Lorraine D. Hebler

Raindrops on Redbuds

By Lorraine

Considering yesterday hit 85 degrees it is a little crazy remembering how chilly it was last week!
The temps are really bouncing around ~ heading to the mid 60’s for a high by Friday.
It was pretty dreary most of Saturday. Drizzly and cool.
But wet ground makes digging in Marl, the soil in our area, much easier than when it is dry and rock hard. So John used the time to shovel out some patchy lawn to make way for a new berm where
summer drought makes growing grass a problem.
I played in the drizzle with my camera capturing rain droplets on our Eastern Redbud tree.

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Last summers drought took its toll on trees and brushes.  Drive through the neighborhood and you will see  many that did not survive.  There is only so much water that we were willing to pour on the lawn but I did try to keep a slow drip on the trees and bushes.

It was a chore moving the hose from plant to plant day after day but a necessary one.
I had to cut a lot of dead branches from the Redbuds this spring.  One looks good.  One looks pretty bad but showing life at the tips of the branches.

A cropped version of the above shot.

The blossoms remind me of tiny butterflies.

A Parched Land

By Lorraine

Though we water the flower beds almost daily through this summers heat and drought, my once healthy and vibrant clematis finally succumbed to these unhappy conditions.  How sad we were to see it brown out and shrivel remembering the many years we enjoyed its gorgeous blooms.
I didn’t get a photo in its dead, twig stage but here are a few from this past spring as it flowered all the way to the second story of the house.

It was sad to pull off all of the dead leaves and cut the vines back to the ground.  Well, we thought, we did enjoy it for a long time.
then…
look what I noticed…

 I am hoping some of our other trees and plants will recover as nicely.
For those of us who’d rather not send a small fortune to the township for water usage, this is how our gardens look.
This one saddens me the most. This Japanese Maple was planted when it was just a few feet tall.  About the same height as Abbey at the time.  So, it became known as Abbey’s tree.  The first few seasons it was nibbled ruthlessly by our resident groundhog.  (a wire enclosure helped keep nasty rodent at bay) It spent this summer with the hose on slow-drip trying to keep it alive.  It is not looking good right now.  I am so hoping we haven’t lost it completely.
Even the Eastern Redbud is filled with dried and browned seed pods that should be nice and green.
This Saturday we received rain for the first time in ages.
Not nearly enough.

There we are… South Jersey… in the red… excessively dry.
Gardening hasn’t been much fun this year but the heart of the gardener is always looking forward!
Joining Susan @A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday!

Butterfly Wishes

By Lorraine







Butterfly Wishes

Yesterday a butterflyCame floating gently through the sky.He soared up through the atmosphereThen drifted close enough to hear.

I said, “I’d love to fly with youAnd sail around the way you do. It looks like it would be such fun To fly up toward the summer sun.
But I have not your graceful charm.I haven’t wings, just these two arms.I’ve been designed to walk around.My human feet must touch the ground.

Then magically he spoke to meand told me what his wish would be.
He said, “What I’d love most to doIs walk upon God’s Earth with you,
To squish it’s mud between my toes
Or touch my finger to my nose.
I’d love just once to walk around
With human feet to touch the ground,
But I have not two legs that swing, I haven’t arms, just these two wings.”
And so we went our separate waysIn wonder and surprise.For we’d both seen God’s precious gifts
Through someone else’s eyes.

Author Unknown

(see… like I said, if you grow it they will come!)

Thank you, Joy (Good Morning Mary Sunshine) for identifying this butterfly as a Red Spotted Purple ~ limentis arthemis astyanxy. So kind of you to look this up for me!

Additional Hibiscus Flower Growing Information

By Lorraine

Addendum to my last post: I should have mentioned how care-free and easy it is to grow hardy (perennial) hibiscus. (This is not a Tropical Hibiscus that would not survive the winters here) Hardy Hibiscus can be grown in zones 4 – 9 (-20 degrees F). I live in zone 6b. This plant simply comes back year after year with little attention. In the winter it dies back to the ground and I remove the dead branches. It emerges late in the spring just when you think you have lost it. Year after year of spectacular blooms! Click here for more information on growing.




I purchased this white hibiscus last summer from Lowe’s. I had to enclose it with chicken wire because little bunnies had eaten a few stalks!

Pink hibiscus has slightly smaller flowers than the red one.

Giant Blossom!

Blooming in the median strip along a local interstate highway.



If You Grow It They Will Come – Buddleia Bush

By Lorraine

My main reason for growing Buddleia (better known as a Butterfly Bush) is not for its appearance but rather because it attracts beautiful, fluttering, butterflies.

 

I took these pictures yesterday of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. The bush was filled with tiny Fritillaries or Skippers (I get them confused) as well but they are small and flit about so that I was unable to get a picture of them.

Some other visitors ~ a Monarch

Do you know what this little guy is?
It is not a hummingbird…
it is a Hummingbird Moth enjoying the nectar of the Butterfly Bush!
Our hummers do visit as well.

I don’t know its lifespan, but this bush has been in our yard for many years!

The following is an excerpt from Buddleia: Butterfly Bush Extraordinaire by Claire Hagen Dole:
With a name like butterfly bush, you might expect a plant to be attractive to butterflies. In fact, it’s more than attractive; it’s a magnet for all the butterflies who pass through your garden seeking nectar. Many butterfly gardeners plan their garden around Buddleia (pronounced BUD-lee-ah), a genus that includes over 100 species and cultivars. Also called summer lilac, the medium- to large-sized shrubs can anchor a perennial bed or form a hedge. You’ll be happier with Buddleia if you accept its growth habit, which is not neat and tidy. Its narrow branches support lilac-like clusters of blossoms a foot or two in length, with side branches and blossoms. After a rainfall, the flower-laden branches of some species can droop all over your flower bed. You’ll want to allow at least six feet between bushes to keep some semblance of neatness. But wait till you see the bush covered with fritillaries and tortoiseshells! Even a large swallowtail can land on the cluster, to sip from the many individual blooms. Butterflies and bees will flock to the honey-scented blossoms, whose dilute nectar is sweetest in midday sun. Near a path or patio, the shrub provides delightful fragrance for you, too.

I Come To The Garden Alone

By Lorraine

Still in the holding pattern of clouds, rain and peeks of sunshine, there was a brief moment yesterday morning right after a shower when the sky cleared. The bright sunlight caused the flower beds to glisten as it reflected off the droplets of water. Such a lovely sight!

I Come To The Garden Alone
I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
Refrain
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
He speaks, and the sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.
Refrain
I’d stay in the garden with Him
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.
Refrain

Rejuvenated Rhododendron after Severe prunning

By Lorraine

Healthy with beautiful blossoms were the last thing we expected from this rhododendron. It was old and had been in decline after doing splendidly for 20 plus years. I cut off all the branches of the seven foot bush as far back as I could with the intention of making it easier to pull out of the ground. Well, fall turned into spring and new life sprang from a tired old stump. Now it is vibrant and doing just fine. Sometimes procrastination is a good thing.

Such a surprise to see, not just new growth but flowers too!
The foliage is green and healthy and sending out new branches. Who would had thought such a severe hacking would bring results like this.

Also, around the house are these pretty purple flowers.

But, please tell me, how did such a sweet flower get the name of… Spiderwort? I also have another lovely plant with spider in its name…

 Tiny and sweet white flowers on a new shoot from a spider plant. The botanical name is  Chlorophytum comosum but it is also known as airplane plant, St. Bernard’s lily, spider ivy, ribbon plant, and hen and chickens. Native to tropical and southern Africa is easy to grow as a houseplant and the variegated forms are the most popular.

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