Meteorological Autumn/Autumn
I typically begin the season with a trip to buy Blanket Flower over the Labor Day weekend. Because it is often in short supply at this time, I need to visit a number of different places to find plants that are blooming and capable of sustaining late season pollinators. However, this flower has declined in popularity with all of the Natives now available on the property. However, with some recent Blanket Flower planted in pots, I believed that the trip was unnecessary. Both Stonecrop Seedum had just started to bloom, which has been particularly attractive to Honeybees. My new Cardinal Flower and Obedient Plant would soon be in bloom. And Hyssop and Agastache were continuing to be the primary choice in many instances. As the Summer Natives died out, Blanket Flower did attract some visitors by mid September. By this time, gardens and some potted plants started to look ragged. Plants that spread by seed had invaded other planters or the space of other plants in the gardens. In some instances, I didn’t mind so much because the new plants sustained my pollinators and are not designed to enhance the landscaping design. However, I do need to remove some of the new plants in areas where competition has reduced the productive growth of both plants. I saw a Bumblebee foraging for food in back at the end of the month. Last year, one discovered the Coral Bells in washtub planter by the garage, but such was not the case this year. Some cool days by the end of the month and the start of October. By 5, the weather had warmed and bees were out in full force. Hit or miss the rest of the month with colder and rainier days outnumbering the nice ones. A Cooper’s Hawk visited 10 looking to feed on one of the Sparrows eating seed on my property. Observed two Honeybees on 22 during the day and a solo Bumblebee a little later. Cleaned and filled the hot tub for the winter on 24. 25 brought a smaller, green type of ‘bee’ or ‘fly.’ Had not seen anything like this, previously, and was unable to identify it online. Later, saw the last Bumblebee of the season, a small one foraging the few remaining plants at dusk. A solo Honeybee on 27 and then finally on 29. Found a young opossum in my carport in the early afternoon, finding shelter from the rain. Many of the Magnolia leaves had been picked up by this time, having fallen a bit earlier than usual. Most of the outdoor work was completed by Thanksgiving. Cleaned out gardens and cut back plants on nicer days after that. As the weather became cold, brought planters into the sheltered area of the fenced in back patio and then finally into the carport. It was time for the Holiday Season.
Comentarios
Agregar un comentario