Georgia Backyard Nature

Waxing Weeping Willow

The Weeping Willow is a lovely haze of green. Always the earliest tree in my yard to leaf out, it's about three weeks ahead of schedule this year. Just look at all the leaves!

Weeping Willows are ideally suited for wet areas--near lakes and streams, but shouldn’t be planted near a structure because their roots are shallow but very invasive. Willow roots have the reputation of being able to rupture or clog sewer lines. Pruning should be done in late January because sap begins running in February.

All the other trees in the yard are still bare. A few have tiny buds, but most are weeks and weeks away from showing any green. By that time the Willow's graceful branches will be fully leafed out and swaying in the gentle Spring wind. 

 

Crashing Cardinals

 

For the last few days, I've been fascinated by female cardinals attacking my windows. It's happened in front and back of the house. These little birds are persistent, too, starting in the morning and periodically fluttering into the windows all day.

After some research, I learned that this isn't unusual behavior for these birds. Both male and female cardinals are very territorial and often attack their reflections in windows believing they're driving off intruders.

This never happened in past years so I'm wondering what's changed. There has been an explosion of the cardinal population in my yard so maybe the territorial behavior stems from more competition for nesting spots. Whatever the reason, I hope the females give up. I'd hate for them to become exhausted from fighting phantoms.

Georgia Groundhog

Did you know that Georgia has a rival to  Pennsylvania's famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil? We do!! Our furry prognosticator is General Beauregard Lee. While Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter, Beau predicted an early spring. You can see a video of him here:

http://northeastcobb.patch.com/articles/gen-beau-knows-lilburn-groundhog-expects-early-spring-3d5514ce#video-9024252

It seemed like Beau was right, too. In the last couple of weeks, spring flowers and trees have burst into bloom. I took these pictures of a red flowering quince and a bank of forsythia in an office park near my gym. 

Too bad winter returned with a vengeance yesterday--windy and temperature in the 30's during the day and plunging  into the low 20's overnight. The birdbaths are frozen solid and we might get snow early in the week. 

Winter has been so mild, we're a bit spoiled. I hope this is just a little jolt from Mother Nature to make us really appreciate the real Spring.

Heralding Hellebores

The garden seems a bit mixed up. Shrubs that normally bloom in March are flowering now, but the Hellebores are right on time.   Known as the Christmas rose and Lenten Rose, these winter blooming flowers are usually the only thing other than Camellias flowering in the lackluster winter garden.

Hellebores are perfect perennials for the shade garden since they need protection from the harsh summer sun, but if they are planted in deep shade, they won’t flower as much. Moist soil is preferred, but they can’t tolerate soggy conditions. 

Most years Hellebore blooms are a cause for excitement—they’re not only pretty, but they also herald that Spring is around the corner. Too bad they’ve been usurped by over-eager shrubs this year.