Spiderwort

 Spiderwort 'Purple' burst into blooms this week! It's a monster.

March 2012 in our Wildscape

See what rain can do! Turn our Wildscape GREEN!

Flame acanthus for Steph

Here's our flame acanthus, which we planted in 2006 or '07. If I remember right, we bought it as a bedding plant in a 4-inch pot. "Yeah, right, this little thing gets BIG," I probably thought to myself. Well, BELIEVE THOSE TAGS that come with plants because this little guy DID grow bigger! It blooms prolifically. Flame acanthus is also a host plant for crimson patch butterflies. We planted a second acanthus in a front flower bed last year.

Our first martin!

Yesterday after church, we decided it'd be a good time to take down the martin house and clean out the sparrow nests. As James was easing down the pole, a pair of martins showed up! I started dancing! They both lit on the electric lines and waited for us to finish. However, you know how it goes when you're trying to rush. Things don't go well! We hurriedly pulled out the one sparrow nest, then James worked to get the house back up. But it wouldn't cooperate. The martin couple ended up leaving. Sniff. But I decided to weed in the nearby oak motte in hopes that I might hear a martin return. They didn't, though I did hear some off in the distance.

After supper, we loaded up lawn chairs and parked outside to watch the house for any activity. Lo and behold, a few martins breezed over, and one flew up to a porch. But it didn't stay. Sniff. I was ready to give up. In the meantime, our neighbor's son, Harold, ambled over, and we all chatted. A good 10 or 15 minutes later, a martin showed up again! This time, he popped right into a compartment. For a while, we could see his head, sticking out through the entrance. Then he went to bed.

Jubilation at the Pink House! 

James called my mother, and I called some other friends. You'd think we were having our first baby together! (Not ever gonna happen, folks, we're OLD.) 

This morning before sunrise, James and I trooped back outside with our chairs and coffee mugs. Patiently, we waited. I nearly gave up (like I wanted to last night). But around 7:30 or so, he stuck his head out.Then he climbed onto the porch. A minute or so later, he shot off and disappeared into the southern sky. Headed for the Blanco River, probably.


I blew up the image above, and I do believe we had a martin last night. As far as I know, OUR FIRST EVER! After four years of waiting! Stay tuned!

After the rains, the birds SING

Thunder woke me up yesterday morning. I happened to open the front door, and OH MY the birds were singing singing singing! So I got James' Kodak and recorded the symphony. I believe it was shortly around 6:30 or so. You can even hear some thunder.

Then I recorded the singing from our back door...

 Half an hour or so later, I recorded from the back door again. This time, the phoebe has joined the chirping.

One more recording later in the morning. I was also trying to video our robins... I believe that's one singing the loudest.

Some basic advice on butterfly gardening

A few days ago, a friend in Austin e-mailed and asked if I could suggest the names of some native plants that she could plant for a butterfly garden. "This is a new project for me so I'll be learning as I go," Ana wrote. "Any info or resources you can provide is much appreciated."

After I sent her my thoughts on plants, I thought why not share my suggestions online? 

So, OK, here goes:

Right off the bat, I'd highly recommend Greg's blue mistflower. It's a perennial that dies back and spreads by the roots. Queens and monarchs LOVE to nectar on the blooms. As a companion, plant butterfly weed as a host plant for the caterpillars.

For a fall butterfly attractor, I'd suggest fragrant mistflower, which grows into a shrub.

The native Texas lantana is another good one.

Passionflower vines host the caterpillars of the Gulf fritillary. 

Flame acanthus (loved by hummingbirds) host the caterpillars of crimson patch and Texan crescent.

Dill and rue host black swallowtail caterpillars.

Pipevine (we bought some at John Dromgoole's Natural Gardener in Austin) host pipevine swallowtail caterpillars (although we haven't gotten any yet...the nursery has a butterfly garden, and there were LOTS of caterpillars on their pipevine).

Turk's cap

Pentas

Frostweed

Zinnias

   For further reading, I'd suggest these reference books:

Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America, Jim P. Brock & Kenn Kaufman

Caterpillars of Eastern North American, David L. Wagner, Princeton University Press.

The Life Cycles of Butterflies, Judy Burris & Wayne Richards, Storey Publishing.

Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region, Sally Wasowski and Andy Wasowski, Taylor Trade Publishing.

 

Robins everywhere!

Okay, just so we're clear–I do NOT claim to be a videographer of any kind! 

That said, above is a brief clip I recorded...or tried to record (using a small Kodak camera)...of a rather large contingency of robins that stopped by our Wildscape this morning. James and I estimated somewhere between 40 and 50, which is huge for us. We may have six tops but usually just two or three at a time. But these guys were everywhere–in the Meadow, the back yard and some in the front. In the recording, you can also hear the wonderful, blessed rain falling and other birds calling, like a white-winged dove.