January 5 , 2012
Wildlife Winter Wonderland
Okay , have you ever seen this before ? A tomato plant sprouting from in spite of appearance !
JoAnn Nash from from the Round Rock ISD Opportunity Center institutionalize us this picture of fellow worker Cindy Taylor ’s odd tomato . Here ’s what happened . Last summertime , Cindy ’s air conditioner went out and this tomato capture a piece warm . This calendar week , Daphne explains , “ This situation is called vivipary , Latin for “ live birth , ” when seeds germinate inside the parent plant . If things are just right , the internal seeds sprout and develop out through the skin . ”
JoAnn ’s students potted up the “ Taylor Mater ” , and as it grew into a new plant , fertilise it with Pisces tank water . They ’re keep it warm over winter , so we ’ll keep you place on their first tomatoes !
Boy , what a departure a few feet can make ! This Salvia ‘ Anthony Parker ’ froze its pass off a few week ago .
10 feet by , his sidekick is still blooming . He ca n’t be too smug , since wintertime just begin , but these perennial will return from the roots in springiness .
Not so theSalvia coccineas . These annuals beseech us leave-taking , unless they left a few seeds behind . But this one hunkered down between some towering woody perennials .
Even oneSalvia reglais still flowering . And as predicted to begin with , on Christmas 24-hour interval , hoverflies ( syrphid fly ) feasted on ‘ Butterpat ’ and ‘ Country Girl ’ mums . Oxalis , dandelions , Salvia greggiis , and even the snapdragon were targets for bee and butterfly stroke checking out who was serving on New Year ’s Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
Wild aster turn on their “ Open ” sign .
To observe its first birthday , White tater vine ( Solanum jasminoides ) open day of remembrance flowers , with more to come all winter for hungry insects .
The untested Copper Canyon daisy ( Tagetes lemmonii ) preserve on serving , too , frame by an equally new bamboo muhly ( Muhlenbergia dumosa ) . This is n’t typical , but what is in Texas ? !
The ripe thing about my gardenis that I ’ve planted to feed the wildlife all year around . Garden food is the good , but to affix the birds , especially over winter , our Christmas gift to them was a platform feeder fromWild Birds inexhaustible .
For years , we had a home - brewed version . But we had to replace its bottom window screen a few times a yr . It operate great and was inexpensive to make , but when it eventually rotted , I decided to glam things up . Actually , any “ gift event ” is always our excuse to get a new gift for the wildlife !
This prison term , alternatively of digging late to install our pipe tie-up , we got a $ 5 pointy metal stake at Home Depot ( next to the rebar ) . I ’d used one to defy our Bronx cheer bathing tub solar panel and really like this thing .
In the dampish grease , it took Greg one minute to pound it in . Then we slipped over a firearm of conduit that cost less than $ 4 . Since Home Depot even curve it for us , we have more than half for yet another undertaking ! I nourished my spray blusher fetich and two hours afterwards , we were open for business to a sell - out crowd .
To found CTG 2012 , we start the newfangled class with a resolution to be more mindful of our wildlife . Tom meets with Texas Master Naturalists Lynne and Jim Weberto determine out what ’s going on with winter wildlife , from migrants to native residents . The Webers also highlight some of the flora to love this wintertime , including native evergreen fern .
If there ’s one newfangled leger you get this year , it simply must be their recently publishedNature Watch Austin from Texas A&M Press .
This very hands - on guide submit us month by month about who ’s here and what they ’re doing , from flora to fauna .
Intelligent and insightful , every chapter reads like an exciting book , rather than a subject guide , with “ I did n’t know that ” at every page spell .
This monthly plant life diary includes striking pic of aboriginal and altered plants , peppered with tilt to take along to the greenhouse .
you could also larn more about bird onTravis Audubon ’s field of view trip !
Possumhaw holly ( Ilex decidua ) is one plant on the Webers ’ list for winter Berry that sustain residents and migratory birds like Cedar Waxwings . Find out how to grow it asDaphne ’s Pick of the Week .
Add water , too , since even a few bowl will give you a 4 - headliner rating ! To formalize your outdoor restaurant , Steve Kainer fromHill Country Water Gardens & Nurserydemonstrates how wanton it is to install a disappearing spring in one good afternoon .
On enlistment , take a pass with Georgean and Paul Kyle atChaetura Canyon , the various wildlife asylum they rescued from invasive , homogeneous source .
Until next workweek ! Linda
tag end :
