Summer Happenings

BY SKEETER

 Just popping in today to say hey! It has been a different kind of summer here in my GEORGIA GARDENS this year. Plenty Too Much rain has fallen upon us, temps lower then normal. But as normal, the humidity has been really high keeping me mostly out of the gardens. But I am out there when I see a break in the humidity. The handy beach umbrella keeps the shade upon my body to assist in keeping me cooler as I pluck weeds. The old Christmas rug, keeps my bum and knees happier!

 The Saint presented me with a new Weed Eater! Have never had a straight poled one before so it has been a challenge getting the hang of this model.

 The Elephant Ears continue to grow larger and larger with the plentiful rain falls.

 We checked out the flooded Savannah River and spotted these beautiful plants amongst the water overflow.

 Zooming in closer, I see some sort of Hibiscus maybe?

 Of course I had to zoom into a bug eaten bloom! This happens when one cannot see the photo on the camera with full sunlight. ha.

 This Heron was enjoying the flooded area.

 I made a trek home to Tennessee to help my mom celebrate her Birthday! While there I enjoyed the deer that come into their yard each evening for snacks.

 My parents and I enjoyed driving over this bridge. You just do not see many bridges as this anymore. My mom was a bit upset that I snapped this photo while driving. Sorry to scare ya mom but the conversation amongst you, dad and I was priceless...

 I made a trek to the New Tiger Gardens and enjoyed some time relaxing by the pond with Tina and Farmer Fixit!

 Their pond is full of wonderful things such as this frog!

 And this one too as well as many more. They were not happy to have us interlopers near their home.

 A dragonfly posed for a little photo op as well.

 Back home in Georgia, I have enjoyed the window Hummingbird feeder immensely this summer. I have it on the window by the computer and the fur-baby's and I  get a kick out of observing them having a sip. The blue in the background is the pool which has been an asset this summer as well.

 We have found a few Geo-Caches when the humidity was not so brutal. Along the way we spotted this wild grape vine.

 Full of Muscadine's just waiting for the pickings.

 Don't know why we did not pick one and give it a try, Duh.

 We have spotted lots of wildflowers while out geo-caching as well.

 Purple and Yellow mingling together.

 Another beautiful wildflower along a dirt road.

Love the cluster of tiny blooms.

And we have also enjoyed some time on our boat at the lake with a full pool for a change! This about sums up our SUMMER HAPPENINGS, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Green Dragon

It has now been over six months since Farmer Fix-it and I purchased our nearly 60 acres of paradise in the country. Little did I know at the time how many natural treasures we would find both growing and living on the land. One such treasure is this Green Dragon, aka Arisaema draconitium. 

I consider this wildflower to be a treasure because it is native and growing naturally--without any help from me or anyone else. It has found its perfect growing spot all on its own and is thriving. Native plants are wonderful in the garden but little did I know just how wonderful they are growing in the wild in their natural habitat. Does that make sense? I hope so!

We discovered these two stems of the green dragon growing near our stream back in early June. We happened to be on an old logging road that is on our property doing some clearing when I literally bumped into this plant. As in I backed the trailer over it. Fortunately, the plant was not too badly damaged and still flowered and set seed. I will have to be much more careful in the future. In the heat of clearing twenty plus years of growth one gets a bit determined to clear everything, even if that means taking out some desirable native plants. I am now slowing down a bit and rethinking just how much I wish to disturb the property. We do still need to clear the sassafras, persimmons, and PESKY sumac, but I'd like to do it in a manner that preserves the native grasses such as Little Bluestem, American Columbo, and all the other wildflowers growing out there on the property. It is a fine line between clearing and disturbing I tell you. Farmer Fix-it and I are getting quite an education. I think it is important to keep the land cleared where it has already been cleared, yet, I wish to maintain the delicate balance established by the pioneering species that moved in once the previous owner had the land cleared with a bulldozer. This means the trees will have to go and I will have to take care of the undergrowth and grasses that provide shelter and nourishment for the local fauna such as grouse, deer, and woodland birds. It is a long process and I'll post on it as I am able to.

The two stems of our green dragon each had a flower spathe. The flower is similar to a Jack in the Pulpit flower. It is not a significant flower at all but kind of cool.

July 21, 2013
Once the flower was pollinated it began turning into a wand that had a bunch of berries on the end of it. This is what the bloom looked like on July 21st.

 August 13, 2013
Just over one month later the berries started turning a brilliant red orange. Now the plant is a little more noticeable in its natural environment. The actual plant is going dormant while these berries are taking over. Our green dragon is growing on the edge of woods at the bottom of a very long hill. The soil is quite acid and moist due to runoff from the hill and from the nearby stream. Our soil is also full of clay and retains water quite well. In a cultivated garden this plant would probably work well in a rain garden but in the wild it is quite rare and, as with most wildflowers, should be left alone. I will certainly not try to move my wildflower and will enjoy it growing in its natural environment....


3 September 2013
in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden