March Madness Part 2 - Iris and Brown Thrashers

March is the season for "Praire Iris," or "Dixie Iris," Iris hexagona, to bloom, but we went 3 years without any of these ephemeral beauties because the winters were so warm, even hot.  December of 2017 was cool, as was January of 2018. February got warm again, so even though early March reverted to more seasonal coolness, it didn't seem like we were going to get any flowers this year either, but in late March I was surprised by a few blooms. I just about  decided to take most of the iris  out, and put something else in my bog garden, a heavy-duty plastic mortar mixing tray I bought from Home Depot, when I saw that buds were forming.

Iris hexagona - Jeanette Lee Atkinson

Iris hexagona is one of our most beautiful wildflowers. Even though it has a fairly short blooming season, its erect, fan-shaped foliage stays attractive all year, and after nearly 20 years in our yard has not shown any insect or disease problems. Each flower lasts only one day, but most stalks will produce 2 or even 3 flowers in succession. They don't like full South Florida sun, and they do need moisture. There is a clump of these iris in the front  yard near the swale, where it stays a bit more moist than other areas, but in a very dry winter there aren't many blooms. One street away homeowners planted a big clump right in the deepest part of the swale, and they are flourishing, though I don't know whether they produced any flowers this year. This species occurs throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas, according to the USDA Plant Database.

Iris hexagona - Jeanette Lee Atkinson

It always has seemed odd to me that these delicate flowers open during one of the windiest times of the year, and sometimes get completely dried out and wilted before noon, especially since they aren't wind-pollinated. Big black bumblebees really love them, and practically disappear between the standard and the fall. Skippers, like the one in my photo below, are experts at stealing nectar without doing any pollinating in return.

 Even though the bumblebees and other insects are diligent, my iris set seed only now and then. The dried seed pods are rather decorative and fun to draw.

Dried Seed Pod
Graphite & Colored Pencil

Early this March a pair of brown thrashers moved into our yard. We have lived here since 1994 and never seen a brown thrasher. In fact, I am not sure I have seen one since we left Georgia in 1990! I am delighted to see them, and hope they have not been pushed out of more suitable habitat. So far they  seem to be coexisting peaceably with the mockingbirds - something I don't think any other bird has accomplished. Just like the books say, they repeat their phrases only twice, whereas the mockingbirds will go on as long as they like. They spend a lot of time on the ground, vigorously digging through the mulch - in fact they make quite deep holes - 3 inches deep or more. I won't see them for a few days, and think they've flown on, but then they will reappear. They may be nesting now - I hope so! - and that may be one reason they're being secretive.

I have just started trying to sketch birds, and this attempt is pretty pathetic. At  least it's a beginning. I bought John Muir Laws's excellent book The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds, and am working my way through it when I can grab a moment. These sketches by no means should be taken as a reflection on the merits of the book! Laws  has an excellent website/blog, with lots of instructional and inspiring videos. It's one of my favorites.

I haven't begun to cover all the events that started unfolding in the yard this March, but it's already mid-April, so it's time to move on.

March Madness in the Garden - Part I

March is winding down, and too much is going on to document it all. The growing season is pretty much year-round here, but March still marks the end of the cycle for some plants, and the beginning for others. Soon the tropical hardwoods like gumbo limbo, mahogany and fish-poison tree will shed their leaves, with new buds anticipating summer's rains. 

As usual, it's windy and dry. Fire season is well underway, with between 17,000 and 18,000 acres burned so far in two brush fires that merged into one megafire. Both were started by lightning. High wind and low humidity made the foresters' and firefighters' jobs even harder. Thick smoke enshrouding everything meant very little outside activity, and portions of US 41, the "Tamiami Trail," and I-75, "Alligator Alley," south and east of Naples had to be closed at times due to poor visibility. 

Choking Haze of Smoke

Much of Florida's flora, and indirectly, fauna, is either fire-dependent or fire-resistant. The question that I have not seen addressed is whether all the branches and trees downed by Hurricane Irma made the fuel load high enough to make the fire truly destructive and allow it to get into cypress strands and hardwood hammocks, which burn much less frequently under natural conditions.

Gardeners mimic fire by cutting back native ornamental grasses hard either after they bloom or before new growth resumes in spring. I cut  back the Pink Muhly Grass this March. I also get down on my hands and knees to reach under the clumps and pull out old rotting thatch, which goes onto the compost pile. If we did not live in virtually de-natured suburbia, I would hesitate to do that, because a nice big clump of grass would be a great sheltering place for a pygmy or even bigger rattlesnake. As it is, I have gotten stung by wasps in hidden nests, so now I wear gloves and stay ready to run. 

Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) has bloomed vigorously for months, and is now going to seed, along with Tickseed (Coreopsis leavenworthii). 

Coreopsis leavenworthii

Gaillardias (Gaillardia pulchella)are at their peak, and it won't be long before I have to start pulling them out or cutting them back hard. Dry, windy March is aphid, mealybug and whitefly season, and the foliage of the Gaillardias is getting ratty. The plants also develop long leggy stalks that eventually fall over, and the whole clump tends to collapse on one side. They will regenerate sometimes if I cut them back hard and water them, but it's easier to pull them out, because they reseed so readily.

Quick Impression of Gaillardia Clump

 There is  something inherently cheerful about Gaillardias, and they are tough; extremely drought tolerant, need no fertilizer. They flower so heavily that dead-heading can be an arduous task. I do some before I just give up. 

Cheerful Gaillardias

This year they are everywhere in the yard, blocking even the rudimentary paths I have through the garden. Other years they aren't quite as dominant, but they always come back.

I Love Sketching Gaillardias

One of the agaves bloomed spectacularly, and is now declining. I don't know the name. It was given to me years ago, and I've kept it going via seedlings. This year I don't think any seedlings formed on the inflorescence, but I have a couple pots of the plant, so I don't worry about losing the species. The stalk resembles a huge, tough asparagus spear.  I couldn't reach any flowers while they were still open, and had to settle for the withered ones that fell to the ground.

Reminds Me of Jack and the Beanstalk!

Red Stopper and CocoPlum are putting out new growth in varying shades of reds. Seagrape leaves already have changed from translucent coppers to mature green.  Depending on light conditions the new leaves can look delicately pastel or flaming, almost black-red.

Eugenia rhombea, New Growth

I'll have to catch up with the rest of March in the next post. Life in the garden goes on, whether I'm able to keep up or not!