Always Growing

This post, “Bamboo” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

When we moved here 31 years ago, bamboo had been planted as a screen by our next door neighbor.  It has slowly grown over the years and is now a lovely division between us and our neighbors.  The original owner used to trim it like a hedge.  He kept it about 12 feet high and about 3 feet wide and 20 feet long.  It grew under pine trees.

About 12 years ago, he became too frail to live in the house any more. He moved to a nursing home, and eventually the house was sold.  No one wanted to trim the bamboo like a hedge any more, and so it grew into a lovely 20 foot tall vase-shaped planting.  Over the years as we have lost pine trees, more sun than before has helped it grow.  The ground was hard clay, but I started putting leaves and pine straw on my side and watering more often.  I was rewarded with an abundance of growth, but nothing that was overpowering.

When bamboo started to become popular a few years ago, I was happy that I already had some.  It is fairly hardy here.  We did have a bad freeze here many years ago when it got down to about 5 degrees.  The bamboo did lose leaves, but soon rebounded back.  Because there was nothing but bare ground by the bamboo, about 7 years ago, I planted holly ferns in front of the stand and mulched with pine straw. Having all the green there makes it a very restful spot.  I also placed a bird bath and small bistro set there.

The birds are also attracted to the bamboo.  Every year we have some towhees nesting there.  Also in the summer, there are birds that roost among the canes.  I never have seen them, but if I go out at dusk, I can hear them. Today, when I was out in the garden, I saw cardinals and chickadees in the top of the bamboo, flitting around and making the canes rustle.

One of the nicest things about having a large stand of bamboo is the sound it brings to the garden.  When I go into the side garden to read or just sit and look around, it is not long before the rustling of the leaves of the bamboo attract attention.  If there is a breeze, it is even better.  They say a garden needs to appeal to all the senses, and my large stand of bamboo helps do that - adding sound and visual appeal.

This post, “Birds in Winter” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

Well, everything I covered survived the cold temps.  By 9 pm it was already below freezing.  The thermometer got down to 22 degrees, and it was after 11 am before it was above freezing. Some of what wasn’t covered is damaged, but I don’t think I have lost anything permanently, but only time will tell.  I was surprised to find the limelight artemesia still standing, and some of the sword fern in the garden is still bright green and fine.  The ferns were under some trees, but I would never have thought that they would have made it with such low temperatures over such a long time.  The weather service is predicting one more night of cold temps.

A ruby throated hummingbird has been staying around our feeder (they usually leave by Oct).  Two days ago another hummingbird appeared.  It is a Broad billed hummingbird.  According to Peterson’s Field Guide to the Birds,  they do winter in Louisiana, but this is the first time we have had one.  It looks very similar to a Ruby throated but has a blue throat and is a little bigger.  A few years back, we did have a Rufus sided hummingbird, but we have not seen one since.  It is exciting to have a new one show up. It was at our feeder very early with the temperatures in the mid twenties; I know the poor thing must have been cold.  I wonder what these little guys survive on besides the nectar we put out? I know they are insect eaters, but what insects are out in the winter with all the cold weather we’ve been having?

I have found that attracting birds enhances the garden.  We have been feeding the birds here for about 20 years.  We used to have more birds, but I think that loss of habitat is the reason we seem to have less.  We are in an area with pine trees, but as the area becomes more developed, the trees are going and with them the birds.  In the winter we used to get hundreds of goldfinches, but now we don’t.  We used to have indigo buntings, but they haven’t showed up in years.  However, the cardinals, woodpeckers, blue jays, wrens, mockingbirds, chickadees, and finches keep us entertained.  The cardinals, especially at this time of year, add a great deal of color to the garden.  They are very striking in the holly bush.

In the spring and summer, the birds really liven up the garden.  They are at the feeders, bird baths, and their songs make having a cup of coffee on the patio so relaxing.  After attracting birds to our garden, I have branched out some and am trying to entice butterflies.  This past summer is the first year where I really tried to get more butterflies, and I did meet with some success.  Mostly they were attracted to the nectar plants, and this year I am planning to add more plants where they will lay eggs.  I am looking for a book that shows pictures of butterfly caterpillars because I sure don’t want to harm any that I have spent time and money attracting.   I have an Audubon’s Guide but the photos are not very good or there are none for the types of butterflies most people want to attract to their gardens.