Still loving some of the surprises that show up in our yard that previous owners planted. We're also enjoying planting native plants ourselves! Not only do native plants require little maintenance, but the pollinators love them and they improve air quality whereas non-natives don't. Win-Win!
June 1:
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| Eight-Spotted Forester Moth |
June 2:
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| love the new blooms of our Rose of Sharon, aka: Common Hibiscus, aka: Althea |
Our nextdoor neighbor, Deanna, who has a yard to die for , told me you can just stick a branch from this tree in the dirt and it'll grow another tree!
June 3:
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| love the look of the tropical hibiscus from Lowe's |
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| I'd never had one until now. It's growing well. |
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| Jerri sent this Lobelia home with me from Rogers. Really thought it was a goner when we got here with it. But it's bouncing back. |
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| I think we're in a zone where this plant could be annual or perennial We shall see. |
June 4:
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| Rose of Sharon |
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| Looks like "doubles" |
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| Nothing in the world smells any better than Gardenias |
June 7:
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| Purple Coneflower that David chose at the native plant sale |
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| our budding "grass" (story below) |
June 10:
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| profile of a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird on our pine tree |
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| Almost center, you can see her sipping nectar from our Rose of Sharon (Althea, Common Hibiscus) |
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| on hummingbird feeder -- a couple of them come around several times a day |
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| Near the bottom, you can see her hitting the flowers in my hanging basket. They love tubular flowers. |
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| And evidently they even like the tropical hibiscus |
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| these pine needles are tougher than they look |
June 14:
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| this little Sharpsepal Beardtongue was nearly dead after I transplanted it from a pot to the yard about a month ago |
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| But it has new life and seems to be thriving (native) |
June 15:
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| Love seeing the male Red-Bellied Woodpecker (and sometimes the female) on our suet feeder. The Common Hibiscus Tree (Althea) provides some good nectar and shade for several birds and pollinators. The Ruby-throated hummers love it. |
June 27:
Funny story about these Orange Day Lillies. We had a ton of what I thought was ornamental grass around one of our pine trees. Since I'm trying to plant as many natives as possible, and have a small yard, I dug most of it up and Bill and Pam took it. Then I started noticing buds. But, still glad I thinned it out! During out 2 week trip to CO, our great nephew James Goff watered our flowers for us. We came home to some great new blooms!
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| Sharpsepal Beardtongue -- going strong |
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| Purple Coneflower |
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| Catnip or Cat Mint |
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| cats actually do love it, but it also fends off mosquitoes |
