six on Saturday, 14 October 2023

Today’s six come from a drought plagued and slightly neglected garden. I don’t have an irrigation system, other than a link-several-hoses-together and drag them up the hill system. So, anything that is not close to the house has to be self-sufficient. Here, then are a few natives that had the fortitude to hang on and two others fortunate to live by the house and near the hose.

1. I’m going to start, though, with the brightest thing in the garden these days–the tree of life wind spinner in the featured photo. Nothing extraordinary here. Just something fascinating to watch as I look outside from my desk. And, when everything else is crispy dry and dying, the movement and flashing color is a welcomed distraction.

2 and 3 are the natives wildflowers that are drought tolerant. The first below is narrowleaf silkgreass (Pityopsis graminifolia), a Southeastern US native. It has an attractive, slender silvery leaf and a delicate yellow flower. The next two photos are of white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima). Supposedly, a poultice made from the plant’s root is a cure for snake bites. But, it is not a plant to be handled lightly (neither are several Alabama snakes to be handled lightly) . It also contains a toxin that is poisonous to livestock. The tiny star-like white flower clusters are attractive though.

4. Lantana, which is doing quite well this year grows next to the house and gets cared for regularly. There are a few other flower colors (yellow and lavender shaded) in this bed, but the particular orange plant pictured below has been the most vigorous. Generally considered an annual in this area, some plants do manage to survive over the winter. In some parts of the US and the world, lantana can even be an invasive, such as in California, Florida, Hawaii, Texas, eastern Australia, and the Galapagos Islands.

5. One of my favorites grows next to the lantana in the narrow front planting strip—Japanese anemone. Actually it grows so well there that I am going to have to thin it out soon or I’ll have to consider it invasive. Unfortunately this is the only area that I have been able to cultivate it so successfully. Regardless, the photo below shows its last hurrah this season.

6. This final entry is a sad one. The Kerria japonica I planted last spring had been doing well, even blooming unexpectedly in its first year But some critter has found it to be tasty and chewed off all of its broadly branching stems. The cuts are amazingly clean–no crushing, just smooth slices as though with sharp pruners. My guess is that deer are the culprits. Certainly no armadillo is standing up on his back legs to accomplish this destruction. I sincerely hope the kerria will branch out again in the spring.

That closes out my six for this Saturday. Readers seeking more garden gatherings of six interesting images are encouraged to visit Jim Stephens’  Garden Ruminations, to enjoy his garden and to find links to other gardens and guidelines for joining in the weekly sharing.