Author: LAH

Posted on in Birds

Family Birds

broad-tail-hummingbird-on-nest_bcnc_lah_6418If Spring brings courting birds, claiming territories and wooing mates with beautiful songs, July is the month of nestlings. Nature, in her efforts to reproduce herself, takes advantage of the abundance of food produced by a fruitful summer. A recent trip to the southwest parts of El Paso county (Colorado) confirmed that this has been a fruitful summer indeed. Everywhere we looked yielded an abundance of hungry nestlings and frenetic parents trying to keep up with the demand for food.

Our first stop, at Bear Creek county park, took us to a patient Broad-tailed Hummingbird, sitting dutifully on her nest. While the branch was over our heads—too high for a peek into the tiny cup-like nest—we guessed that the eggs hadn’t hatched yet. Perhaps this was a second attempt to reproduce, somewhat late in the season.

(more…)

Posted on in Gardening, Humor, Landscaping

Heavenly Lawns

This has been making the email rounds for a while now, at least among us gardeners. But as it is one of my favorites, I wanted to share it just in case anyone has missed it so far. I wish I knew who the author was, so I could give them full credit for this masterpiece.

Heavenly Lawns
zeroscape-colospgs-2008sept18-lah-312r-1One heavenly spring morning, God got into a conversation with St. Francis about lawns. The conversation went something like this…….

GOD: St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there in the USA? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle, and the other stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan. I created plants that grow in any type of soil, withstand drought, and multiply like crazy. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honeybees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

ST. FRANCIS: It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers weeds, and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

(more…)

Posted on in Gardening

Why I (am trying to) Like Garden Spiders

spider-on-daylily_cottonwoodxg_lah_2524I admit to being an arachnophobe. Even though intellectually I know how helpful spiders are in the garden, I still get the shakes and run screaming when I see them. Still, we can change, right? I’m doing better. In fact, I’ve struck up an arachnid pact (well, it’s one-sided, but still…)—any spider in the garden is welcome to stay and make itself at home. Any spider that dares infiltrate my home? Let’s just hope my husband is around to rescue it.

spider-on-thermopsis-montana_golden-banner_blkforest-co_lah_8459In return for my beneficence, I expect some payback. That garden spider is tasked with taking care of any harmful pest infestations. Happily, I can have my garden and the spiders can have their lunches. All spiders are predators, and never feed on plants. That’s a pretty sweet combination.

(more…)

Posted on in Gardening, Landscaping, Public gardens, Xeriscape

Cottonwood Creek’s Xeriscape Garden

cottonwoodxg_lah_2470Successful gardening in Colorado means choosing plants well suited for our arid climate. Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) maintains two demonstration gardens, featuring beautiful perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees that are adapted to limited irrigation. Many people are aware of the large garden at the CSU headquarters on Mesa Road, overlooking Garden of the Gods. I wrote about it in April. But very few people are aware that there’s a second, smaller garden in front of the Cottonwood Creek Recreation Center at 3920  Dublin Blvd., just west of Rangewood Drive.

iris_cottonwoodxg_lah_2504While much more limited in scope, this garden provides plenty of inspiration for a homeowner seeking to conserve water and still enjoy a beautiful landscape. When I visited in mid-June, a large swath of Stella ’d Oro daylilies were in full bloom, their bright golden yellow accented by the soft lavender of the surrounding Walker’s Low Catmint. The colors were repeated in lovely deep blue irises, purple Jerusalem Sage, and pastel yellow Moonshine Yarrows and Pineleaf Penstemon.

(more…)

Posted on in Gardening, Green Gardening Tips, Landscaping, Seed Starting, Soils, Veggies, Weeds, Xeriscape

Colorado Gardeners Need Colorado Garden Advice

Photograph by Michael David Hill.
Photograph by Michael David Hill.

The ad promised that this new gardening book would show me how to “chase those darned moles out from under my prize tomatoes … make … azaleas bloom like crazy … and [use] eggshells [to] barricade slugs from the hostas, cabbage, and lettuce.”

Sounds wonderful, right? The problem is, while those “garden cheats” (as the ad called them) may work in much of the country, particularly in the east, not one of those will work here in Colorado.

(more…)

Posted on in Birds, Nature

Birds—and Butterflies and Blooms, too!

aquilegia-caerulea_blue-columbine_emeraldvalley-co_lah_2992-revSummer birding can be somewhat unproductive, but that doesn’t mean you should stay home in front of the air conditioning. So what if the birds are busy nesting and raising young? Birds aren’t the only attraction in the great outdoors.

I recently took part in a field trip led by several naturalists. Among them, they had combined expertise in birds, butterflies, and blooms. What a great combination. When the birds were busy, we turned our binoculars on the colorful butterflies fluttering around us. When the butterflies were scarce, we  focused on the drifts of wildflowers along the trail. With so many fascinating subjects to examine, there wasn’t a dull moment to be had.

(more…)

Posted on in Birds, Conservation

Donating to Save Oiled Birds?

donateoilspillrecovery_160x130bWith the Gulf oil spill continuing to dominate the news, many conservation organizations are soliciting funds, ostensibly to help wild birds caught up in the environmental disaster. That is certainly implied by the (extremely misleading) picture to the left, gleaned from a well-known non-profit’s website. However, if you read the fine print on the donation page, it becomes clear that rather than being specifically targeted to the rescue of oiled birds, all these donations are simply being added to an organization’s general fund. As another website truthfully states:

BP has committed to paying for the clean-up and wildlife rescue efforts in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. While your donations cannot be used to fund bird rescue operations in the Gulf of Mexico spill, [the organization] welcomes support for our ongoing programs and to cover the cost of future rescue efforts.

I don’t want to discourage anyone from supporting these organizations in general. Donating to various environmental groups is a worthwhile gesture. One would hope that  all donations go to help conserve our natural resources, including birds and other wildlife. Just make sure to do enough research that you know how your donation will be used.

Posted on in Gardening, Plant Profiles

Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus)

Appearance
platycodon-grandiflorus-albus-balloon-flower-dbg-lah-321r-1We may not be able to grow real balloons in our gardens, but Balloon Flower comes pretty close. Large buds shaped like inflated balls give Platycodon its common name, Balloon Flower. These buds open into showy blue, pink or white blossoms shaped like plump, five-pointed stars. The flowers adorn one- to two-foot tall vase-shaped clumps of oval green leaves.

Cultivation
platycodon-grandiflorus-balloonflower-dbg-lah-002rGrow Balloon Flower in well-drained garden soil amended with several inches of compost. Mark the spot so you remember where the plants will reappear in late spring. These perennials take several years to look their best, but your patience is rewarded with plants that live for twenty years or more. Because they stay neat and well-behaved, dividing is unnecessary; in fact, the roots hate to be disturbed. Established plants survive some dry periods, but prefer regular watering.

Landscape Use
Growing happily in sun or partial shade, the informal flowers are especially appropriate for a cottage garden or woodland. Bloom starts in mid-summer, often continuing until frost. Suggested companion plants include Sweet William, columbine, and daylilies in complementary colors.

Posted on in Bird Profiles, Birds

Old (and young) Coots

american-coot_ridgefieldnwr-wa_lah_8614-1When you call someone an “old coot,” just what exactly are you implying? Perhaps we should take such name-calling as a compliment. In many ways, coots are pretty respectable birds.

Although they share habitat with ducks, and superficially resemble them, coots have lobed toes and a beak instead of webbed feet and a bill. They are members of the rail family, and are related to cranes and limpkins. Their other common name, marsh hen, comes from their chicken-like head bobbing as they walk and feed.

Far from being weaklings, coots display considerable stamina. American Coots have managed to fly across the Atlantic Ocean at least 23 times. Even more remarkable, in 2003 two birds were sighted in Tasmania, a whopping 8,000 miles from home!

(more…)

Posted on in Gardening, Veggies

Plant Fall Crops Now

Plant? NOW?

brusselssprouts_dbg_lah_7726Temperatures are climbing into the 90s, your spring-planted crops are reaching maturity, and you’re excited about garden fresh salads and new potatoes. Besides harvesting your bounty, there are millions of weeds to be pulled, poisoned, or decapitated. The last thing on your mind is planting more seeds.

In more benign climates, fall crops go in at the end of the summer, after the worst heat has passed. Our short season demands that we plant fall crops earlier, to give them time to mature before the snow flies. Now is the time.

(more…)