Bird feeder traffic

When I think of Thanksgiving, it's mostly about getting together with family and eating, not necessarily in that order.  It seems an appropriate time to make sure that I feed the birds too.  I used to keep the feeders full year-round but some years ago, concerned with reports of birds spreading disease at feeders, I reduced my provisions of seeds to the colder months of the year when there's less food available to them.

The finches are usually the first to appear.

The Lesser Goldfinches (Spinus psaltria) showed up in greater numbers but the House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) were present too.  I haven't seen the Spice Finches (Lonchura punctulata) at all yet.  The latter are native to Asia but escaped pets have spread in the US, and notably California.

The White-crowned Sparrows showed up slightly later.  There was a good crowd of them at one point but I didn't capture it.  However, the sparrows and the finches always seem comfortable mingling at the feeder and I did capture one in the group shown below.  

The bird sitting in the Ceanothus just below the middle feeder is a White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys).  Unlike the finches, species noticeably differentiated by gender, these sparrows are described as "sexually monochromatic," which means they can't be readily differentiated based on their appearance, although there are apparently nominal size differences.

On the other hand, when the California Scrub Jays arrive, all the other birds back off.

California Scrub Jays (Aphelocoma californica) are described as "assertive" and they take over the feeders and send the smaller birds off as soon as they arrive.  Two of these jays jockeyed for control of the feeders even though they're "squirrel resistant," which means they also lock out the heavier birds to a significant degree.  Even so, the jays are adept at getting to the seeds to some extent.

This is a closeup of one of the jays.  This bird's underside was particularly fluffy.  It occurred to me that it might be a somewhat immature bird but then it's possible it was fluffed up due to either the wind or its conflict with the other jay.  Like the White-crowned Sparrows, adult Scrub Jays can only be differentiated by size, not appearance. 

The finches use the bare Ginkgo tree some 20 feet away as a waystation when the Scrub Jays are in takeover mode

Best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving and may you get all you want to eat!

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Chaos reigns

Not a single room of the house feels familiar or comfortable at the moment.  The living and dining rooms are empty and the kitchen is halfway gutted.  Every one of the remaining rooms is now serving multiple purposes.  Despite packing away furniture and boxing up all but essential belongings for storage and doing our best to organize what remains, our remaining living spaces are claustrophobic.  For someone who's tried to convince her spouse that we could be happy in a tiny vacation house (somewhere with cooler summer temperatures!), this is a comedown of sorts but then who takes all their worldly possessions with them on vacation?  I expect we'll adapt, although getting used to the weekday noise and confusion associated with our remodel may be more of a challenge.  Today, I expect to lose the small window on the south side of my office when it's closed in to form part of our kitchen extension.

Pipig has chosen new spots for her naps in the back part of the house.  She's chill when the workers are absent but, as soon as they pull up outside, she's on high alert and, more often than not, she's hiding in the very darkest corner of my closet on top of a hat box until they leave.

There's still plenty in bloom to cut for vases; however, I had to prepare my arrangements in our master bathroom yesterday as the laundry room is already doing double duty for washing dishes.  The new blooms of Dahlia 'Labyrinth' provided the inspiration for my first vase.

I was disappointed last year when the one and only 'Labyrinth' tuber I was able to get rotted but this year I've got 2 plants full of buds

I was able to use the old, partially deconstructed kitchen as a backdrop for most of this week's photos, relying solely on daylight from nearby windows.  (All the light bulbs in kitchen have already been removed.)

I've yet to identify areas that might be suitable for use in photographing future vases but that may be a week-by-week determination as our remodel progresses

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Labyrinth', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Rosa 'Pink Meidiland', Leucadendron 'Jester', and Tanacetum parthenium.  This 'Jester' grows in partial shade so its colors are more subdued than the plant I have in full sun.

As Thursday is Independence Day, I also cobbled together a red, white and blue arrangement, or as close as I could come to that by substituting magenta for true red.

The shaggy Shasta daisies were intended as accents but, once again, they dominate the arrangement.  I don't mind as they're looking particularly good this year and remind me of the recently departed friend who gave them to me.

Back view

Top view, highlighting what may be the last of my Delphinium blooms for the season

Clockwise from the upper left: Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink', Delphinium elatum, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Eustoma grandiflorum (aka lisianthus), Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Nigella papillosa 'Starry Night' and, in the middle, Leucanthemum x superbum (aka Shasta daisy)

For more Monday vases, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

The Dahlias ended up on the card table in our bedroom we're currently using as a dining table (left).  The red, white and blue arrangement sits alongside the PC in my office (right).

For those of you in the US celebrating the 4th of July this week, I hope you have a safe and sane holiday!


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Christmas Surprises

Christmas Day at our house was blessedly low key.  And the day even began with a little light rain.  Totaling 0.04/inch it certainly wasn't a drought-buster but we've come to appreciate whatever we get.  It left behind the clearest sky we've had since our last real storm in early December.

Without even any cruise ships in port, the Los Angeles harbor was quiet too

I took time to take photos of my currently subdued garden, finding a few surprises in the process.

Hippeastrum 'Giant Amadeus', planted as a bulb in early November bloomed nearly 7 weeks later on Christmas Day

The noID Crocus received as a gift with purchase over a year ago produced a few tiny blooms.  Largely hidden by the weedy foliage of Erigeron karvinskianus, I almost missed them.  I love Crocus but I gave up on them years ago as my climate isn't hospitable.

I found my first "spring" bloom of Alstroemeria buried under a robust clump of Artemisia californica.  Even in the land of early spring, this is an early appearance.

I had smorgasbord leftovers for lunch and spent much of the afternoon breathing clean air while pruning out-of-control shrubs before my husband and I sat down to a Cornish game hen and roasted vegetables for dinner, then watched a movie based on an Agatha Christie novel.  A perfect day!  I hope yours was as pleasant.


All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

More plant shopping

Since the weather cooled at the end of October, I've been making up for lost time shopping for plants.  The weekend before last, a friend and I visited 3 garden centers in Santa Barbara County and last Friday I drove to Orange County to visit Roger's Gardens.  As I'd arranged to meet a friend down there for lunch, I didn't dilly-dally much with photos but I snapped a few things that caught my attention upon arrival.

This mass planting of the new-to-me hybrid Aloe 'Safari Sunrise' was stunning 

I was also impressed with the massed planting of Crassula multicava next to the Aloes.  I've planted nearly a dozen of these plants in my own garden but it never would have occurred to me to mass them like this.

I was tempted by this display of tiny barrel cacti (Echinocactus grusonii) in 4-inch pots.  I don't usually get excited about true cacti but these are one of the exceptions.  Mature specimens are usually very expensive.  These weren't expensive but, between having no idea where I would put them and the time I expected it would take for them to reach basketball size, I turned my back and moved on.

This is one of the best specimens of Cordyline 'Electric Flash' I've seen.  Bugs of some kind ate away at the roots of 2 smaller specimens I planted from 1-gallon containers a couple of years ago but I may try another in a pot one day.

Although Roger's opened its Christmas Boutique before Halloween, preparations for the event were still in full swing when I visited.

The succulent display in the demonstration garden near the front entrance (on the left, photographed in September) has been replaced by the usual toy holiday train display (current photograph on the right), although the train itself didn't appear until I was on my way to the check out area.

Baskets meant to conjure winter (despite the pleasantly warm weather) were in place

An area intended to display wreaths was under construction

But scarier than any of the Halloween decorations that Roger's had on display on my prior visit in September, including the avenging angel...

Was this sight:

The back lot filled with fresh Christmas trees

I didn't peruse the holiday displays.  I selected the plants I'd been looking for and several more I wasn't and high-tailed it to my lunch appointment.

More frightening still, I looked out my home office window Monday night and saw the first house in the area totally bedecked in lights.  How did Christmas sneak up on me yet again?!  Our temperature is expected to reach 90F today!  I haven't even thought about holiday greeting cards, presents, decorating or celebratory get-togethers.  I still have gardening to do!

Filling this basket, hung on a screen on our south side patio, was my primary objective in visiting Roger's.  It doesn't look like much yet but I'm hoping it'll be gorgeous by January.  It contains: Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset', red pansies, 3 Butterfly Amaryllis (Hippeastrum papilio), and rooting cuttings of Alternanthera 'Little Ruby'.  The bulbs are currently hidden behind the Lotus foliage, which should soon trail down to hide the basket.

Among other things, I also splurged on an Aloe 'Safari Sunrise', shown here in place in my south side succulent bed

I hope all of you in the US take time to thoroughly enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow before facing down the specter of the year-end holiday festivities.  Best wishes!


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas!

Christmas came early to Southern California with an unexpected rainstorm beginning Wednesday afternoon and continuing through Thursday morning.  Our roof-top weather system recorded 1.14 inches of rain but there's evidence it's reading low - our neighbor's system directly across the street consistently records more and my no-tech test tube rain meter recorded almost 2 inches.  Whichever total is correct, that's the most rain we've received from any weather system this year and heavier rain is expected today!

The house is decorated outside.

The Magnolia leaves and the orange berries shown in this photo blew away in the storm but the rest of my additions to my purchased wreath, the succulents, the Toyon berries, the gnome, and the ribbon remain intact

The gnome and the gargoyle extend their holiday greetings

And the inside is decorated too.

Pipig has staked herself out a snug spot under the tree.

And my husband is occupied with a new project, calibrating our weather system's rain measurement accuracy.

Don't ask me to explain it - I'm not the scientist in the family

Cards have been sent, presents are wrapped, the pantry is stocked, and I have a holiday lunch scheduled with friends this afternoon.  Despite the gloomy political scene, all seems merry and bright at the moment.

However you're spending the holiday weekend, I hope good cheer finds you too!


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: I'm not ready!

There was a time in my life, not all that long ago, when I somehow managed to prepare for the year-end holiday season in advance even while working 60+ hour weeks.  I kept lists of gift ideas for reference.  I shopped for gifts - in real brick and mortar stores - and tucked them away when I found just the right items.  I hand-wrote letters to include in cards, which I dropped into postal boxes for delivery weeks ahead of time.  I even baked cookies.  (Well, to be honest that really was a long time ago.)  So, how does it happen that now, year after year, the holidays sneak up on me?  I wasn't prepared for Thanksgiving and I'm sure as heck not ready for Christmas.  But there's no hiding from the fact that it's coming...

The second of these 2 trees of lights, erected on nearby properties, appeared last night to taunt me through the window of my home office

I hope you're more organized than I am.

Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum for more Wednesday Vignettes.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Seasonal Succulents

Happy Halloween!

In keeping with the holiday, I thought I'd decorate a pumpkin this week and, as I haven't used succulents in an "In a Vase on Monday" post this year, it was high time to do so.  My inspiration stemmed from the photos of succulent-topped pumpkins I've seen on-line and, more recently, on a visit to one of my favorite garden centers.

One of the succulent-topped pumpkins that provided inspiration for this week's "vase"

After viewing a couple of how-to videos on pumpkin decorating, I decided to give it a try.  I picked up a fancy pumpkin at the supermarket and, as I wasn't about to venture into a craft store so close to Halloween (too scary!), I made do with the craft supplies the supermarket offered, a tacky spray and a glue pen.  I already had sphagnum moss on hand.

With a chance of rain on Sunday (Halloween is about tricks as well as treats), I went to work on this project on Saturday so I could keep my mess outside.  I started by collecting succulent cuttings from my garden.

The succulents were dusty and dirty so I positioned them on a pair of plastic chairs and hosed them off before I began working with them.

As with the vases I create using flowers, I cut much more than I needed

Then the pumpkin came out.

I'm sure this pumpkin has a name but the supermarket label just said "fancy pumpkin"

The moss followed.

DIY instructions recommend applying tacky spray to the top of the pumpkin followed by a one-quarter to half-inch layer of moss, creating a toupée of sorts

I then trimmed the moss to make a less sloppy toupée

I meant to take in process photos as I positioned the succulents but I got absorbed by the project, as well as getting my fingers sticky with glue, so there aren't any further in process photos.  The construction wasn't difficult, although some of the heavier succulents drooped at times and had to be re-positioned.  The experts use a hot glue gun, which apparently does a better job keeping the succulent pieces in place, but I didn't have one of those.

After cleaning up, I took photos of the completed pumpkin from 4 angles outside.

I don't have a complete inventory of the succulents I used but they include: Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi', Crassula pubescens ssp radicans, Graptopetalum 'Darley Sunshine', Graptosedum 'California Sunset', Graptosedum 'Vera Higgins', Graptoveria 'Fred Ives', Portulacaria afra 'Variegata', and a noID Rhipsalis.  I also tucked in berries of Nandina domestica and Auranticarpa rhombifolia.

I'd forgotten to take a top-view photo of the arrangement when I was working outside so I did that after coming inside.

In about a week, after the glue has been allowed to thoroughly dry, I can mist the succulents to keep the arrangement fresh.  When the pumpkin itself begins to decay, the succulent cuttings can be removed and reused in the garden.  I've already popped the cuttings I didn't use back into the garden.

The completed pumpkin currently sits on the dining room table.

The displaced vase from last week was moved to the front entry, sans the Grevillea and poppies, which were past their prime.

The exterior entry has been dressed up for the holiday too.

You get bonus points if you can identify the flower the skeleton lounging on the bench has in his teeth

I hope you enjoy the holiday!  Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other meme participants have cooked up this week.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party