Wildlife Wednesday June 2017

With a series of rainy days on the horizon during May I spent a lot of gardening time dividing and transplanting perennials plus adding plants to fill in holes left by too much rain and winter freezes.  With less time behind the camera I still found fun visitors to feature on Wildlife Wednesday which is hosted by Tina at "My Gardener Says..." on the first Wednesday of each month.

I've always enjoyed and featured on Wildlife Wednesday an abundance of butterflies in the spring garden so one of the big surprises this year was the small number of butterfly visitors.  Whether it was the rain or the plants were slow to bloom I can't be sure so I'll wait for the fall migration to bring them back this way.

Hummingbirds have kept me entertained in the interim.  Interesting to note the variety of plants they like.  

Salvia darcyi or Mexican Salvia with its long-lasting bright red tubular blooms is quite popular.

Aniscanthus wrightii or Flame Acanthus is a well-known Hummingbird favorite.  As a native plant it is easy to grow but you'll need plenty of space or be prepared to remove seedlings and give it a major cutback twice a year.

Melochia tomentosa or Pyramid Bush is another irresistible draw for hummingbirds in the garden.  This local native plant loves hot, dry, rocky slopes so it's ridiculously easy for a plant that sports such striking blooms.

GIF for June, frenetic hummer!

Though I have cut way back on feeding birds, they still find plenty of seeds from spring wildflowers or like this female Tufted Titmouse awaiting ripening grapes from the vines climbing the fence.

I was delighted to find Lesser Goldfinches having a field day in the Zexmenia (Wedelia acapulcensis).  You can just see three of them since the plant is at the far back corner of the garden and getting closer would have meant chasing them away.

Good to see the birds have found plenty to eat in the garden without supplemental food.

From time to time Neal joins in with a contribution from the golf course where he spends quite a bit of time.  His idea of wildlife in the "garden" is this hawk taking water from rain runoff on a fairway.  Probably a Broad Winged hawk which is known to frequent our area.

Only 15 feet away....must really want that water!

Amazing how close he could get to this beautiful bird!

Bucks have been kicked out of the herd during fawn season and band together in "bachelor herds" until mating season comes around again.

Deer herds migrate up and down the neighborhood along the creek  During May a small bachelor herd foraged plants filled out by plenty of rain.

This guy has a flea problem.

Got it!

Again!

A couple more bachelors in the herd that visited during May.

Fenced out of the garden for three years now.  It works for me, not so much for the deer.

That's it for Wildlife Wednesday photos from May.  Be sure to check out other blogger's contributions along with Tina's impressive collection of garden birds this month at her Wildlife Wednesday post.

National Wildflower Week: The Zexmenia Project and a few other wildflowers

It's National Wildflower Week sponsored by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and I'm celebrating with a post on the latest wildflower project in my garden.  I call it the "Zexmenia Project".

About two years ago I planted a native Zexmenia in the circle garden.  Zexmenia is quite literally native to my neighborhood and I find it growing in many untended spots within walking distance so it was a natural choice for a native flowering plant in my garden.

Blooming almost non-stop through our hot summers, it was a big success.  It's a drought tough, heat tolerant, flowering plant and the deer do not even nibble on it.  The only deer damage is if they happen to step on it.

Celebrating Texas Native Plant Week in the garden

This week (October 14-20) is Texas Native Plant Week and I'm celebrating by highlighting native plants in my garden.

We learn over and over that "you can't fight Mother Nature".  Two years of drought and record heat here in San Antonio underscored the need to emphasize native plants in my gardens.  As you might expect, the Texas natives came through with flying colors while even many adapted plants gave up over the past couple years. 

Plants like Gregg's mistflower (Conoclinium greggii) have kept bees and butterflies busy all summer.

Watersaver Landscape Tour: Wildscape in Alamo Heights

Last Saturday I attended the Watersaver Landscape Tour sponsored by SAWS, our local water system.  Six San Antonio gardens were on the tour, including five residences and one community garden.

My favorite on the tour was the native plant garden in the Alamo Heights neighborhood northeast of downtown.  The house is located on a downslope away from the street which can provide unique challenges for gardeners. This homeowner created a very natural feel to the gardens along the street and driveway with a wide variety of plantings.  A garage was removed at street level and a circle drive added to allow plenty of room for plants at the top of the hill.

Ragna's Garden Part Two: Xeriscape Front Yard

My friend Ragna's Texas style cottage garden back yard was the subject for a recent post and her garden has so many unique features that it could not be covered in one posting.  Many of you have commented about how much you enjoyed seeing her back yard garden, this time I'm showcasing the front yard which is xeriscape, San Antonio style.  

Ragna and her husband Bob replaced their lawn with gravel mulch a few years ago.  After fifteen years of water restrictions and the last two years of drought, more and more San Antonians are going with similar low water use alternatives to the traditional lawn.  I personally find these yards are so much prettier and more inspiring than the dead brown lawns they replace.  That's certainly the case with this inviting front yard.

Wordless Wednesday: Wildflowers