Honeybee On A Ozark Sundrop Flower

Honeybee On A Ozark Sundrop Flower




This series of photographs is of a Honeybee working on this Ozark Sundrop Flower!



There was more photographs to this series then I showed here. This Ozark Sundrop (Ozark Sundrop is not the scientific name by the way), is one of several plants of this species we had growing in 2014. This Ozark Sundrop was growing in our driveway! This was not even part of the flower bed, though several species of flowers wanted to grow in this rocky, dry nasty soil so I let them! Who am I to argue with something that wants to live so badly.....



The Ozark Sundrop is in the Primrose family and has a striking yellow bloom that really stand out! Guy and I were speaking of this flower this morning and think we got this four or five years ago from perhaps bird droppings?? We are just not sure how we got this Ozark Sundrop growing here?

In the front in this nasty, rocky soil the Ozark Sundrop grows short like a bush. Somehow (birds?), we got this in the back flower bed in which this Ozark Sundrop grew taller then our six foot dog fence and wide!! Fighting for the sun in the flower bed which the soil is better taken care of. That larger Ozark Sundrop spread rapidly!! I cut the lower branches off, and pulled out the plants that grew from the roots. I also dead headed the blooms that rapidly produced seed pods to control the spread of the Ozark Sundrop in this location.



As you can see from my photographs the honeybee is heavy with yellow, sticky pollen! So much of this yellow sticky pollen that the honeybee at times was under stress when trying to fly. The photograph above shows how much pollen was on this honeybee.



You can see in the photographs how well this Ozark Sundrop flowers! Many pollinators are attracted to this bright yellow flower blooms! Unlike other flower blooms that pollen is light and can be carried by wind, us who have allergies know of this all to well! The Ozark Sundrops pollen just seams to heavy to be carried by the wind...... I dont seam to sneeze like crazy around the Ozark Sundrop blooms anyways....



The Honeybee sure did not feel it had to much pollen on it.... the honeybee kept coming back!



You can in the photographs while the Honeybee is in flight the Honeybee has a bit of this pollen on it.











Then back to the bloom the honeybee goes!



The Honeybee I did watch for a time as well as photographing the Honeybee's behavior. The Honeybee to me appeared to be to heavy to fly..... though I am not a Honeybee so....







The Honeybee kept going back to the Ozark Sundrop flower !



The Honeybee in the above shot flew to another bloom so I figured I had enough photograph of this happening and went on to another happening here in our garden. Our garden can keep me busy for hours just all the activity going on here!

Thank you for coming by and checking out my photographs I take in my part of the High Desert of Oregon, and / or reading my observations I write along with my photography.

American Robin Bird Fledgeling

American Robin Bird Fledgeling




Meet this American Robin Bird Fledgeling!



This Robin Bird Fledgeling is in the Lilacs. The Lilacs even after blooming season give such things as these fledgelings a nice place to hide! My observations is, the fledgelings either stop here at the Lilacs if they are to young to make it to the fruit tree. Or the fledglings are to afraid to get into the fruit tree just yet?

The fruit tree is a community of birds. Different birds collect in the fruit tree of ours and perhaps the young American Robins are being taught to get to the fruit tree by the parents? I notice the adult Robins will not feed the young who are in the Lilacs. Once the Fledgelings reach the fruit tree then the adult will feed them.



The photographs above is a good example of a young fledgeling of the American Robin. Spots, not much of a tail. These youngsters are also very loud!! I mean they are loud!! They cry for the parents. It is rather sad.... the adults must know what they are doing?



I may have photographs of the next stage after the fruit tree? I watch them so I more then likely have photographs?? After the fruit tree and more growing they will then follow the adults, the male or the female around on the ground.

Mind you the ground is the most dangerous time for these fledgeling. I feel the lilacs is a dangerous time as well. This is when I find dead American Robin bird fledgelings. I do spray down the Lilacs every morning , evening and when I see or even think a predator is hiding in them.

At this moment we have another predator here other then the cats. A bird of prey. However the bird of prey more then likely will move on before the Robins Fledgelings are old enough to get out and about?



I do have to shoot through the fence so to give the youngsters their space and not freak them out in the Lilacs, then the leaves of the Lilacs get into the way at times.



This is the last shot. I walk away when I feel I have enough photographs. I do not want to stress out the little ones. However the birds really do get used to me here! After all they are born right here and I do walk our small property at least two times a day if not more as well as being outside a lot when the second batch of fledglings are ready to leave the nests.

Thank you for coming by and seeing this American Robin Bird Fledgling! If you would like I have several more series of photographs of the American Robin Bird Fledgeling photographs and blogs of those fledgelings, Robin Bird Fledgeling then The Robin Fledgeling That Left The Nest

Coneflower Blooms

Coneflower Blooms




Hope your weekend went well! Meet the Coneflower and visitor from the photographs from July 25 2014 I am working on this morning.



As you can see by the end of July the Coneflower are not at their peek. These Coneflower were placed in a spot facing the southern sun in front of the Iris Patch several years ago. The Iris flowers have outgrown the Coneflower and the Coneflower need to be moved for several reasons, or separated planted in other locations.



The Coneflower have grown, bloomed in this south location. However this location gets pretty hot! As you can see from these photographs the blooms just do not like this heat from the southern sun. I say the Coneflowers are easy to grow! The Coneflowers are forgiving.



Forgiving is the Coneflower, however as you can see from these photographs the Coneflowers are compromised. Such plants are vulnerable to pests, and other attacks that we may or may not see under the ground. What we can not see is where all the good stuff really goes on! The flowers are what we see! This is why we all love flowers! The pretty colors, shapes, sizes and fruit that some plants produce. Truly though, all the real action is where we can not see. The roots!

Why these Coneflowers in our garden need moved, or since they are growing in this location separated if can be and moved elsewhere. I am thinking the Coneflowers need more shade. Protection from the triple digit temperatures of the High Desert? As I have said we have had these for oh, three years now? This in no way makes Guy or I experts at growing Coneflowers.



Here in the High Desert we are supposed to be zone 5. Everyone lives in a zone. You have a zone you live in too! However some people can live in more then one zone, like we do! Guy is very good at this zone stuff! Guy really is, and he is my teacher about growing here in the High Desert. Someone down the road can grow a plant that we can not. Though we have found places on our small piece of land that the people just right down the road have issues with. This of course is a topic of conversation with the neighbors and I. "How did you grow that", or "How come the frost killed mine and not yours"? Now this is the fun us gardeners have, figuring out what grows where!

Zones, it is good that you find out what zone you live in. Plant accordingly. This does not mean you can not grow whatever, just is a starting point. I found a zone chart if you want to check it out , United States Zone chart

Keep in mind the zone charts are just a starting point. I doubt to many people are going to guaranty you that nature does not change. Many things goes into determining the zones, weather patterns for what year... moon phases on and on and on!!



Honey Bee's ( Honeybee ), are one insect you will find on the Coneflower Blooms! One of these photographs I took, lets see if I put it up..... does not look like I had. Spider mites like the Coneflower. Nasty little bugs that drain the plant of liquid. Turning the host plant into a dried up, nasty looking mess!! Spider Mites will encase the host into a web for the younger spider mites to feed on. What if you see five spider mites I read where you have a infestation! There are several insect that will eat the Spider Mites, Lady Bugs or Lady Birds is one insect you want in your garden!! If you have to go buy Ladybugs!! Make sure if you feel the need to buy Ladybugs that you buy them from a company that does not ship you dead insects!! Buy locally if you can and keep in mind when you get the Ladybugs home give them a drink!! Spray the area down with a hose before setting the insect free, or soak a cotton ball in water is one way if you are setting them free in a inclosed area. Keep in mind, insects do not drink water as we do!

I personally have not seen aphids , or their caretakers the ants on the Coneflowers of ours.

I have seen as you can see in the photographs Honeybee's really like the Coneflower! Wasps, Carpenter Bees, Bumble Bees and more like the Coneflowers! I can not seam to recall if butterflies like the Coneflowers. I have seen the Hummingbirds near the Coneflowers however we grow several flowers in groups.... The color could attract a pollinator then the said pollinator may not want to work on said colored flower but go to the neighboring flower. This is our philosophy of growing. Not everyone does this! We just choose to.



You can see the Honey Bee doing its thing......



Here the Honeybee is really getting into the center which is rather spiny when you get right in there!



This Honeybee is done and flying off. I for one do not know if I want to speak about the medicinal uses for the Coneflower for I just do not want the responsibility of someone reading something I wrote and putting it into their body......

Thank you for coming by looking at my photography and reading my rambling of the Coneflower Blooms!

White Verbena Flower

White Verbena Flower




Meet the White Verbena Flower! These and the other colors were blooming in the end of July 2014.



We grow our Verbena in a huge pot and place it directly in the South Eastern light. The Verbena do very well for us in this location so why change?

I checked on the Verbena just yesterday and they look like they are coming back just fine. Come to think of it in 2014 the Verbena did start growing outside the pot where seeds dropped, though never bloomed. We have this white, we have red, and we have a purple / blue colors.



The Verbena appear to be pretty hardy here in the High Desert with watering two times a day. The soil consists of my mix of mushroom,steer, peat moss, and a high end soil we have to drive to Bend Oregon to buy in bulk if we can find it!!

Verbena attracts the common Pollinators who do their thing and walla seeds! We have had these Verbena growing in this same container for gosh four years? Perhaps longer? This is the Verbena container haha! I would have to go back into my photograph archive to find the exact years the Verbena has been flowering in that container, point being they keep coming back year after year! Knock on wood!

Thank you for coming by checking out these photographs of the White Verbena Flowers blooming on this day!

Gloriosa Daisy Blooming in September

Gloriosa Daisy Blooming in September




Meet again the Gloriosa Daisy! These flowers were still blooming in late September 2014!



Unlike the Black Eyeed Susan these Gloriosa Daisies have a ring of color, if not color through out the yellow. Nice looking flowers if you ask me!







Gosh does any two Gloriosa Daisies look alike? That is the question?



The Gloriosa Daisy grew most everywhere we sprinkled some seeds at!

Pretty easy to grow!



Thank you for coming by and checking out our Gloriosa Daisy's and my photographs of them!

Blooming Painted Daisy

Meet the Painted Daisy Bloom!



The Painted Daisy comes in many colors!! These were grown in the ground in 2014 and in 2015 I think I will try some in containers and see how they do here in the High Desert?

All the Painted Daisies for us bloomed on the north side of the property. I found it interesting that this plant is used as a natural insecticide.... repelling what we all consider, "bad insects", as well as tasting nasty to the browsing creatures. I of course just think these are lovely flowers!

As for the creatures who eat the garden up... I have yet to see a squirrel in our whole town! Seeing them outside of town on a farm, however this was a couple miles from town. We do have rabbits! At one time someone released pet rabbits!! Those have pretty much disappeared, after all we do have the birds of prey and the coyotes and the pet rabbits stick out with their colors that do not do well for surviving in such a town as ours! Wild bunnies are a whole different story!! They can be little stinkers!

Since we are early risers the deer have also been seen here in town. Though people have done pretty good about running them out of the town. Nothing like having the Mule Deer eating everything in site!! Dose not mean the Mule Deer do not spend the night and leave before sunrise!

I personally had a terrible time there for a couple years with someones pet ducks and chickens! The roosters would be under my window crowing hahahaha! I laugh for I got so mad! Now I can laugh about it ha! These pets ate up everything, so I was continually chasing them off!

The wild birds do nibble, however they really do not do all that much damage. Dogs, dogs do damage!! Why our dogs have their area! I can not do much about the dogs people do not keep at home.... charging our fence which means they have to go through the flower beds is something we just deal with. Also owners allowing their dog to urinating on our flowers is also something we just deal with.



Some flowers do great in the ground, while others do better in a container. Some flowers prefer one over the other here in our area. What you see is just a small part of a plant. The real goings on is under the soil where we can not see! So in 2015 I think I will play around with the soil and the Painted Daisy, time permitting of course!



I like these, they add some real flashy color to the flower beds!

Thank you for coming by and checking out my photographs of my Painted Daisies!

Moss Roses in Bloom

Moss Roses in Bloom




Meet again the Moss Rose!



These Moses Roses were in full boom and photographed on September 04 2014. We grew these in a container, since the Moss Ross seams to do better for us in a container then they grow in the ground here in the High Desert.



The Moss Rose also seeds pretty well!











Thank you for coming by and checking out my Moss Roses! Color , color color!