six on Saturday, 11 January 2020

After an extended holiday break of two months, it’s good to return to After Eden by starting 2020 out with a “six on Saturday” entry.  As far as the garden goes, I’ve spent most of the intervening time working with leaves, or more accurately against leaves, mulching many for use in the shade beds in the wooded part of the lot and around the trees in the garden, and mulching others in place to enrich the lawn.  Before going on to my six, though, I want to remind readers to visit the site of The Propagator and follow links to other gardens and to guidelines for taking part themselves.

1. The feature image is of delicate fern moss, or Thuidium delicatulum. In the brown winter days of the hill leading down to the lake, its bright green color and delicate structure growing on the limestone stands out. In the summer it loses its rich color, flattens out, and fades from notice—much like lichen on the rocks. The particular rock formation pictured here is a favored place of mine.  It is on the far east line of the lot, on a basically untouched hillside.  I hope one day to create a better path to it, clear a little around it, and turn it into a quiet overlook to the lake.

2. This first bud of a pink Camellia sasanqua, although as Southerners would say, rather puny, promises a good flowering this year. It is in a very shady spot, so I’m glad to see the abundance of buds.

3. These daffodils are the first to break though the fallen leaves in the wooded area, which should see numerous clumps of green and yellow in a few weeks.

4. Several weeks ago I purchased four Double Knock Out Red Roses at a considerable discount from Home Depot. They were in dried out and weedy pots. They had been rather harshly pruned.  But, they were calling my name with the little bit of life they had left in them.  To date, they seem to be recovering.  If our winter remains mild, maybe they’ll make a good showing in the spring.

5. The photo below illustrates a piece of practical wisdom picked up at a recent lecture on native plants and birds.  Birds need places to perch while checking out a feeder or waiting for a turn at the seed.  I’ve always had water and shrubs for safety near my shepherd’s hook feeders; however, I never thought to provide for an easy next-in-line landing place.   All it took was attaching a narrow branching limb to the shepherd’s hook to furnish a safe, convenient resting place.  The birds—even the rather pushy cardinals—take advantage of it.  Especially when the red-bellied woodpecker arrives for a snack.

6. Finally, I offer proof that the raccoon is still around, although I have not seen him or her except once at night in the past several weeks.