Quothe the raven, "Whatever!"

About 30 years ago I was attacked by a crow while out on my morning run. For no apparent reason it swooped down and pecked me on the head. Since then, I'd become wary of crows, particularly when 50 or so (there must be a reason they call them a murder) would congregate out in front of the house terrorizing the neighborhood cats. Then one day Jorge, my ranch hand/builder/son, came home with a baby crow he had found in a field he was clearing at Cal Poly Pomona. He fed the little guy every hour, day and night. What dedication! This little bird was so enchanting, I have loved crows ever since. This is a photo of Dobie.

I now have a resident crow in my backyard. It uses the birdbath to wet its food. I've found all sorts of leftovers there...bits of hamburger bun, artichoke leaves, tiny eggs with the yoke picked out. After the new gravel path was installed a few weeks ago, the crow did a very funny little walkabout through the yard checking things over like the official building inspector.

Jorge and I miss Dobie. Every now and then we tell Dobie stories, like when he would unroll the toilet paper in the bathroom or steal and hide shiny objects in the oddest places. We hope he found himself a mate and imagine that he does a fly over occasionally to check up on us.

Japanese Maple Butterfly?

On my morning walkabout, I thought I had discovered a new species of pink butterfly resting on the Japanese maple. Closer inspection with a pair of specs perched on my nose revealed the true identity... Japanese maple seeds!

Bluejay Takes the Plunge

On a summery spring day in Fullerton (my air conditioner kicked on about 4:30) the newest avian member of my enclave finally stood still long enough for me to snap his photo. I believe he and a partner are building a nest in my Eugenias (they're HUGE) at the back of the property. He and the hummingbirds have come to some sort of agreement on the rights to this territory... They get the Salvia Leucantha, he gets the bugs. The poor sparrows have to wait for their bath until Jay is otherwise occupato.

I Know, I Know. But they are just so fabulous.

Nasturtiums fill my garden this time of year. I planted the first seeds several years ago and they just keep reseeding and hybridizing themselves each year. Most revert back to the basic orange and yellow according to Jorge. But in a thorough inspection today, I found some wonderful variants. The top left is a peach colored variety I planted late last fall. All the others are just offspring of seed planted long ago.







The rusty burgundy colored on the right was tucked in with some solid bright orange.












This lemony yellow nasturtium was growing amidst the succulent and cactus patch. The dark markings are nearly black.









The petals on this variegated flower are smaller than some of the other flowers, giving them a more exploded feel. Also there is no throat on this flower. Maybe it's sterile?








This one was tucked amongst some bright orange blossoms that blanket the rapheolepsis in the front of the house. There are hints of some shimmery purple on this flower in the darkened areas on the lower three petals. Gorgeous!






Once planted the seeds seem to go everywhere...in pots, under every shrub, in every flower bed. Nature creates a supersufficiency. Come spring the riot of orange, yellow, red and green billow out of every imaginable space, blanket the shrubbery and fill in the gaps in the ground covers until the summer perennials take over.







And, they are edible!

For more info, see my previous post:
Plant Nasturtiums for Chaos and Color

The Madame

Madame Alfred Carrier is a noisette rose dated 1897. It was raised by Joseph Schwartz of Lyon, France but its parentage is unknown. The Madame was the wife of a rose lover from the province of Dauphine. This climbing rose was very popular during the Victorian era for it's beautiful fragrance, form and repeating blooms.
Source:
Olympia Rose Society, Centennial Garden Visitors Guide www.olyrose.org

I've seen references to the Madame from all over the country on various web pages. She seems to thrive everywhere roses grow. She's a hardy girl, fast growing, relatively disease free, free blooming, perfumed and ready for guests from early April through January here in Fullerton. Unlike the more common Cecil Bruener whose flower is similarly colored but much smaller, the Madame has few thorns by comparison.

I planted her in her present location about 5 years ago. The location gets shade from ground level to about 4 ' up during the winter months, so the lower canes are exposed without much foliage or flowers. This allows for some great under-plantings of shade plants and a birdbath and sculpture. I've trained her on a couple of Monet Arches from Smith and Hawkin. Pruning in January is pretty much a several hour job involving ladders, leather gloves and some ticked off hummingbirds. I pick off all the leaves and trim back the weak canes, leaving much of the height. I sprayed with dormancy spray this year and gave it a systemic fertilizer about two weeks after pruning. Five weeks ago, I gave it an epsom salt dump. (1/2 cup epsom salt to 1 gallon of water.) The result is stunning. And the hummingbirds are once again happy.