The narrow trench that I dug along the border last year (to neaten up the border and keep the grass out) has become a temporary stream in storms and has been eroding in each rain. This might seem like a lousy situation for anyone who doesn't garden by a swamp, but its great for me because the garden closest to the house would get a little too soggy in previous years. Although I've found some great flood tolerant plants for the lower garden, it would be a bit limiting for me to exclude the vast majority of plants that hate "wet feet".
I love "Panda" to death, but he really loves to trample over anything not exceeding his fluffy belly just so he can water the unsuspecting victims with a heavy dose of a yellow chemical cocktail. He's almost done killing the "evergreen giant" liriope and he's even gone no. 2 in my bromeliads, rotting them before I even arrive to the scene of the crime. He was trained as a puppy to go in the woods, but lately the gardens gotten to be a more convenient extension of the original woods. I don't live there anymore, so I can't effectively train him either. Fortunately for me, the trench I mentioned earlier that borders the garden will get deeper and fill up with water when we get floods, forcing Panda to leave his... stomping grounds.
Don't be fooled by his innocent demeanor, he's a killer!
Earlier I posted some photos of my blood lily, but here's another one just for giggles. To answer Ami's question in the previous post, the whole flowerspike is about a foot and a half tall, though this one leans a bit towards the light so it looks shorter. Oh, and Noel, African Aussie and Danger Garden might want to check out my contest post...
I just love when all the little critters come and visit my garden. (mosquitos excluded) I have frogs, dragon flies, bees, butterflies, rabbits, snakes, bats, salamanders and all kinds of birds. (The list goes on.) I enjoy sitting out and just taking all the activity in. :)
ReplyDeleteMy garden is loving this afternoon showers too! But the bugs are another story. I just came back from the garden, and itchy all over with mosquito bites, ugh! Your "Panda" looks very cute and does have a innocent look, and seems he knew you are talking about him :)
ReplyDeleteYour birds' Nest fern looks very lush. Looks like it is still in the container. Are you going to put it in the ground eventually? Mine is in the container as well. I was planning to put them in the ground once I can open another shade bed. Right now it sits in my front patio.
Have a good weekend!
Hooray for rainy season! Yay! My garden's loving it. On the other hand, this weather is wreaking havoc at Six Acres. The swamp seems to be encroaching previously dry land by about ten feet right now. It's been so rainy! And stormy as well. Huge branches have fallen, and a snag I posted a photo of from last weekend snapped in half Thursday evening! Not to mention the neighborhood on the north side of the property had a couple sections of privacy fencing fall down.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, your gardens look so green and lush again. And Panda looks perfectly innocent there.
Your garden area looks so good! I love the afternoon showers we have been getting. Just enough rain has been falling here without making the boggy area I have be underwater. Perfect.
ReplyDeletePanda is so cute! I have Andy, the Bichon, to 'water' my plants. He seems to pick on just certain ones. He also tramples a few while chasing lizards. But, like you say about Panda, I love him.
BTW - I noticed some bloodlilies at a neighboring house just because of your post. Yours look much fluffier though:)
Panda is adorable. I had to laugh out loud when I read about what she did in your bromeliads...how dare her! The wet area in your garden is looking great. We have a area too that is wet and sometimes has standing water for a day or two in summer. It's amazing how many plants will tolerate it and perform well. It's been a fun learning experience for me. I'll have to include some of the plants you listed, as well.
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