Lantana - Colour Bonus

Day 292: I love Lantana for its ability to give you multiple colours on the same plant. It comes in several combinations: red/orange/yellow, lavender/pink/yellow, pink/yellow/white the most common among others, and occasionally you may find some solid-colour varieties for sale. In this varietal, the flowers open yellow. As they age, anthocyanoids begin to develop and combine with the photosensitive carotinoids to turn the flowers orange and then red. A full changeover can occur within 24 hours, giving your garden a whole new look between today and tomorrow. My first experience with Lantana was sufficient to put me off it for several years, though. The plants I bought initially came with a built-in infestation of whitefly (a common pest on Lantana) which spread to other susceptible species in my flower beds as well, including both fuchsias and heliotrope. However, since that first catastrophic planting, I've learned to check nursery stock before buying it and have not had a problem since.

Fitch Goes Nuts

Day 291: Hoya fitchii has gone berserk! There must be at least twenty umbels in various stages of opening, almost more flower than foliage on this, my most productive hoya ever, and that includes Hoya bella. The fragrant flowers are somewhat paler than previously, but still have a coppery-yellow hue with dainty magenta centers. I can't account for why this blooming period has produced so many, since I have not changed the manner in which I handle the plant's watering/feeding at all, other than to raise the pot a bit higher so it's out of Merry's reach.

Measurable Precipitation

Day 290: Years ago before I had internet access, I used to get my weather forecasts via NOAA's "Weather Radio." Reception here was rather poor, and it was not helped any by NOAA's upgrade to a computerized voice. I'm sure you remember those early synthesized voices: tinny, riddled with misplaced emphasis and clumsy pronunciation. NOAA's "announcer" had two in particular which took me forever to sort out because the misspoken phrases were so apt for our area. The first was "the rain forecast" which was followed by a forecast for Puget Sound and the Pacific Coast. Eventually, I realized that "the-rain" was supposed to be "ma-rine" by sorting it out in context. The second was even more hilarious. When a system was approaching, NOAA would give the percentage "chance of miserable precipitation" for the upcoming five days. As you might have figured out (and more quickly than I did!), "miserable" was "measurable." I bring this up today because we are having our first "miserable precipitation" for the month of July, a whole quarter inch so far, leaving plants, critters and firefighters much happier.

Awaiting Waxwings

Day 289: A little over a month ago, I had a solitary juvenile Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) perch on the shepherd's-hook immediately outside the window. I hope he was taking notes, because the Sitka Mountain-ash berries are beginning to ripen, and there's nothing Cedar Waxwings like better. They (the berries) are in somewhat short supply this year due to bizarrely fluctuating weather in June, 90 one day, nearly freezing the following night, a pattern which played hob with many of my plants including the hardy kiwis. Nevertheless, there are enough mountain-ash berries on my two trees to keep a small flock of Waxwings happy for a day or two, and the ones they don't eat will be gobbled up by migrating robins. Both species of bird like the fruit a bit past its sell-by date when the pith begins to get somewhat winy. I'm not expecting Waxwings for two or three more weeks, but I hope that solo visitor carried the message home.

Wildfires

Day 288: Smoke from two wildfires on the east side of the Cascade Crest are affecting us here. Although the Park and areas west of it are still in the green as far as air quality is concerned, my eyes are watering and the Mountain's bulk is barely visible as a silhouette. The is partly obscured, casting a yellowish pall over the landscape even at high noon. The sunrise was ruddy. The two fires are "Black Canyon" (north) and "Retreat" (south), the former at almost 10,000 acres and 30% contained, the latter at 18,273 acres (not contained) and under "Go Now" evacuation from Bear Canyon northeast to the junction of Hwys 410/12. Additionally, the town of Tieton is under "Get Set" notification. Neither of these fires is close enough to present any danger of spreading to forests close to me, but the potential for deterioration in air quality is high.

Tall Phlox

Day 287: The Tall Phlox standing three feet high on the far side of the Barren Wasteland comes under the umbrella of "don't blame me." I'm sure that at least 95% of my readers know my opinion of the colour pink by now, and while the Phlox is bright enough to be allowed special dispensation, it still falls within the ranks of "pink" and therefore is not one of my favourite features. However, it came with the house and for a long time, it and the Bergenia (also pink) were the only things I could get to grow there. Now it must be said that the former owners of this property had one of the poorest senses of colour I have ever seen, and they applied it lavishly to the interior of the house as well. The living room drapes and carpet were a mix of orange and a dirty light brown. The walls of the living room had also been orange at some point, but were apparently painted over in universal eggshell for the sale of the property. The backsplash in the kitchen was covered with contact paper (also with an orange design), countertops coordinating in a brown-and-orange pebble, and the linoleum was a brown my mother would have called "sick calf" in polite company, and something far more rurally evocative to those who were more accustomed to her descriptive vocabulary. It was several years before I managed to eliminate completely the orange/brown theme, and I was never so happy as the day when the last of it went down the road in the remodelers' truck, destined for the dump. The garden has been harder to "repaint." I cannot bear to destroy a living plant other than invasives, and especially not one which grows where nothing else will take hold. I'll just have to live with pink when it pops up in the Barren Wasteland.

Bird Watch

Day 286: Both of Merry's kitty perches are immediately on the inside of the window from bird feeders. The hummingbirds intrigue him more than the larger birds (Grosbeaks, Jays, etc.) who come to eat at the suet basket, possibly because they move so much faster. For the most part, they stay on the far side, watching the Watcher, although occasionally one will hover near the glass. Skunk and Tippy both enjoyed watching birds, and neither of them became particularly agitated. That wasn't the case with Pete, the first cat I had as an adult. At the time, I lived on the east coast where Bluejays were prevalent. Pete was allowed outdoors, and the jays often attacked him when he went outside, flying down and smacking him in the back of the head. When Pete was inside, a jay sometimes perched on a branch directly outside the window. Pete's lower jaw would begin to tremble, and his teeth would chatter, despising his tormentors. I never knew him to kill a bird, but I am certain the urge was strong. Merry seems content to watch, and of course he will always be kept indoors and away from my feathered friends.