopped doing anything---until recently, it suddenly put a a bunch a fresh growth and is blooming again. Despite the heat. I brushed the blossom's with a paintbrush to try and make sure they were all pollinated to give them the best chance of developing. So, we'll see.