Daily Dose Blogger Bios
My First Hummer
For months I have been trying so hard to capture a hummingbird on camera. There is the most beautiful hummer that has recently set up shop ... it is obvious he considers himself the mayor of my garden. He has the brightest red throat, and he seems to have tinges of orange here and there, with an iridescent bluish strip down his feathery green back. He's a looker, this guy is! And what an attitude! He will fly so close to me and taunt me - posing on an aloe blossom, sitting ever so fetchingly on the tip of an agave - he dares me to photograph him! I swear he even winked at me once! But I never have my camera when I see him, and if I go to get it, off he flits. Once I did happen to have my camera on me when he came at me with his antics, and as soon as I rased it up to shoot, he screeched to a full mid-air stop, turned on a dime, and raced off as fast as those tiny furious wings could take him. Then he turned to stick out his tongue at me. What a tease.
I was in San Diego for a few days this week, and I spent an afternoon in lovely Balboa Park, one of my very favorite places. In the parking lots, they have enormous sweeps of one of a plant we've discussed recently - Pride of Madeira, and they look absolutely sublime. I was snapping away, trying to get some good close-ups to post, when what do I see before me but a lovely hummer, one who was so kind as to hang around for a picture. My first hummer photo! No, this isn't my garden's Bad-Ass Hummingbird Mayor, but now that I've caught one of these little birdies on film, I have a renewed self confidence. I will have a picture of tiny Bad-Ass soon. Mark my words.
hey germi! great shot! hope you're having a fantastic spring. i can't believe how hot it is today!
i had some hummingbirds that really liked the flapjacks in my front yard. the flowers on the flapjacks started browning and were covered with aphids, so i cut them off, leaving just the stalk. turns out the top half of the stalk is dead-- hollow and crunchy-- while the base looks strong. should i leave it as is or cut off the dead part? if i cut it, will it ever grow tall again?
thanks, germi!!!
I just planted a big swath of those in my front yard! (I haven't shown pics ... there's one side of my front that just WON'T come together!)
Flapjacks (or Kalanchoe thyrsifolia) are monocarpic, like agaves - they flower only once, then kaput. But the good thing is that they leave all these babies at their base, so you will have a whole new generation of flaps. Cut down the elongated flowering stem, and you can either leave the 'pups to grow in place, as a clump, or you can transplant them. Either way. they'll look fab.
OMIGOD this weather! I am NOT prepared for the heat! I hope this is just a mean joke - this better not be what the rest of the year is like! YIKES!!!
Ta Ta neighbor! Don't be a stranger!
thanks germi! i think i'll transplant the pups. it'll be my first foray into separating plants. hopefully i won't kill them in the process!
i'm so glad it's cooling down. i guess last weekend was just a sneak preview!
You won't kill your baby flapjacks, Chanchow - these things are tough as ... tough as the scrambled eggs I had for breakfast this morning (yuk). Ihave 2 things I make sure I do everytime I plant a succulent, and I haven't lost one in, like, ever...
first, make sure you plant a little higher, about an inch and a half above soil level.
second, tamp the soil really well, so that the little stem and it's mini-roots get a good, firm 'strike' with the soil.
oh, and mulch with a little gravel. I truly think gravel is a gardener's best friend - next to a really good hand lotion!