Giving April her due

Time for a slightly different approach.

I find this passalong Pavonia consistently charming.

I don't have much to say today.

Didn't see the butterfly that laid the egg for this guy.  Fortunately my observation was not key to the process.

I did want to share a few recent images from the garden.

Cedar waxwings stuck around to fill up on loquats before heading north.

Intermittent rains both watered and kept the heat at bay through the end of April.

Plants and pollinators alike are happy about that.

Pollinators of every stripe have been happy to share the loquat bounty.

So am I.

Question Mark Butterfly, (Polygonia interrogationis) is a fan of the fermenting loquat fruit. 

My oak pollen "problem" is over for another year, though other trees continue their courtship dances in and on the wind.

I am able to enjoy my gardens from the other side of the windows again.

Here's to time spent outside with no more than the usual set of possible consequences.

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) visits Lantana.

Fare thee well, April, here's looking forward to May!

December Wrap Up

I've been neglectful of this space.  Who cares why, and I'm certainly not here to promise it will never happen again.  (I'm pretty sure this post will be standing here, lonely, for weeks yet to come.)

That said, I did want to share a bit of admittedly belated wildlife love for the month, as well as pointing out an unexpected but welcome pop of seasonal native color.

My wildlife appreciation this month does not consist of photographs of creatures, but rather I'm featuring two trees that draw those creatures in, month in and month out. The first is not a native, but it is most certainly a boon to natives.

The Loquat, or Eriobotrya japonica, is originally native to China where cultivars have been developed for over a thousand years.  Varieties were developed for home cultivation featuring flowers that open a few at a time, resulting in prolonged blooming with more gradual fruit development.  I don't know what cultivar we have, but it is certainly not that.

Ours goes all out, with no holds barred.  Bees visit in numbers great enough that on a quiet day you can hear them buzzing two stories up, in the tree's floriferous canopy.  Red Admiral and Question Mark butterflies love these trees.  They visit the flowers now and especially enjoy nectaring off the bounty of fallen fruit to come later.  Actually, the fruit seems to delight every critter around, feathered, furred or winged.  The flowers, though small, give off a lovely scent that reminds me of almonds.

Loquat trees have broad evergreen leaves that provide wonderful shade and protection all year.  The various spiders living in the ground covers below these trees must number in the hundreds. There's a little something for everybody, in Loquat Land.

Another tree, a native this time, one that gives as good as it gets?  The Cherry Laurel, or Prunus caroliniana.  This tree is also evergreen, providing a year round canopy that sports tiny white flowers and then shiny dark fruit that many birds enjoy once dried.

Cherry Laurels are mentioned as being especially beneficial to native bees, and that always makes me happy, too.

Last up?  I wanted to point out a bit of native seasonal color that often escapes notice. Oenothera speciosa, or Pink Evening Primrose is a lovely native wildflower that tends to disappear from view with summertime heat.

Given a little encouragement, the primrose stems pop back up after autumn rains and the resulting foliage responds beautifully to chilly nights. Shown above in a planter in mid November, you can see the tips of the Primrose's elongated leaves turning deep red as they get started on this year's comeback trail.

I've rarely seen it used as a container plant, but I find the color it provides definitely warrants its inclusion.  I find it especially lovely used in combination with succulents.

I'll admit this photo could be confusing - the flower shown is not the primrose itself in bloom but is rather a dianthus in the same planter responding similarly to the more favorable conditions of December.  Evening Primrose won't be flowering until Spring, but those rosy leaves seen behind the Dianthus flower are just as lovely to my eye.

Pink primroses are another native specified as beneficial to native bees, and I'm always relieved and happy to see them coming back into their own once summer's worst is behind us.  Red leaves now, pink blossoms later.  Win/win.

For other wonderful glimpses into the joys and benefits of wildlife gardening, please visit Tina of My Gardener Says for her monthly Wildlife Wednesday roundups.  In the comments section of each post you'll find links to thoughtful and accomplished wildlife gardeners from all around the globe.  There's simply no better way to spend time indoors.  

Thank you all for visiting and reading.  I'd like to extend my heartfelt wishes for a meaningful holiday season, warmly shared with family and friends.  Happy December  - may your days be merry and bright!

Fall(ing) Fruit - Loquat season reigns (and rains)

We have two mature loquat trees at our house( along with fintupplety zillion seedlings).  Loquats, members of the rosaceae family, were originally natives of China.  They've been in cultivation for over a thousand years in Japan and have naturalized worldwide, especially in more temperate zones.

There are reportedly varieties hybridized for home cultivation featuring flowers that open serially, meaning the resulting fruit ripens a few at a time, but our trees most certainly do not do that. The loquat trees we have flower in abundance with the fruit that follows all ripening within the span of a few days.

Loquats are tasty enough, a bit like apricots, but with multiple large inedible seed present in each fruit they are labor intense to process for jam or other uses.  I've gone to the trouble a few times, but the stained fingers along with the potential for fruit flies developing on the mass of ripening loquats it takes to make even a small batch of jam, means most years the fruit is left for wildlife to enjoy.  Squirrels, birds, they all show up to get their share.

Surprisingly to me, even the butterflies line up for loquats.

Polygonia interrogationis/Question Mark Butterfly (note the tiny white punctuation mid-wing) sipping away.

The loquat fruit that ripens and falls naturally to the ground, in combination with the many (many!) more that are partially eaten and then discarded by tree top diners, serve as a reliable draw for both Red Admiral and Question Mark butterflies.

Three to a loquat, no waiting.

Every year as the fruit on the ground reaches critical mass butterflies begin to arrive for an easy feast.  The Hub labors tirelessly to keep the walkway clear, but after a few days the sugary juices accumulate and dry in and on every nook and cranny, making the entire area attractive for puddling.

This Question Mark wasn't budging, no matter how close I came.

According to some sources eating the fruit in quantity results in a mildly sedative effect.  I cannot say how that works in the nervous system of a butterfly, but I have noted behaviors that indicate something is going on after they've spent enough time siphoning up the juices.

Red Admiral on the half shell..

After nectaring, flight apparently becomes optional, with many butterflies simply walking from fruit to fruit, stopping occasionally to fan their wings. As we walk under those trees, some butterflies will still take flight, but they launch only at the last moment, fly to a height of a few feet, and then promptly land again to continue feeding.

Clearly suffering from a lack of good judgement, this Red Admiral decided I looked like quite a reasonable post-juice perch.

OK mister I'm cutting you off.  You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here!

I have a real love-hate relationship with these loquats. The trees are evergreen, with fragrant small flowers pollinators love in late winter, and lovely large leaves that provide significant shade during the hottest part of the year.  As non-natives go, loquats provide all sorts of benefits to the local wildlife and don't seem subject to any threats other than bad weather.  The tops of both trees are currently hail pocked but that hasn't slowed them down in the least. 

On the down side, loquat seed has a very high germination rate. Local squirrels have spit-planted seedlings all along every frequently traveled fence top or tree branch.  In addition, we get a thriving mini-forest of loquat babies sprouting annually immediately underneath and around both parent trees.  The seedlings uproot easily at first, which means I tend to ignore them until they are taller and harder to dislodge.  

This little plot of shame in particular has loquat seedlings ranging in age from one to four years old.  I know... I'm embarrassed for me, too.

I try to imagine, if I had it all to do again, whether or not I'd choose to plant loquats.  While I'm standing outside enjoying the cast shade and surrounded by butterflies, I think I would.  When faced with aprés-fruit cleanup and/or seedling clearing, I'm not nearly so certain.  That said, if after reading this anybody out there is interested in a free loquat seedling (or eight), boy oh boy, have I got you covered.