Trees: Five Fabulous Facts You Need to Know

0 Comments

The canopy of trees

Trees offer great beauty. For instance have you ever looked at a tree from this angle?

Five Fabulous Facts about Trees

Perhaps you remember the old poem about trees that I learned when I was in elementary school, written by Joyce Kilmer, an American writer and poet born in the 19th century and living through World War I. Critics generally did not think much of Kilmer’s work, calling it too simple, yet I and many others remember at least the first two lines of the poem:

“I think that I shall never see,

A poem as lovely as a tree…”

Even as I think about this poem, I am sitting in my swing, leaning back to look up into the canopy of the maple tree under which the swing sits. Bright green leaves contrast with a spring-blue sky. Black branches and twigs make an intricate pattern. The leaves sway in the wind. A couple of woodpeckers are visiting the two bird feeders that hang on the tree’s branches. All in all, it is a beautiful sight. ... Read More

A-B-Cs for a Great Garden!

0 Comments

Sometimes, you might wonder what you can do to make your garden even better than it already is. Here is an A-B-C list to give you food for thought. Many of these suggestions will help attract wildlife to your garden, but some of them are just for your enjoyment as well — and some are just plants that I happen to like, some native, some not.

Many more items for each letter are available. I started to do at least two per letter here, then decided the post was getting too long. Perhaps I will do another A-B-C before long. ... Read More

Who Lives in Serendipity Gardens? Who Lives in Your Garden?

0 Comments

First of all, I live in Serendipity Gardens with my husband, my dog Nestle, and my cat Buster. The four of us live in the small house that’s there.

Several years ago, I registered my garden as a natural habitat. Since that time, I’ve become more aware of the many other creatures that live at Serendipity Gardens, too — so many that I cannot begin to name them all. But I can name some of them.

A Busy, Buzzing Place

On a typical late summer afternoon, I come out onto the patio, carrying some scraps to toss into the compost pile. My dog Nestle is with me. The patio is surrounded by butterfly bushes, planted long before I knew they were invasive. To be honest, I have no plans at present to remove them. Several bees, a couple of butterflies and a hummingbird moth are enjoying the blossoms. ... Read More

Water, Water Everywhere in Serendipity Gardens

0 Comments

Water

Water plays an important role in Serendipity Gardens, as it does in any landscape that offers habitat to animals. One of the four requirements of being a certified natural habitat is the presence of water.

Ponds and Pots

We have several ponds and two pots of water.

The ponds consist of a ground-level pond about seven feet in diameter, with a smaller pond about three feet in diameter  above it. Water from the small pond flows over rocks into the larger pond, and creates the water noise that adds so much to the ambiance of the garden. From the large pond, the water then flows through a little stream down and across the yard to another small pond. From there, a pump helps the water make the journey through hidden pipes back up to the top pond, where it feeds into the upper pond and creates the waterfall. ... Read More