Gardening – Page 5 – Brandon Moeller

Visitor update

Some doves have been eyeing the backyard, probably for a nest. We've had to shoo them away from the porch ceiling fan a few times already.

The toad was in my shoe on Sunday when I was about to mow the lawn. He didn't like being disturbed.

Do you see anything?

Here he is, one of the baby mockingbirds was on the pot - containing the small zinnia that just won't grow - next to the shed on Sunday morning.

I snuck around and shot this from the other angle.

Another mockingbird baby was hiding in the tree. Though once I started to mow on Sunday, they all started to fly away. A little encouragement goes a long way.

Random wasp

Meet the baby (birds)

115_1832-800 — Baby bird in the tree

115_1848-800 — I think this is the mother bird

115_1840-800 — Another shot of the mother bird

115_1845-800 — She did not like me taking the baby birds' photos.

115_1851-800 — Here's the other baby I found in Kim's knockout rose bush.

115_1860-800 — This is the father bird, I think.

115_1858-800 — The dad is, uh, pretty ugly.

115_1869-800 — This is the bird family's biggest fan.

Bugs for babies

Carnation! Last year, I bought some carnation seeds in the spring and tried to get them going one of the flowerbeds ... to no avail. But the one I kept in a container had its first big bloom today.

The cardinal vine began blooming a couple of weeks ago.

The pink hibiscus opened for the first time this season today.

The pink and white gerbera daisy.

I love this photo.

115_1673-800 — There's a mockingbird nest in our tree in the backyard. Here's a photo of the two parents, waiting until I'm not looking, so they can go and feed the babies. Bugs.

See more photos in the Gardening 2012 album.

Convolvulus

115_1550-800 — The cosmos have started to bloom. But was this the red crest cosmos from Baker Creek, or the two different varieties of yellow-orange cosmos from different companies purchased last year? Once I plant the seedlings in the beds, I'm not usually obsessed with keeping them labeled, thus this happens.

The front yard Betty Prior rose.

The better bush burpee tomato is starting to fruit. It's the only tomato I'm growing this year. In a container.

115_1524-800 — The convolvulus returns for a second season. I need to learn how to save this seed.

Yellow miniature rose

The yellow miniature rose bloomed again. It was one of those grocery store roses that Kim bought for me, I believe for Valentine's Day. It struggled indoors, so I potted it up and put it out.

IMG_3364-800 — Red petunias in the front yard

IMG_3354-800 — Kim's yellow rose.

IMG_3336-800 — Also in the front yard. What is this called? I need to chop down an invasive bush-tree that is overshadowing this flowering-grass-like-plant.

Blackberries are forming

IMG_3202-800 — These were flowers. Now they're turning into blackberries. In the backyard.

IMG_3136-800 — Morning glory blooms, gotta catch 'em early - they reseeded from last year and are very invasive. But worth it.

IMG_2946-800 — The 4 o'clocks also need to be seen early in the morning. They bloom at night and stay open only for a little time, they fall off at about 9 a.m.

IMG_3086-800 — The California Giant zinnias that reseeded itself has also started blooming. So far, I've had two pink ones and one orange one.

See more photos from the Gardening 2012 album.

Toad again