Butterfly on Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea

one warm and sunny moment in our Rose Garden this summer...

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Flowering crabapple and Indigo Bunting at Havenwood

 Pretty photos of our old crabapple trees in the rain... and with a vibrant winged visitor...

The First Robins of Spring...

An American robin in our crabapple tree this morning.

This morning when I got up, the temperature was -9 degrees F (-22 C). I was starting to feel a bit of winter discouragement, especially with another snow storm forecast for Sunday. But then a bit of hope dawn here at Havenwood...

"There are robins! Robins!!!" she shouted.

We all ran to look out the window to see six little fluffed out robins hoping around our tree.

"That means spring!"  Oh yes, it does.

A Pileated Woodpecker Visit

Look up for the bright patch of red...

We are very happy to have a large section of woodland on our new property, and we have already had some exciting visitors. Twice we have spotted a male pileated woodpecker in our trees looking for a snack. Of course the first sign is never by sight, but a loud thumping sound...

A munching bunny story...

I am pleased to feature a story on WMG today written by my hubby, James! You will soon see where he got his inspiration when you read the introduction. Read the rest over at the parenting site that he writes for regularly, the Story Warren.

In a cozy hole in a big old garden behind a big old house lived the most excited young rabbit in the world. His name was Smudge, and he was not born in the big old garden, which is why he was so excited to live there now.

Smudge was born several doors up the street, where the lawn was specially treated to be sure nothing grew but grass. There was little to eat there, and Smudge and all his brothers and sisters were sent away as soon as they could hop, to find places for themselves in the wide world.

Read more here >>

Have a great weekend!
~Julie

Visit to Phipps Conservatory's Summer Show 2013

Glass passion flower at Phipps Conservatory

We were visiting at Phipps Conservatory after my RHS test in June, and were wowed by some of their pretty glass flower sculptures for the summer show.

I posted the enormous glass waterlilies last week. Here are a few more highlights from our visit.

Hello Mr. Snapping Turtle

On a walk a few weeks ago, thought I spied a new lawn ornament near one of my neighbor's sidewalks - and then it looked at me. It's grey color just matched the concrete so perfectly. Such a large snapping turtle is so rare to see at all! Let alone right in the middle of a large neighborhood. There is a bit of wetland just around the corner, so perhaps he was trying for a relocation. 

Our Red-Bellied Woodpecker

I remember the excitement when we first heard that usual call. Then we were stunned by his brilliant red cap. He continued to come once every couple of months, eating the suet and sunflower seeds that we provided for all of our birds. It was always fun to see him swooping in to snack on the refreshments.

This fall, at least two years after spying his first visit, he has become a regular visitor. A daily regular.

Video: Red-Bellied Woodpecker at Gilmore Gardens

(click here to view from email)

Red-bellied Woodpeckers,  so called for the small rusty patch underneath, live all over the eastern US in wooded areas.

Bees on a 'Frosty Morn'

 Sedum 'Frosty Morn' that is.

See the plant feature for Sedum 'Frosty Morn' from last week. 

Foxglove Surprise!

Being a creature of habit,  my usual walk around the garden almost always means:  
a start at the gate to the Shade Path, walking toward the Circle Lawn and Cherry Corner, puttering along the Front Walk, circling around the Hill Garden, tramping along the front sidewalk where I can appreciate the Front Woodland, rounding the corner (Cherry C. again from the other side) and then savoring the lower view of the Shade Path from the sidewalk. To the right at this point is the site of my new planting area (new gardens are the most exciting adventures!).

One day last week while taking this lovely stroll, I was totally surprised to find not just one blooming straggler, but three large groups of yellow perennial foxgloves (Digitalis grandiflora). After their terrific bloom in June, I always cut them back to the first set of leaves so that the new little flower side-shoots can have a chance to bloom, though this is often with mixed results (from October 2010).  This year, the groups that receive a bit more sun near the Circle Lawn are all in their glory again.

Speechless delight! well... maybe verbose delight. And the bees were taking it all in too.

Yellow foxgloves and dark-leaved begonias under-planted with Sedum 'Acre' and backed by self-sown native flat-topped aster (Doellingeria unbellata).

Bumble bee admiring #1

Bumble bee sniffing #2

Bumble Bee pushing past the petals #3

Bumble Bee hiding in #4

Lovely winged ballet

I love the yellow with the dark pink together!

Bottoms up :)

Check back on the Thursday of this week for a full view of the Shade Path for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day!

Hummingbird Moth

This Hemaris moth is known as a Hummingbird moth or Clearwing moth in the US (or a Bee Hawk-Moth in Britian).  There are four varieties that fly in North and South America and three in Europe.

They are so amusing to watch as they dive about because they move just like a hummingbird, hence their common name.

I first remember seeing them when I worked at the local nursery (at which I now just spend money instead of earning it).  They would hover all around the butterfly bushes (Buddleia hyb.).  I am pleased that they have visited us in our Driveway Garden the last couple of years to drink from our butterfly bush. They like to be out in the heat of the day with the butterflies.

If you have never seen one of these moths fly and are curious about it, here is a short video clip I found.

Perhaps now you will see one this summer too!

Flying Squirrely Night Visitor

In a wonderful "wife" moment last evening, my husband and I were sitting out on our Patio enjoying some hot tea in our cooler weather. After a full day of being "mother" by chasing, reading, feeding, cleaning (always feeding then cleaning), coloring, snuggling, it was a great rest. (We had also squeezed in a little "gardener" with a quick trip to the small local nursery after dinner to grab some plants. Sorry we missed you, Joel!)

So, we are enjoying our after dark tea and conversation, when hubby spots a little creature making leaps to our bird feeder. It is so dark that it is difficult to see anything but its outline, and that is brief because it is so quick!  I snuck inside to get my camera, and the flash reveled our visitor - a flying squirrel right in the middle of town!

I lightened these photos a little so they could be seen better.

We watched him jump back and forth to the feeder in shadow-form for about twenty minutes. It was not until I snapped a picture between his jumps that we knew he was staying in the front of the tree to look at us. Sorry for the lack of focus on the next couple of photos; rather tough in the dark.

You can see his little pouchy "wings".

And with a little teamwork, we managed to shine a flashlight and get a little video clip of him jumping to the feeder to show our kids (and you all of course). 

Flying Squirrel at the Bird Feeder

(If you are reading this on email, you will need to go to Wife, Mother, Gardener to view the video.)

Great fun on a Thursday night!
Hope you are able to enjoy a few more magical moments this summer!!

Much more wildlife this year...

After 3 years of planting, planting, planting, we are starting to see an influx of new wildlife this summer. We have seen our first immature downy woodpecker, an immature nuthatch, a chipmunk... in addition to the squirrels, and all of the birds who frequent the feeders already (goldfinches being my favorite).

But I had wanted to share the cutest, fuzziest new babies around here so far this year...

I found them while cleaning up forget-me-not foliage from our spring froth in the Front Woodland, which is surrounded on all sides by road and sidewalk.

Once they were hoping around away from their mother with eyes wide, they took a trip to a meadow by a stream.  (There was a whole trying-to-catch-their-mama saga that occurred, to no success.) Hoping they are enjoying a little more safe space, away from the roads.