Look But Don’t Touch!

Spring Spurge

The Euphorbia in our garden is a strange-looking but oddly beautiful plant – with a very ancient pedigree. 

Euphorbia (which is actually the name of a whole genus of plants) was named way back in the year 12 B.C., by Egypt’s King Juba II (Anthony and Cleopatra’s son-in-law), after his Greek physician, Euphorbus. The good doctor recognized the plant as a “powerful laxative”, and this ability to “purge” led to the plant’s common name of “spurge”.

I wouldn’t want to try his remedy. Our plants (Euphorbia characias, subspecies Wulfinii) have a milky sap that is poisonous and caustic – causing skin irritation or even blindness if you accidentally rub your eyes. We always wear gloves when we’re working around it.

Not that our Euphorbia needs much work – it’s wonderfully undemanding. About the only care we ever give this hardy plant is to cut down the two-year old stems that have finished flowering, and tie up the tallest young stems to keep them from falling under the weight of their flowerheads.

And those flowerheads are definitely worth a close look (more photos below).

I love Euphorbia for the splash of yellow it brings in spring, and for the fact that even the slugs and deer leave it alone – for good reason!

More photos of our Euphorbia – click on any image to see larger view in carousel format:

Spring Spurge

Spurge in Bloom

Detail, Euphorbia Flower

Spring Spurge #2

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Hellebore Abundance

Hellebore Abundance #1 (Christmas rose)

Our hellebores have outdone themselves this spring – which is surprising, since just a few months ago our resident deer family worked their snouts under the protective netting and mowed them down, along with the Sarcococca, fern and winter jasmine.  (More photos below.)

Hellebores are classed as poisonous, but the deer didn’t seem to suffer at all from their meal. I wasn’t so sure the hellebores would survive, though – let alone flower this year! But flower they did, and then some, starting very early this spring.

By the time I got around to taking my photos, their flowers were quite mature - you can see how large their carpels (ovaries) have become, swelling up as the seeds form inside them.

The flowers will remain through most of the summer, although their colours will fade and they’ll take on a different look as they drop their seeds. Their dark green, glossy foliage should be impressive for months as well (unless the deer go at them again, that is) .

Our abundance of hellebore flowers stems from just two plants: a ”Lenten Rose” (Helleborus orientalis), with purple flowers fading to chocolatey-mauve as they mature, and a “Christmas Rose” (Helleborus niger), with almost-white flowers that take on a greenish tone as the season progresses.  Over the years the two plants’ footprints have expanded, growing more and more stems, so when they’re in flower, hellebores look to be positively bursting out of the bed.

For a shady spot on the edge of a forest, you couldn’t ask for a more perfect plant. Hellebores are hardy perennials that seem to thrive on neglect, and  slugs don’t bother them (an important virtue, as we have legions of slugs at our place).

Just don’t be fooled into believing that they’re “deer resistent”!

Click on any image in the gallery below to view in larger, carousel format.

Hellebores (Christmas Rose)

Hellebore Abundance #2

Next Season’s Promise #1 (Lenten Rose)

Next Season’s Promise #2

Hellebore Delight #1 (Christmas Rose)

Hellebore Delight #2

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Return of the Swallows

Helping Hand (a rather ruffled Violet Green swallow fledgling)

Violet-Green swallows are back, fresh from their long journey from the tropics. They visited us four or five times in April, announcing their arrival in that lively bubbling language that is so unmistakeably “Swallow”.

They swooped low, making multiple passes over our lawn and garden and checking out the  nest boxes on the side of our house. On one of the visits, a swallow climbed inside a box and stayed for the afternoon, looking down at us each time we passed by. But so far, they haven’t actually moved in.

However, we’re keeping our fingers crossed. In the spring of 2010 we we had repeated visits by up to a half dozen Violet-Greens, causing our hopes to rise, then sink again as they disappeared. Finally, after several weeks of these short, sporadic visits, a pair moved in to one of the boxes and began raising a new family. The same thing happened in 2011. So we’re hopeful.

Could the birds checking out our nest boxes this spring be the same pair? Or perhaps some of their youngsters, now grown up? Perhaps even the little guy that we rescued? (See the photo above, and more below.) He was the last one to leave the nest in June, tumbling onto the lawn when he finally plucked up the courage to try out his wings. It’s fun to imagine he might remember us!

More photos of the fallen fledgling – click on any image for larger, slide show view:

Helping Hand (a rather ruffled Violet Green swallow fledgling)

Fallen from the nest & in danger of cats.

Out of harm’s way – a gloved hand makes a nice perch.

Getting acquainted.

“Thanks, Big Buddy!”

Testing, testing…

Ready for takeoff.

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Busy Times in Birdland

Feeding Time for Junior

The pace of bird life around our place is picking up rapidly these days. Territories are being carved out and defended and songs are getting louder (not to mention, being broadcast at earlier hours each day). This morning we watched one of our resident song sparrows gathering up big mouthfuls of grass, carrying them off like a broad Fu Manchu moustache, to be used as construction material.

Pretty soon it’ll be the time when all those strange looking babies appear - oversized, gangly birds that don’t look quite like any species that we know. At first it’s easy to mistake them for newly arrived migrants. It’s only when they tag along behind a recognizable bird, hopping about and cheeping incessantly to gain the adult’s attention, that we can clearly see they’re the older birds’ offspring. By watching who’s following who, we can figure out which of the youngsters is a sparrow, towhee, junco, finch, robin or other avian variety.

It must be exhausting for bird parents. The Spotted Towhee in the photo above (taken in a previous summer) was, like many father birds, intensely busy - working hard all day long to feed his overly demanding chicks. He seemed not to care that the grain in the bowl was intended for a much larger animal – anything will do when Junior is screaming to be fed!

Clearly, these are busy times in Birdland.

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