Tuesday, October 20, 2020

A garden that mimics the nature of nature ~ almost ~ kind of ~ maybe.

 


Spicebushes turning yellow around the deck


Swamp Sunflower and Coral Berry



 


Fothergilla gardenii




Around and around, down the rabbit hole we go!


In partial sun, Euonymus americanus leaves turning white in autumn.




Wild Senna Seed Head


Brown Eyed Susan




Sparkleberry Winterberry




Virginia Creeper


No idea the species of this moth ~ 1/4 - 1/2 inch long


Swamp Sunflower with background of
 Fothergilla gardenii on left and Sparkleberry Winterberry on right


Blackhaw Viburnum
The ground is covered in blue bird pooh under this shrub tree.


The rain has stopped!


Next years buds on My Mary Azalea


Milkweed Vine


I think these tiny flowers are Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)


Mourning Dove Feather


Oat Grass ~ a rather aggressive native grass


Fothergilla gardenii

 
Winterhur Viburnum


Callicarpa americana ~ Beautyberry


Aromatic Asters




Broomsedge Bluestem ~ Andropogon virginicus


A rabbit has been seen in here (with difficulty) on more than one occasion.




While we would like to give that force which is the cosmos, the galaxies, the solar systems and the planets the term nature, and specifically to our planet as Mother Nature; that force is not nourishing as a mother protecting her children.  That force could care less whether we live or perish, whether we prosper or decline, whether we are good or evil, whether or, whether or, etc., etc., etc.

Inescapably, we live in a world whose weather at times gives us peace, and other times hell, at times abundance and other times poverty, at times a good place to belong, and other times a bad place to belong, and on and on and on.  It is the nature of nature to exist not for us, but to exist as a nonbiased system that has no ties except to exist.  As much as we would like to believe differently, we have no control over any planet let alone our own Earth, and as much as I would like to believe I control my garden; that assumption is but a wispy myth.

I feel my failure of control when I am enslaved to the watering hose, the pickax, the trowel and spade, the endless weeding, the planting and replanting and replanting, the worry, the disappointment, the aches and pains, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth.  So when I say I wildlife garden with nature in mind, I really mean I garden to mimic nature, but fight nature quite a bit while it goes about its business of existing.

Is this logical?  Not really, but it is the nature of cities, towns and neighborhoods to believe nature is wrong in its handling of existence, and to create rules and regulations of how nature should have done it to begin with.  It is the nature of many humans to garden, and it is the nature of nature to alter our gardens back to the basics of existence.  It's a fight we will never win unless we burn down the Earth or bring on the great herbicidal flood.

Now I don't know about you, but a poisoned scorched Earth is not my ideal garden, so I think I would rather live with the weeds that nature just calls plants, and call it a day.  On that note, last year I decided to let the wild violets that everyone calls weeds that should be annulated in the gardens the go ahead to have a field day taking it over.

This August saw fritillary butterflies hanging around the violets, and after some research, I discovered violets are a host plant for their caterpillars.  The eggs are laid in the late summer, and when the tiny larvae hatch, they spends the winter under the leaf litter until spring when they will begin munching on the violets.  How cool is that!  I probably murdered a few eggs when I was placing flat rocks for stepping stones into the area, but I'll deal with that remorse, as it is the nature of nature to live and die with no rules attached.



According to the insects, the Swamp Sunflower is the place to be this week.


I'm pretty sure this is a type of Ichneumon Wasp ~ Mesostenus thoracious






A type of Hoverfly eating pollen.










I tell you, there's something wrong with that picture below.


Lacewing Bug Larvae ~ Also called the Trash Bug
(I wonder why?)
Took forever to figure out what this little guy was,
then an eternity to get the photos right.
I think that's a piece of my hair on the flower :`)






Wears a disguise of carcasses of past victims
and other pieces of organic debris.






Not being the richest kid on the block, one bird feeder is my limit.


I think this is Crocus speciosus Oxonian, a fall blooming crocus.


Yard appears postage stamp size, but is really postcard size :) 




42 comments:

  1. First what a beautiful garden you have!And so nice written by you!

    I think every species has its right and purpose in these world and good to see you take care of them all :)

    The little bird on the birdfeeder is it a Cockatiel?

    Nice post Yvonne!Glad you shareed it.Something to think about

    Anita

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    1. Thank you, Anita. The bird in the first photo is a Tufted Titmouse, and the bird in the second photo is a Black-capped Chickadee.

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  2. The fall color in your garden, a joy to see, is rare in my part of the country as we don't "do" frosts or the cold that comes with a real winter. I didn't realize that violets serve as hosts for gulf fritillary butterflies, which are common here too - I've seen them devour passionflower vines and attach their chrysalises there but now I'll have to check the violet foliage too.

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  3. I think the saffron crocus is an autumn crocus and very, very poisonous! Wow, the little lacewing larva looks like a monster?
    The bird seed has a great roof, which is very practical. Yes, I also think that insect on the yellow flowers is an ichneumon wasp! The goal of nature is life and survival through reproduction, the 'why' asks only man.

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    1. You forced me to do some research on my small crocus :) It was sold as a saffron crocus which also blooms in the fall, but the stamens aren't correct, so it's poisonous. After looking through many photos, I think it is Crocus speciosus Oxonian. Of course, it's still poisonous. I used to have a large group of them, but the dead leaves make a tangled covering on the ground that hinders wildflowers from growing, so I have been killing them off by cutting the leaves down in springtime.

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  4. I enjoyed this a great deal Yvonne. Your gardening style reminds me of my daughter’s .... and is the style I would do myself if we still gardened. Back in the day (what I call our previous life) before we retired and sold out to travel we did the traditional suburban gardening but we didn’t know any better. I wouldn’t worry now about what our neighbors would think and I would tell them that wildflowers belonged in the yard! (I would call them that instead of weeds!). But I am old enough now not to start over , so I’ll just go on admiring the gardening done the right way by smart and hardworking people like you and our daughter!

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  5. wow those are some impressive Autumn colours going on.

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  6. What beautiful cats, I am thrilled and the garden is sooooo beautiful.
    Greetings Eva

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  7. Colorfol, beautiful and special photos! And beautiful cats :)

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  8. Hello,

    Your garden looks lovely. I like the swamp sunflowers, they are so bright and pretty. The trash bug is strange looking. Love the sweet Titmouse. A good part of our yard has been "wild" for years. Take care, enjoy your day!

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  9. ...I was in the landscape/nursery business for 50 years before I retired. It's a bit presumptuous to think that we can match nature's beauty. I like your choice of plants, they aren't what are "popular" today!

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  10. You certainly have a BEAUTIFUL garden! These photos are such a joy to see!
    Thank you for brightening my day, Yvonne!

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  11. If I have one great mental block as it concerns natural history (I am sure I have many) it is identifying an ichneumon wasp. Even when I am sure I am not quite sure! I don't know if you have read "The Snoring Bird" by Berndt Heinrich, but I highly recommend it. His father lived an entire life obsessed by ichneumons.

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  12. I so enjoyed your autumn photos. The fall colors are wonderful and the wild Senna Seed Heads are very interesting and unusual. It's nice to take in the beauty of nature!

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  13. What a gorgeous assortment of autumn beauty! I suppose our choices of what we like and don't like makes us gardeners whether we want to be or not!

    Many thanks for your link at 'My Corner of the World' this week !!

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  14. Nature in all her splendor captured so well ~ great post ^_^

    Live each moment with love,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  15. I'm pleased I stopped by your blog today.
    I enjoyed seeing your garden, very nice photographs, thank you.

    All the best Jan

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  16. Dear Yvonne,
    you are right, we gardeners cannot win the “fight” against nature, we can only “contain” it a little / put it in its place. And we can love ist. Then a BEAUTIFUL and IMPORTANT garden is created. One who is there for animals and for the soul. Your garden is definitely!
    Thanks for your comment to me. You wrote: “Nina's gaze is so intense, like she can see right through a person.” I think Nina can actually do that. She is a very wise cat (17 years old). She is only impatient with the "young boy" Maxwell (16 years ;-)). We hoped she would adopt him, but IF it was an adoption, then she is not a nice and loving adoptive mother ;-)
    But both cats are very gentle and very nice to us humans :-)
    Hugs Traude
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2020/10/ausflug-nach-bad-ischl-und-besuch-der.html

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  17. I love the rain of cats and dogs! Great post full of fall beauty. Thanks for your blog visit.

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  18. Your photos are beautiful Yvonne, coming from the southern hemisphere I am not familiar with a lot of your plants but I love the swamp sunflower, such a lovely colour. We have a native violet that just appears and is a great ground cover, bonus flowers too! Your bird feeder is great I have not seen one before with the dome cover. Beautiful photos of your plants and cats.

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    1. While the bird feeder cover comes separately, it is a must in my yard. It's only partially effective as a deterrent for wet seeds, but it works well to keep the feeding birds safe from hawks.

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  19. Nature abounds in fascinating beauty that you have captured so beautifully in pictures and words.

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  20. What a beautiful garden you have, Yvonne, and your photos are beautiful. I saw lots of hints of autumn in the foliage. I've read the late season crocuses stamens are the source of saffron. I also enjoy learning about insects that I see in my garden-- some are helpful and sadly many are not.

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    1. While I was looking up the ID of my crocus, it said if you didn't buy the saffron crocus bulbs yourself, then don't collect the saffron, as all other fall crocuses are very poisonous. The stamens on mine are not the same as the saffron crocus stamens, so mine are poisonous. It's been a learning process adjusting to the insects my garden attracts. Everyone's got to eat, so I try to leave mine alone unless they want a chunk of me :)

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  21. Hello. You have so beautiful garden. Great photos.

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  22. Hello Yvonne,
    Lovely post, your garden looks beautiful. Great captures of the fall colors, insects and pretty birds. I love the Beautyberry and the Asters. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your day. Happy weekend to you!

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  23. Beautiful images of nature. Have you ever shared posts with Nature notes? It’s ramblingwoods2.com. I think this post would be perfect there. The oat grass is beautiful.

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  24. Nice garden photos!

    be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  25. I love the end of summer seeds and berries...and neat seed pods! You've taken some amazing photos this week. Lots of beauty where you live!

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  26. Beautiful warm colors of the season.
    Happy Fall to you. :)

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  27. Your autumn garden has so much color! Great photos. :)

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  28. OMG Yvonne, your rabbit hole made me dizzy lol...beautiful photos! I love the look of the wild senna seeds. Your photos are lovely, that yellow flowers are so beautiful. I wish I could put up a bird feeder, but it may attract wildlife I don't want around here!

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  29. What a beautiful garden you have. And you know the full names of so many plants flowers and insects. Lovely colorful photos too.

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  30. Fantastic photos Yvonne, stick to all natures beauty.

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  31. Nature rewards you with her beauty. I love your garden and take on it. Beautiful photos and thank you for sharing.
    Have a wonderful day.

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  32. it is raining cats and dogs! Seems like it has been wet in your area. :)
    Great shots of your wildlife, great and small :)

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  33. lots of lovely images you shared. you only need one bird feeder, yours seems adequate!!

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  34. wonderful pictures
    I love them all
    and your garden ist pretty ;)
    greetings
    Rosi

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  35. That's a colorful walk around your yard Yvonne. A feeder is good enough to let the birdies munch and enjoy some pretty sightings.

    Nature is fair to all and in her balancing act there would be low tide for some & high tide for some..... Also the balance of the scale keeps changing, giving everyone a fair chance. Fantastic thought shared ✨

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