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So, we've got the green light from the city to continue with our hen sales at NHG. Whoohoo! That was a long but worthwhile struggle.
http://eastdallasblog.dallasnews.com/
We have a confirmed sale date of September 19th, when we will also be having a chicken program and Q&Q starting at 10am, but we're are also trying to get one scheduled for Sept 5th. See you at NHG for chicken days!
I'm not an Aggie, but I do love me some Aggie Cotton, Gossypium hirsutum. This great heirloom annual tends to come and go. Folks forget about it for a while and you won't really see it in the nurseries for a few years, then it shows back up again in small quantities. Just like all that bad 80's fashion we're seeing right now! Well, except that's really really bad...Aggie cotton happens to be very, very pretty.
The flowers and foliage are reminiscent of a burgundy leafed hardy hibiscus with lovely pink and cream flowers. The flowers are followed by small cotton bolls that add interest and texture to the garden. The burgundy foliage gives you some really nice foliage contrast mixed with salvias, ornamental grasses and other annuals like angelonia and lantana. It's blooming in my garden now and through the fall will reach about three to four feet tall.
Yay! The first blooms on my the butterfly ginger Hedychium coronarium, have finally appeared. This is a tropical perennial native to India and a cousin of the culinary ginger, Zingiber officinale. Plants reach about five feet tall here and can be planted in part shade (morning sun/afternoon shade, or dappled sun throughout the day) and plants like lots of moisture. They are also nice in containers. Plants will die down to the ground in our area, zone 8, but come back up the following year. The fragrance is to die for. Plant some near your patio or where you can enjoy the fragrance.
Lovely.
The hummingbirds showed up very late this year. I was fretting they would not show up at all. But, we've had two female Ruby-throated move into our garden in the last couple of weeks. So exciting. Over the last week, they've become more accustomed to our presence and are now zipping around just a few feet from us. (click photos to enlarge)
I have a bounty of blooms in the garden for them to feed on such as the bog sage, Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue', above. They also like the Rose of Sharon, Rattlebox and the multitudes of other salvias in the garden.
They've also finally discovered the feeder that hangs right by the front door above the salvia. You can see a few red droplets in the neck on the one to the left. As they are territorial, I've found them perched close to the feeder more often, guarding it. I can't tell if these two are working together or if they are fighting for the feeder. They zip around in the air together in a sort of dance, but it's possible they are fighting over the turf.
We got some good video of them feeding at the feeder. As soon as I have a good format in which to post it, I'll get that up. Bees, butterflies, dragonflies and hummingbirds..the front yard is abuzz!! So fun.
Yes, you can actually have some beauty in the August garden, despite the scorching heat! Here are a few of my August garden lovelies...
A fragrant pale cream daylily I've forgotten the cultivar name for and a weeping dwarf crapemyrtle entwined with sky vine (Thunbergia grandiflora)
Echinacea 'Sunset' flanked with Angelonia 'Serena Purple', 'Tamora' Rose and Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue'
Salvia 'Mystic Spires' and dwarf Philippine lily
Lovely black bumblebee in the purple Ruellia, Mexican Petunia
The hummingbirds finally started showing up last week. Yay! I was really surprised at how late they finally made it to our garden this year. I have lots of plants in the front garden they can feed on, such as the Rattlebox tree in the photo, Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue', Angelonia, Autumn sage, Salvia 'Mystic Sprires' and so on. We also hang a feeder or two near the front door. We currently have two females that are either competing for the turf or are youngin's from the same nest. I think they are nesting in a large crapemyrtle next to the house. They put on a show each morning at about 8am, where they will zip around the yard together. On Sunday morning, I came face to face with one.
Hummingbirds will make visual associations with people, especially if they see you around their feeding area consistently for about a month. They you might find they'll come right up to you or feed in your presence without being afraid. Good times. I tried getting some photos of them on Sunday, but couldn't get a clear shot. Will keep trying...
